Almost all applications to US universities go through the Common App system (Common Application). With a single application, you can apply to up to 20 universities. Unlike the British UCAS system, which focuses on academic qualifications, the American system is holistic and looks at the full picture: grades, a 650-word essay, extracurricular activities and teacher recommendations.
- Common App opens on 1 August and lets you apply to up to 20 universities with a single application.
- The key parts of the application are the 650-word Personal Essay, the Activities List with 10 activities, the Counselor Report, two teacher recommendations and transcripts.
- Deadlines vary by university: Early Decision and Early Action are usually 1 November, Regular Decision falls between 1 and 15 January.
- If your school does not have a counsellor, the head teacher or a school coordinator can take on that role and complete the School Report.
- The application fee is around $75-90 per university, which can add up to $1000 or more if you apply to 10-15 schools.
What are the key deadlines for 2025-2026 applications
Common App opens on 1 August, and that is the moment to create your account and start drafting your essay. During September, you finalise your list of universities, invite your recommenders (teachers who write recommendations) and start working on the Activities List section.
For Early Decision or Early Action, the deadline is usually 1 November. Early Decision is binding, which means that if you are admitted, you must enrol. Early Action is not binding but shows strong interest. Regular Decision deadlines fall between 1 and 15 January, depending on the university.
Some universities schedule interviews after you submit your application, usually during December and January. Early decisions arrive in mid-December, while Regular Decision results come out during March and April.
How to create an account and choose universities
On commonapp.org, you click Apply and create an account with an email address, your name and date of birth. You select First-Year Applicant and fill in the Profile section with demographic details: nationality (Italy), residency status, contact information.
In the My Colleges tab, you add the universities you want to apply to, up to a maximum of 20. For each university, you can see specific requirements: whether they ask for teacher evaluations, a counsellor report, supplemental essays or a portfolio. These requirements differ from school to school, so check them carefully before you start working on them.
For students in Italy, we recommend 10-12 universities: 3 reach, 4-5 match and 3 safety schools. As international students, our students face an extra layer of uncertainty because quotas for international candidates vary, so a broader list is safer. It is especially important that safety schools are places the student would genuinely be happy to study, not just backup options they would never actually choose.
What is expected from the Personal Essay
The Personal Essay has a 650-word limit, and you choose one of seven prompts: background and identity, overcoming a challenge, questioning a belief, gratitude, an accomplishment, a topic that fascinates you, or a topic of your choice.
Unlike the UK personal statement, which focuses on academic motivation for a subject, the American essay is a story about you as a person. The focus is on your values, personal growth and character. Start with a concrete scene or moment, develop a reflection on what you learned, and connect it to who you are today.
A common mistake is overdoing the drama or trying to sound impressive. Admissions officers read thousands of essays and can spot inauthenticity. Write honestly about something that genuinely matters to you, even if the topic seems ordinary.
How to present your extracurricular activities
The Activities List has 10 slots for activities: sport, clubs, volunteering, work, hobbies, competitions. For each activity, you enter the position you held, the organisation, a short description of up to 150 characters, hours per week you dedicated to it, how many weeks per year and which years you took part.
Order matters, because admissions officers see the activities at the top of the list first. Put your most important activity first, the one where you had the greatest impact or learned the most. Include informal activities too if they are meaningful: self-taught coding, art projects, caring for family members.
An important warning: do not invent activities or exaggerate your role. Universities sometimes verify these, and mismatches between what you wrote and what your teachers say in their recommendations can lead to rejection.
We work with students to describe every activity through impact and results, not just a job title. For example, we translate leading a school club in Italy into a context that shows leadership, initiative and the number of people the student influenced. We also help explain activities specific to the Italian context, such as national maths or physics olympiads, in a way American admissions officers can properly value against their own system.
What the Counselor Report is and who fills it in
Every application requires a School Report submitted by a counsellor. Since most Italian schools do not have this role, the head teacher, a coordinator or another staff member can take it on and get access through the Common App system.
The counsellor enters the school profile, your grades, your class rank if one exists, and writes a short recommendation about your academic abilities. They also upload transcripts from all years of secondary school. Part of the School Report is an explanation of the Italian grading system, since American universities are not familiar with our scale of 1 to 10.
How teacher recommendations work
You invite two subject teachers who know you well academically, ideally from your third or fourth year of secondary school. In the Recommenders section, you enter their email addresses and they receive a link to the Teacher Evaluation form.
Ask your teachers at least a month before the deadline and give them materials that will help: your CV, an essay draft, and a list of achievements and activities. Teachers write about your academic strengths, work ethic, intellectual curiosity and contribution in the classroom. The same recommendation goes to every university you apply to, so teachers do not need to write a separate text for each one.
We give teachers a detailed guide in Italian with examples of strong recommendations and specific points to cover: the student's academic strengths, intellectual curiosity, classroom participation and personal character. We organise a short meeting with each teacher to walk through the format and expectations of American universities. We also give them materials about the student, including the activities list and essay draft, so they can write a well-rounded recommendation. This is an area where our experience helps the most, since we have already prepared dozens of Italian teachers for this process.
How to enter your qualifications and transcripts
In the Education section, you enter your current school and grading system. For the Italian maturita, you select "Other" and explain how our system works in the Additional Information section. Transcripts must be translated into English and certified, and the counsellor uploads them directly into the system.
If you have SAT, ACT, AP exam or IB diploma results, you enter them in the Testing section. It is worth knowing that many American universities are now test-optional, meaning they do not require SAT or ACT scores. However, if you are aiming for the most selective schools, strong scores still help.
The counsellor calculates your GPA (grade point average) on the American 4.0 scale based on your grades. Different schools use different conversion methods, so it is important that the counsellor explains how they arrived at that figure.
How much the application costs and what about financial aid
The application costs around $75-90 per university, which can add up to $1000 or more if you apply to 10-15 schools. A fee waiver exists for students from low-income families, but the criteria are strict for international students.
Financial aid for international students is limited. Only a handful of universities offer need-blind admissions for international applicants, meaning your need for aid does not affect the admissions decision. These are MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Amherst. At most other universities, requesting financial aid reduces your chances of admission because schools have a limited budget for international students.
If you plan to request aid, most schools require a CSS Profile or an ISFAA form submitted alongside your application. This is a separate process from the Common App itself.
What supplemental essays and additional materials are
Most universities have supplemental essays, additional essays specific to that school. The most common is the "Why This School?" essay of 200-300 words, where you explain why you chose that particular university. These essays are written separately for each university and should be tailored to their programmes, professors and campus culture.
If you are applying for art, music or design, you will likely need to upload a portfolio or audition materials. The Additional Information section is used to explain special circumstances such as interruptions in schooling, health issues or anything else that has affected your academic history.
Yes, every student we work with gets a personalised spreadsheet with all deadlines, supplemental essay prompts, the status of each application and links to draft documents. This system lets us track progress and make sure no deadline or essay is missed, which matters especially when a student is writing 15-20 different essays in parallel.
FAQ
Can I apply to the UK and the US at the same time?
Yes, but keep in mind these are two completely different systems with different requirements. The UK asks for an academically focused personal statement, while the US wants a personal essay and a holistic application. If you apply to both, you need to prepare separate materials.
What if my teachers do not speak English?
Teachers can write recommendations in Italian. You then hire a certified translator to translate the text into English. The translation is uploaded together with the original.
Who can act as counsellor if the school does not have one?
A head teacher, coordinator or other staff member can take on the counsellor role. That person creates an account on Common App, completes the School Report and uploads the transcripts. It is important that this be someone who knows your academic work and can speak to your abilities.
Do I have to take the SAT or ACT?
Many universities became test-optional after the pandemic and do not require these tests. However, if you are aiming for the most selective schools, such as the Ivy League, strong scores can still strengthen your application. Check each university's policy individually.
Common App is a holistic system that looks at the full picture, not just grades. American universities want to understand who you are as a person, what drives you and how you will contribute to their community.
If you are not sure how to organise the Common App process from an Italian school, we can spend 30 minutes of a free consultation going through your situation and building a plan.
