COMMENTS

  1. Should an Application Essay Be Single-Spaced or Double-Spaced?

    The Common Application and many online forms will automatically format your essay, so you have no say when it comes to spacing. Always follow directions if a school states a preference for single- or double-spaced essays. If the school provides no guidelines, either single- or double-spaced is fine with a slight preference for double-spacing ...

  2. Common App Essay Formatting, Grammar & Style Guide

    The double space after periods originated in the bygone days of typewriters, when a practice called monospace typesetting reigned. This technique gave each letter the same amount of space on a page—no matter if it was a skinny i or a portly m. ... Common App Essay Formatting & Style: What You Need to Know About the Common App Platform It does ...

  3. Common App Essay Formatting

    3. Add your essay. Once you've formatted it as you want it, the next stage is to cut and paste your essay into the correct field in the online Common Application. Italics, bold and underline formatting from your word processing version should still be saved when you cut and paste. However occasionally when you cut and paste there may be ...

  4. How to Write an Amazing Common App Essay (2024-2025)

    Why does the Common App Essay—and any other college essay—matter? You may have heard the phrase "holistic admissions" thrown around—many universities follow this model, ... Write in big letters and double-space. Let your hand roam free. Don't show anyone anything you have written yet. And don't reread it immediately.

  5. The 2021-2022 Common App Essay: How to Write a Great Essay ...

    The "Common App," short for the Common Application, is a general application used to apply to multiple college undergraduate programs at once.It's accepted by hundreds of colleges in the United States as well as some colleges internationally. The idea is that the Common App is a "one-stop shop" so you don't have to complete a million separate applications.

  6. What's the correct formatting for a Common App essay?

    Here are a few tips: Use a standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial, and it's generally best to stick to 12-point size for readability. For spacing, single spacing works well since the Common App doesn't format the essay with double spacing, but make sure to include a space between paragraphs for ease of reading.

  7. How to Format Your Common Application Essay

    The Common Application essay text box does not allow tabbing. So make your paragraphs with block formatting (have a space in between each paragraph instead of an indentation.) ... Arial, Cambria…), write in 12 pt font, double space. I hope this helps you format your Common Application essay, and not sweat it. If you are still working on ...

  8. College essays—should they be double spaced?

    Most college application essays don't have specific formatting requirements, but generally speaking, it's a good idea to double-space your essay. Double spacing can make the essay easier to read and gives it a more polished appearance. However, it's essential to check the requirements of each college you're applying to, as they may have ...

  9. What is the format of a college application essay?

    Read the instructions and prompt for more guidance. Most online applications will include a text box for your essay. If you're attaching it as a document, however, be sure to use a standard, 12-point font and use 1.5-spaced or double-spaced lines, unless the application specifies different font and spacing.

  10. 7 Expert Common App Essay Tips

    3. Use Your Space Wisely. Students tend to go one of two ways with the Common App essay: They either write way too much and struggle to trim it down, or they write way too little and end up sounding superficial and generic. The Common App essay word count range is 250-650 words.

  11. Should my college essay be double-spaced?

    Hey there! When it comes to spacing, it usually depends on the application platform you're using and their specific requirements. Generally, double-spacing is preferred as it makes the essay easier to read and allows for better organization of thoughts. Most application platforms, like the Common App or Coalition App, will have their own formatting guidelines, so I would recommend checking ...

  12. How to Format A College Essay: 15 Expert Tips

    Clearly delineate your paragraphs. A single tab at the beginning is fine. Use a font that's easy to read, like Times, Arial, Calibri, Cambria, etc. Avoid fonts like Papyrus and Curlz. And use 12 pt font. You may want to include a college essay heading with a page number and your application ID.

  13. How to Approach the Common App's Additional Information Section

    The best "Additional Information" essays are brief, factual, and to the point. More concretely, don't rely on metaphor or descriptive language: just tell the admissions officers what they need to know to get the fullest picture of why the thing you're writing about matters to who you are. This could take 50 words or it could take 600 ...

  14. Should the Common App Essay be double-spaced?

    Many students wonder if they should double-space their Common App Essay or not. In this forum, you can find helpful advice from other applicants and experts on how to format your essay properly. You can also ask your own questions and get feedback from the community.

  15. Should my college essays be double spaced, or is that outdated?

    Hello! Your question about essay formatting is quite common among applicants, and it's definitely important to present your essays properly. Typically, college admission essays do not require a specific spacing format unless a college provides explicit instructions. The Common Application and other online application platforms often use text boxes where you paste your essay, which usually ...

  16. Extra Spaces in Common App Personal Essay??

    AOs literally don't care if there's extra spacing. The commonapp puts a space after every "return" in the actual PDF — this is not visible in the text box. Reply. When I pasted my Common App personal essay into the text box, I put a line of space (ie hit enter) between each paragraph to separate them. But when….

  17. Help! Extra Big Space in Common App Essay

    Question: Yesterday I submitted my Common app to about eight schools. I couldn't fix my Common App and there was a HUGE space in between one of the sentences. It still makes sense. but looks like this. I am very concerned about it. Is it a big deal? I wish I hadn't sent them but I didn't realize until about the fifth one, and couldn't ...

  18. Weird paragraph formatting on common app essay?

    It sounds like your post is related to essays — please check the A2C Wiki Page on Essays for a list of resources related to essay topics, tips & tricks, and editing advice. tl;dr: A2C Essay Wiki. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

  19. Double spacing in college essays

    7 months ago. Hey there! When it comes to college essays, most colleges prefer that you double-space your essay. The reason for this is to increase readability and provide enough space for any comments or feedback that the admissions officer might want to make on your essay. However, some application platforms, like the Common App, will ...

  20. Common app double spacing? : r/ApplyingToCollege

    Common app double spacing? Application Question. When I have a single line space between my paras, the common app puts this as two spaces in preview/pdf. Should I have no spaces (common app then puts one spaces), essentially submitting what looks like a block of text pre-formatting? 4. 1.

  21. To indent or not to indent? Formatting the Common App essay

    The Common App essay text box does not allow for tabbed indents. Therefore, the common practice is to separate paragraphs by skipping a line. When the essay is uploaded or pasted into the text box, just hit 'Enter' twice after each paragraph to create that necessary space.

  22. Indentation on the Common App Essay: How To?

    5 months ago. The Common App essay text box does not allow for tab-indented paragraphs. What you can do is use the space bar to create manual indents, but this can lead to inconsistent spacing and is not generally recommended. The best practice is to separate paragraphs with a single blank line. This visual space is enough for the admissions ...

  23. PSA: The common app adds extra spacing between paragraphs and ...

    PSA: The common app adds extra spacing between paragraphs and messed up spacing on italicized words, so do a careful review of the pdf it generates before submitting! ... Yeah, I kind of messed up and now all my essays in the apps I've submitted have extra spacing between paragraphs (I realized only after submitting). ...