Most high school seniors use the Common Application to apply to colleges. Since over 1000 schools now use this application, students can apply to multiple schools with one application. That doesn’t mean your student should “phone it in”, however. Taking the Common App seriously is the first step in completing an application that will help you stand out and receive an offer of admission.

Here are ten tips that will help your student ace the Common App this year:

1. Start early and familiarize yourself with the application

It’s a good idea to review the Common Application website. Students can now access the site, log in and start an application any time during their high school career. The Common App rollover feature allows students to use the information from one year to the next and, in theory, allows you to begin to work on the Common App as early as freshman year. But that’s not to say students should start that early. Familiarize yourself with the App, but wait until junior or senior year to start completion.

2. Double check deadlines with the college website

The Common App provides students with an application requirements grid in a downloadable PDF format. This is information on all of the participating schools’ deadlines and application requirements. This information has been wrong in the past so it’s important to double check with the college’s website to verify the information is correct. Colleges will also send email notifications to interested students regarding upcoming deadlines or corrections in the information.

3. Take your time and pay attention

As you complete the application, additional questions will often pop up regarding your answers. Verify you are completing the proper information and don’t make the mistake of answering the wrong prompt or choosing the incorrect option.

4. Write and edit offline

It’s a good practice to prepare your personal statement, activities section and any writing supplements offline. This way, you can use a spell and grammar checker and make any corrections that might be necessary before importing them into the application itself. Doing this will also help you stay within the designated word counts. Once you are satisfied with your writing, it will be easy to copy and paste your information into the Common Application.

5. Pay attention to the order in which you list items

List your most impressive classes and extracurricular activities first. Remember that colleges are looking for sustained commitment. Don’t waste the space listing unimportant activities that fail to show this level of involvement.

6. Report your best scores if possible

The Common Application will ask you which test scores you want to report to each specific college. When given the option, always report your best scores. Each college has different requirements, however; it’s important to tailor your score report to each college you apply to. Edit the test page for each college to satisfy their requirements while providing the best picture of your standardized test scores. Don’t forget to send your official score reports to each college.

7. Don’t forget to add recommenders

Naviance makes it easy for the teachers who submit recommendation letters for you to the colleges. If your school doesn’t use Naviance, you can easily assign recommenders in the Common App and they can submit their letter online, or print out the forms and mail them. You can keep track of submitted letters on your dashboard.

8. Before submitting, review all aspects of the application

Carefully review a PDF copy of your application before submitting it. Look for formatting issues resulting from copying and pasting. Make the necessary corrections before submitting. Once you have submitted the application along with payment, you will see a confirmation on your dashboard that it has been submitted.

9. If additional supplements are necessary, submit according to directions

Some colleges will ask for additional writing or arts supplements. Be aware of these requirements and submit them as directed. It’s also important to note that anytime something is listed as “optional” on the application, you should strongly consider submitting it. These items could help your student stand out from the rest of the applicant pool.

10. Beware the technical glitches

In the past, the Common App site has crashed during the height of the early application season. As you can imagine, this caused quite a panic among students as many were unable to login and submit their applications on time. The moral of this story? Don’t wait until the last minute before the deadline to submit your Common Application. Give yourself plenty of time to troubleshoot any issues that might arise.