Common application mistakes

Small errors are easy to make when you are applying to several colleges at once. These are the mistakes worth checking for, with a fix for each one.

Details and accounts

• Name mismatch. Use your legal name as it appears on school documents and test records, so colleges can match your files.
• The wrong email. Pick an address you check often and will keep after graduation. School email can filter out college messages.
• Not reading the preview. Open the preview for every college and read each page. The preview shows what the college will see.
• The wrong college name. A reused essay that names another college looks careless. Search each draft for college names before you paste it in.

Deadlines and rules

• Assuming every college works the same way. Each college sets its own rules for deadlines, fees, essays, testing and recommendations. The rules your friend followed may not apply to you.
• Waiting until the deadline. Sites slow down and questions come up. Aim to submit well before the date.
• Assuming a fee waiver covers everything. Not every college accepts the Common App fee waiver for every student. Your counselor confirms the waiver, so talk to them early.
• Forgetting the ED agreement. If you apply Early Decision, you need a signed agreement in addition to the application. See Early Action vs. Early Decision vs. Regular Decision.
• Skipping aid deadlines. Financial aid dates can differ from application dates. Check both.

Honesty mistakes

These are the ones that can do lasting damage.

• Exaggerating a role or hours. Report what you really did. Your counselor and teachers may describe the same things.
• Writing that is not yours. You affirm that your application is your own work. The fraud policy covers plagiarism and passing off AI output as your own.
• Holding deposits at two colleges. The affirmations say to send a deposit to only one college, and that multiple deposits can cost you your offers. There is an exception for an offer from a waitlist, if you tell the first college you won't enroll.

Mistakes after you submit

• Not checking the portal. Colleges often post missing-item notices in an applicant portal or by email. Look often.
• Letting grades slide. Offers are conditional, and colleges see your final transcript.
• Not reporting changes. You agree to tell colleges about changes to the information in your application.
• Going silent. Tell colleges when you decide to decline. It frees a place for someone else.

A last check that works

1. Read each application aloud, slowly, from the preview.
2. Ask a parent, guardian or counselor to check the facts.
3. Confirm the deadline, fee and required forms on the college's own site.
4. Submit, then save your confirmation.

What to do next

Use the application checklist for each college. Then read Revising and proofreading before you submit any essay.

Reviewed October 2026.