Common App: Step-by-Step. Complete Guide for Polish Students 2026

Imagine a single form that opens doors to over 1,000 universities in the United States – from Harvard and Stanford to smaller liberal arts colleges that can be just as life-changing. This isn’t a utopia. This is the Common Application, the platform through which over 1.4 million applicants from around the world, including a growing number of Poles, apply each year.

But this same form, designed to simplify the process, can be overwhelming. The Activities section with a 150-character limit for descriptions. A 650-word Personal Essay meant to tell your life story. The question about a “school counselor,” a role that simply doesn’t exist in Polish high schools. A 1-6 grading scale that doesn’t fit any of the available GPA formats. For a Polish student unfamiliar with the American admissions system, the Common App can feel like a labyrinth without a map.

This guide is your map. I will walk you through every section of the Common Application, from creating an account to clicking “Submit,” with specific tips for Polish applicants. You’ll learn how to describe the Polish Matura exam, how to present National Subject Olympiads, how to write an essay that stands out among thousands of applications, and how to avoid common mistakes that eliminate strong Polish candidates every year. If you’re looking for a general guide to the entire US university application process (not just the Common App), read our complete step-by-step application guide. And if you dream of specific universities, check out our guides to Harvard and Stanford.

Let’s begin.

What is the Common Application?

The Common Application (Common App for short) is a unified online application platform that allows candidates to complete one main form and send it to multiple American (and some non-American) universities simultaneously. It was created in 1975 when 15 private universities decided that students shouldn’t have to fill out separate forms for each school. Since then, the platform has grown to over 1,000 member institutions, including all eight Ivy League universities (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell), Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Duke, University of Chicago, and hundreds of others.

The Common App is not the only application platform. There is also the Coalition Application (Powered by Scoir), used by over 150 institutions, and proprietary systems for some universities (e.g., the University of California system, Georgetown has its own portal, MIT uses MyMIT). However, the Common App is by far the most popular option and the only one accepted by the vast majority of private universities. If you’re applying to study in the USA, you will almost certainly use the Common App.

What do you fill out in the Common App?

The Common App form consists of several main sections:

1. Profile, personal details, address, citizenship
2. Family, information about parents/guardians and siblings
3. Education, academic history, grades, subjects
4. Testing, SAT, ACT, TOEFL, IELTS, and other scores
5. Activities, up to 10 extracurricular activities
6. Writing, Personal Essay (up to 650 words)
7. Additional Information, additional context (e.g., explanation of the Polish grading system)
8. Courses & Grades, subjects and grades (required by some institutions)

In addition, there are college-specific sections: supplemental essays, questions about program interest, financial aid information, and more.

Creating an Account and First Steps

The Common App opens a new application cycle on August 1st each year. This means that on August 1st, 2025, the form for the 2025-2026 cycle (for students starting studies in fall 2026) will be launched. Previous accounts from prior years do not automatically carry over; each cycle you start from scratch.

A Few Practical Notes to Start

• Name: Enter it exactly as it appears on your passport. If you have Polish diacritics (ł, ś, ź, ć), enter them without special characters (e.g., “Łukasz” → “Lukasz”). The Common App only accepts ASCII characters.
• Email: Use a professional address (preferably firstname.lastname@gmail.com, not krecikmyszkowa2008@wp.pl). You will receive confirmations, interview invitations, and decisions through this address.
• Applicant type: Select “First Year Student” if you are applying for the first time for an undergraduate degree. Transfer students have a separate form.
• Save regularly: The Common App automatically saves data, but don’t risk it. Log out correctly, and don’t close your browser during editing.

Profile Section: Personal Information

The Profile section is your “demographic CV.” Here you fill in personal details, address, citizenship, native language, visa status information, and (importantly) the question about a fee waiver. For a Polish applicant, a few fields require attention:

• Citizenship: Select “Poland” as your country of citizenship. Indicate that you are not a US citizen or permanent resident.
• Language: For “First Language,” enter “Polish.” In the “Language Proficiency” field, add English with the appropriate level (Fluent or Proficient).
• Religious Preference: This field is optional. You do not have to answer.
• Fee Waiver: If your family’s financial situation is difficult, select “Yes” for the fee waiver question. As an international student, you may qualify; you will need confirmation from your school counselor (homeroom teacher). More about fee waivers later in the article.

The Common App also asks about demographics (race, ethnicity). As an applicant from Poland, you will select “White/Caucasian” or choose the option that best describes you. This data does not negatively impact your application; it serves statistical purposes and, in the context of “holistic review,” helps colleges build diverse classes.

Family Section: Family Information

Here you provide information about your parents/legal guardians and siblings. The most important elements:

• Parents’ Education: Fill this out even if your parents completed their studies in Poland. Enter the name of the university, the degree obtained (e.g., “Bachelor’s degree” for a licencjat, “Master’s degree” for a magisterium), and the year of graduation. If neither parent completed higher education, do not try to hide it; universities often view “first-generation” candidates (first in their family to attend college) positively.
• Parents’ Occupation: Enter in English. If a parent runs their own business, enter “Self-employed” and describe the industry.
• Siblings: Provide information about siblings, including whether anyone is studying or has studied at American universities. If a brother or sister is an alumnus of a university you are applying to, this is important information (legacy status).

Education Section: Key for Polish Applicants

This is one of the most problematic sections for Polish students, as the Common App system is designed for American high schools. Here’s how to navigate it without errors.

School Name and Details

Search for your school in the Common App database (many Polish high schools are already there). If you don’t find it, add it manually; provide the full, official name (e.g., “III Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. Marynarki Wojennej RP w Gdyni”), address, and phone number. For school type, select “Public” (for public high schools) or “Private/Independent” (for private schools).

Grading System and GPA

This is a crucial moment. The Common App asks for “Cumulative GPA” and the grading scale. The Polish 1-6 system does not have a direct equivalent in the American system.

Best strategy: If your school does not issue a GPA in the American format (and a Polish school typically does not), leave the “Cumulative GPA” field blank and select “None” for “Class Rank.” The Common App allows this. Your grading scale will be explained by your school counselor in the “School Profile” attached to your application, or by you in the “Additional Information” section.

If you wish to provide a GPA, you can convert Polish grades approximately: 6 = A (4.0), 5 = B+ (3.5), 4 = B (3.0), 3 = C (2.0), 2 = D (1.0), 1 = F (0.0). But remember: admissions committees know this and have experience interpreting foreign grading systems. It’s better to provide authentic data with an explanation than an artificial conversion.

Matura and IB

If you are taking the Polish Matura exam, in the “Education” section, list your Matura subjects, distinguishing between basic and extended levels. In the field concerning exams, you can add that the Polish Matura is a state examination taken at the end of high school. Results from extended-level subjects are particularly important.

If you are studying the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, the Common App has dedicated fields for IB. Enter your predicted grades and planned HL/SL subjects. The IB is well-known to American universities and does not require additional explanation.

Counselor: Who is it in a Polish High School?

In the American system, a “school counselor” is a school admissions advisor, a person who coordinates the application process, sends transcripts, and writes recommendation letters. In the Polish system, such a function does not formally exist.

Solution: The role of the school counselor is most often filled by the homeroom teacher or the school principal (sometimes a school psychologist/pedagogue). This person will need to:

• Create an account on the Common App (recommender portal)
• Complete the “School Report” (a report about the school and the candidate)
• Submit academic transcripts (grade reports from all years)
• Optionally: write a “Counselor Recommendation Letter”
• Prepare a “School Profile,” a document describing the school, grading system, available subjects, and educational context

Important: Talk to your future school counselor well in advance (at least 2-3 months before the deadline). Explain what the Common App requires and help them navigate the platform. Many Polish teachers are doing this for the first time.

Testing Section: Standardized Tests

In the Testing section, you report your exam scores: SAT, ACT, TOEFL, IELTS, AP, IB, and others. A few key rules:

Self-reporting vs. Official Score Reports

The Common App allows for self-reporting scores; you enter them yourself. But after being admitted to a university, you must provide official reports with your scores, sent directly by the testing agency (College Board for SAT, ETS for TOEFL). Self-reported scores must be identical to official ones; universities verify this.

SAT and ACT

If you took the SAT or ACT and wish to submit your scores, enter them in the appropriate fields. If a university is test-optional and your scores are not competitive, you do not have to report them. This is a strategic decision. However, if you achieved a score in the upper range for a given university (e.g., 1500+ SAT for top-30 schools), submitting your scores can strengthen your application.

As a Polish applicant with the Matura exam, which American committees do not know as well as A-levels or IB, strong SAT scores can confirm your academic preparation. Even at test-optional universities, it’s worth considering submitting good scores. You can read more about the SAT in our complete guide to the SAT exam.

TOEFL and IELTS

Almost all universities require candidates whose native language is not English to demonstrate English proficiency. In the Common App, you indicate that you took the TOEFL/IELTS and enter your scores. Official reports must be ordered separately (ETS for TOEFL, British Council/IDP for IELTS).

Typical minimum requirements: TOEFL iBT 100+ or IELTS 7.0+ for top 50 universities. For less selective universities: TOEFL 80+ or IELTS 6.5+.

Activities Section: The Heart of Your Application

If there’s one section you should dedicate the most time to (besides the essay), it’s Activities. In the Common App, you can list up to 10 extracurricular activities. For each, you provide:

• Activity type (category: e.g., Academic, Athletic, Community Service, Arts)
• Position/Leadership (50 characters), e.g., “President”, “Founder”, “Lead Researcher”
• Organization Name (100 characters)
• Description (150 characters) – this is your space to stand out
• Participation grade levels (when you participated: 9/10/11/12)
• Timing (school year, summer, all year)
• Hours per week and Weeks per year

How to Write a Description in 150 Characters?

150 characters is less than one tweet. Every word must work. Here are the rules:

• Don’t start with “I”, save space, start with a verb
• Quantify: “Tutored 15 students weekly” > “Helped students with math”
• State the outcome: “Raised $3,200 for local shelter” > “Organized fundraising events”
• Avoid generalities: “Promoted teamwork and leadership” = wasted 150 characters
• Use abbreviations: “org.” instead of “organization”, ”&” instead of “and”, “3x/week” instead of “three times per week”

Example of a good description (149 characters):

Founded coding club; taught Python to 30+ students; organized 2 hackathons w/ 100 participants; our team won 1st at regional CS competition.

Example of a weak description (143 characters):

I was a member of the coding club where I participated in meetings and helped organize events. I learned a lot about programming and teamwork.

Specifics of Polish Activities

Polish students often have fantastic activities but don’t know how to “translate” them into language understandable to American committees. Here are common cases:

• Volunteering for WOŚP: “Volunteer fundraiser for WOŚP (Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, largest annual charity in Poland, 170,000+ volunteers); collected donations, organized local events, raised PLN 2,500 for pediatric medical equipment.”
• Scouting (ZHP): “Scout leader in ZHP (Polish Scouting Assoc.); led troop of 20 youth, organized 3 week-long wilderness camps, earned instructor certification.”
• Paid Work: Don’t be ashamed! Working in a cafe, tutoring, helping with a family business are valuable experiences. List them with pride, emphasizing responsibility and skills.

Writing Section: Personal Essay

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for (or dreading). The Personal Essay in the Common App is a text of 250-650 words in which you respond to one of seven available prompts. This essay goes to all colleges on your list, so it must be universal yet deeply personal.

How to Write an Essay That Stands Out Among Thousands?

Admissions officers at selective universities read thousands of essays annually. They spend only a few minutes on each text. Your essay must, from the first sentence, say: “Keep reading, this story is worth your time.”

Fundamental principles:

1. Show, don’t tell. Don’t write: “I am a brave person.” Describe a scene where your bravery is evident. Concrete details > abstract declarations.
2. Tell one story, don’t summarize your CV. An essay is not a list of achievements. It’s a single window through which the reader sees who you truly are.
3. Be authentic. If the admissions committee feels the essay was written by someone else (parents, tutor, AI), it’s over. Write in your own voice, in your own words.
4. Show reflection. Simply describing an event is not enough. Show how that event changed your way of thinking, your values, your goals.
5. Start with a specific scene. “I was born in Warsaw” is a dead start. “The smell of burnt pierogi filled the kitchen as my grandmother tried to explain quantum physics in Polish, the only language she spoke, and the one in which the world made more sense to me,” that’s an opening that sticks in the memory.
6. Write many drafts. A good essay requires 5-10 drafts. The first version is always a rough draft. Ask for feedback, put it aside for a week, and return with fresh eyes.

Looking for a more in-depth guide on essay writing? Read our comprehensive guide to application essays and guide to writing a perfect essay. If you’re aiming for Stanford, be sure to also check out how to write a Stanford application essay that makes an impression.

Additional Information Section: An Underrated Asset

The “Additional Information” section in the Common App gives you 650 extra words for context that you couldn’t fit into other parts of the form. For Polish applicants, this is a strategically crucial section because it allows you to explain things that an American committee might not understand.

What to include here:

• Explanation of the Polish grading system: “Polish grading scale: 6 (Excellent), highest grade, equivalent to A; 5 (Very Good) – equivalent to B+/A-; 4 (Good): B; 3 (Satisfactory) – C; 2 (Sufficient): D; 1 (Unsatisfactory) – F. Grades above 4.5 average place a student in the top 10-15% of the class.”
• Context of the Polish Matura exam: “The Polish Matura is a national examination taken by all high school graduates in Poland. I will take extended (advanced) exams in [subjects], scored on a 0-100% scale. Results above 90% are typically achieved by the top 5-10% of students nationally.”
• Extenuating circumstances: If your grades dropped during a specific period due to illness, family situation, or another factor, this is the place to explain it. Be factual and concise. Don’t seek sympathy; simply provide context.
• Additional achievements: If you couldn’t fit all your activities into the Activities section (10 is often not enough!), you can list more here, but concisely.

What NOT to include:

• A second personal essay. This is not the place for another story about yourself.
• A list of excuses. “I didn’t have time for volunteering because the Matura exam is hard to pass,” no.
• Repetitions from other sections. If something is already in Activities or an essay, don’t rewrite it.

College-Specific Supplements: ‘Why X?’ and Other Additional Essays

After completing the main Common App form, each college on your list may have additional questions and essays (supplemental essays). These essays go only to that specific college, unlike the personal essay, which is shared.

Types of common supplements:

“Why [University Name]?”, the most common and important supplement. The university wants to know why you specifically chose them. This is not a question about rankings. It’s a question about fit: what specific programs, professors, labs, clubs, or research opportunities attract you?

How to write a good “Why Us?”:

• List specific resources: “Professor Smith’s research on computational linguistics in the Department of Computer Science aligns directly with my interest in NLP, which I explored during my internship at [company].”
• Don’t write about the weather, location, or ranking. “I want to attend MIT because it’s the best university in the world” = immediate substantive rejection.
• Connect resources with your goals: It’s not enough to say what the university has; show how you will use these resources to achieve your plans.

“Why this major?”, why this field of study? Show the genesis of your interest and the specific steps you’ve taken to develop it.

Short Answer Prompts, e.g., “What do you do for fun?” (Yale), “Write a letter to your future roommate” (Stanford), “What is your favorite word and why?” (UVA). Each university has its own specifics; check the requirements after adding the school to your list in the Common App.

Recommenders and FERPA Waiver

Inviting Recommenders

Through the “Recommenders and FERPA” tab, you invite people who will write your recommendation letters. The Common App allows you to invite:

• Counselor (mandatory), in the Polish system: homeroom teacher or principal
• Teacher Recommenders (2, sometimes 3), subject teachers
• Other Recommenders (optional), e.g., an external mentor, internship supervisor

Important: Invite recommenders before you start submitting applications. Recommenders receive an email with a link to the Common App, where they complete a form and paste/upload their letter. The letters go directly to the universities; you do not see them (if you sign the FERPA waiver).

FERPA Waiver

The Common App will ask you to sign a FERPA waiver, a statement that you waive your right to view your recommendation letters. Definitely sign it. Letters that the committee knows the applicant will not see have significantly greater credibility. Refusing to sign the waiver is a red flag for universities, suggesting that you don’t trust your recommenders.

How to Help Polish Teachers Write an Effective Recommendation?

Polish teachers rarely write recommendation letters in the American style. Here’s how to help them:

1. Provide a “brag sheet”: a list of your achievements, projects completed in their classes, specific situations they can describe.
2. Explain what colleges are looking for: specific anecdotes, not general praise. “Jan is a diligent student” is not enough. “When the class struggled with organic chemistry, Jan stayed after school three times a week to organize peer study sessions that improved the class average by 15%,” that’s a recommendation.
3. Give them time: at least 4-6 weeks. It’s best to ask at the end of the penultimate year (11th grade) or at the very beginning of the final year (12th grade).
4. Help with the format: show them examples of American recommendation letters available online.

Submission: Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision

Once everything is filled out, it’s time to submit your application. The Common App allows you to submit your application separately to each college on your list. Before clicking “Submit,” a summary appears with the option to review.

A Few Key Submission Rules:

• You submit separately to each college. You can submit an application to Harvard on November 1st (EA) and to another university on January 1st (RD) from the same account.
• Once submitted, you cannot edit. Check everything before clicking Submit. Typos, name errors, incorrect SAT scores – you cannot fix these.
• Recommenders can submit materials after your Submission. You don’t have to wait for a teacher to send a letter; you can submit, and the recommender will send their part later (but, of course, before the deadline).
• Confirmation: After submitting, you will receive a confirmation email. If you don’t receive it, check your spam folder. If still nothing, contact Common App support.

Application Fees and Fee Waivers

Each college on the Common App charges an application fee, usually $50-$90 USD per school. If you apply to 10-15 colleges, these costs can range from $500-$1,350 USD (approx. €460-€1,250), even before adding exam costs and score report sending fees.

How to Get a Fee Waiver?

The Common App offers a built-in fee waiver for candidates with difficult financial situations, including international students. To qualify, you must meet one of several criteria (e.g., difficult financial situation confirmed by a school counselor). In the “Profile” section, you select “Yes” for the fee waiver question and sign a statement.

For Polish applicants: You can ask your homeroom teacher, school principal, or an EducationUSA advisor to confirm your financial situation. However, remember that individual universities may have their own rules regarding accepting fee waivers from international students; not every school is obligated to honor it.

It’s also worth checking if the university offers its own fee waiver. Some schools (e.g., Colby, Tulane, Johns Hopkins) periodically waive fees for all applicants or offer promotional codes.

You can find more about financing studies in the USA (including scholarships for Poles) in our detailed guide to scholarships.

Common Mistakes by Polish Applicants in the Common App

After several years of working with Polish students applying to US universities, recurring patterns of mistakes are clearly visible. Here is a list of the most common ones and how to avoid them.

How College Council Can Help You?

Filling out the Common App is a process where every detail matters, from the order of activities, through 150-character descriptions, to a 650-word essay that needs to show who you are. Polish candidates face additional challenges: an unfamiliar grading system, the lack of a “school counselor,” and the need to translate the Polish educational context into language understandable to American committees.

College Council is a team of advisors specializing in applications to American and European universities. We work with Polish students at every stage of the process:

• Application strategy: we build a balanced list of universities (reach/match/safety), plan the timeline, and help choose the optimal application type (ED/EA/RD) for your situation.
• Essay preparation: we guide you from brainstorming through multiple drafts to the final text. We don’t write for you; we help you extract your authentic story and present it in the strongest possible way.
• SAT preparation: individualized exam preparation with native speakers and proven methods.
• Common App section assistance: verification of Activities, Additional Information, checking the consistency of the entire application.
• Counselor coaching: we help Polish homeroom teachers understand Common App requirements and prepare effective documents.

If you would like to discuss your application, contact us. The first consultation is free.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Read Also

If this guide was helpful to you, here are more articles that will assist you in the US university application process:

• The US University Application Process, a Complete Step-by-Step Guide: the entire process from A to Z: university research, documents, deadlines, visas
• US University Application Essays, a Comprehensive Guide: how to write essays that open doors to top universities
• The SAT Exam, Everything You Need to Know in 2026: format, registration, preparation, score strategy
• Scholarships for Studying in the USA for Poles, a Detailed Guide: how to finance American studies