How This Page Is Different
The Common App Walkthrough covers the process — deadlines, portals (STARS/SPARK), and what each school requires. This page is the content checklist: for each Common App section, exactly what already exists on this dashboard to copy in, and what still needs to be created from scratch.
Use this in order. Fields with a green "Ready" tag can be copied straight from this site. Yellow "Draft Only" means the strategy/angle exists here but the actual words still need to be written. Red "Not Started" means nothing exists yet — plan time for it before August.
Site Content Inventory — What's Actually Published Right Now
As of this page's last update. Check before assuming something is "done."
| Item | Status | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Activities list — ranked order, 10 slots | Ready | qa-common-app-guide.html |
| Tennis 150-char activity description (pre-written) | Ready | qa-tennis-admissions.html |
| Honors list (AP Scholar, NRP award) | Ready | index.html — AP & Scholarships tabs |
| Counselor Summary — printable one-pager | Ready | counselor-summary.html |
| School-by-school deadline & portal checklist | Ready | qa-common-app-guide.html |
| Personal statement (650w) — actual essay text | Draft Only | No draft written yet — 3 angles chosen (qa-essay-guide.html, qa-essay-brainstorm.html) |
| UF / UCF / FSU supplemental essays — actual text | Draft Only | Prompts & strategy only — qa-essay-brainstorm.html |
| One-page resume (for FSU upload) | Not Started | Not built anywhere on this site yet |
| Family / parent education & occupation info | Not Started | Not collected anywhere on this site |
| Official transcript | N/A here | Requested from East Lake HS counselor directly — never lives on this site |
| Official SAT score send to each school | Not Started | Self-report done conceptually; official College Board send is a separate action |
Section-by-Section: What Goes Where
1. Profile
Biographical info, contact details, citizenship, demographics, geography, language
Fill Directly
Nothing on this dashboard covers this — it's pure biographical data (legal name, DOB, address, citizenship). Fill it straight into Common App on Aug 1.
Confirm First
You'll need East Lake High School's CEEB/school code when linking your school — confirm the exact code with your counselor before Aug 1 (not listed anywhere on this dashboard).
2. Family
Parents'/guardians' education & occupation, household, siblings
Not Started
Nothing about family background is on this site. This section also determines first-generation status — worth confirming as a family before Aug 1, since it's asked again on some school-specific supplements and scholarship apps.
3. Education
Schools, grades, current coursework, honors, future plans
Ready
School & grades: East Lake High School, Tarpon Springs FL · entering 12th grade Aug 2026 · graduating May 2027 · weighted GPA 4.5536. (Overview tab)
Ready
Class rank: not tracked anywhere on this site — confirm with your counselor whether East Lake reports rank (many FL public schools don't).
Ready
Completed coursework (grades 9–11): all 8 AP courses listed on the AP Courses tab — Human Geography, English Lang & Comp, Precalculus, US History, English Lit & Comp, Chemistry, Calculus AB, Seminar.
Ready
Current-year coursework (grade 12, in progress): AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Research, plus AP Psychology or its swap (CS A / Physics 1) — decide before the August course-selection deadline. (AP Courses tab)
Ready
Honors (max 5 entries on Common App): use your 2 slots for AP Scholar with Distinction (Jun 2026, National level) and College Board National Recognition Program — School Recognition Award (Jun 2026, National level). Leave the remaining 3 slots open for anything that surfaces senior year (department awards, AP Capstone Diploma once awarded, etc.) — don't force NHS/Science Honor Society/Mu Alpha Theta into Honors, they belong in Activities as memberships instead.
Decide First
Future plans / intended major: genuinely undecided on this site between pre-med and engineering (see qa-premed-major-guide.html and qa-major-fit.html). Common App lets you list a broad career interest area, but the school-specific "why this major" supplements need a real answer — settle on a lane (or a defensible dual-interest framing) before drafting those.
4. Testing
Self-reported scores + official score sends
Ready
SAT superscore: 1,440, self-report this in Common App. (Overview / SAT Strategy tabs)
Decide First
Optional Aug/Sep retake targeting 1,460+ is on the table but not required — mid-range for UF already, well above FSU/UCF/USF cutoffs. Only pursue it if essays are already on track. (SAT Strategy tab)
Not Started
Self-reporting isn't enough — official scores must be sent from College Board to each school code: UF 5812 · FSU 5219 · UCF 5233 · USF 5828. (qa-common-app-guide.html)
5. Activities (10 slots max)
Ranked list, position, description (150 chars), hours/week, weeks/year
Ready
Full ranked order is already drafted: #1 Varsity Tennis, #2 AP Research/Seminar (or Engineering Club, depending on major decision), #3 NHS, #4 Engineering Club, #5 Science Honor Society, #6 Mu Alpha Theta, #7–10 community service (234 hrs), jobs, summer programs, independent projects. (qa-common-app-guide.html)
Ready
Tennis's 150-character description is pre-written: "State qualifier; county, district, regional team champion. Maintained 4.5536 GPA through varsity competition for 4 years." (qa-tennis-admissions.html)
Draft Only
Descriptions for activities #2–10 still need to be written to the 150-character limit — only the ranking and general framing exist right now, not the final wording.
6. Writing
Personal statement (650w) + optional Additional Information (650w)
Draft Only — not written
Personal statement: no actual draft exists on this site yet. Three angles are outlined — Tennis (mental toughness/identity), Research/Inquiry (AP Seminar → AP Research), Identity/Engineering (Engineering Club + STEM). Schedule: brainstorm done in June, first full draft due July, revision in August. (Essays tab, qa-essay-guide.html, qa-essay-brainstorm.html)
Not Started
Additional Information (optional): nothing planned on this site. Consider it only if something needs context a reader wouldn't otherwise get — e.g. the AP load + 20+ hrs/wk varsity tennis time commitment. Skip it if there's nothing that adds real value; it's optional for a reason.
7. Colleges — School-Specific Supplements
Added under "My Colleges" once each school is selected in Common App
Draft Only
UF — 250-word supplement, "Why UF? Why this major?" Strategy exists (name specific programs/labs/faculty), text not written. STARS portal required separately.
Draft Only
UCF — 3 × 250-word essays (why UCF / why major / one extracurricular). Write all three — treat as required, not optional. Essay 3 is the natural home for a tennis story. Strategy exists in qa-essay-brainstorm.html, text not written. SPARK portal required separately.
Check Closer to Aug
FSU — school-specific prompts aren't finalized on this site; FSU typically releases/confirms its Common App prompts around when the app opens. Check admissions.fsu.edu in late July/August. FSU also wants a resume upload (not yet built — see below). STARS portal required separately.
Ready — nothing extra needed
USF — no supplemental essay beyond the personal statement. Separate Judy Genshaft Honors College application is worth completing given the profile fit; merit scholarship consideration needs the app in before Jan 15, 2027.
8. Recommenders & Counselor
Invited through Common App, not written by the student
Ready
Invite 2 teacher recommenders + counselor by mid-August — STEM teachers are the suggested fit given the profile. Hand your counselor the printable Counselor Summary — it already has GPA, AP history, activities, honors, target schools, and requested action items in one page.
Adjacent: FSU Resume Upload
Not a Common App field, but requested alongside the FSU application
Not Started
Nothing built yet. Once the Activities list and Honors entries above are finalized, a one-page resume is mostly an assembly job — AP courses, honors, activities, and tennis achievements are all already documented elsewhere on this dashboard.
Bottom Line — Biggest Gaps Right Now
- No essay text exists yet — personal statement and all three schools' supplements are strategy-only. This is the single largest remaining piece of work.
- Major/track undecided (pre-med vs. engineering) — blocks writing a real "why this major" answer for UF and UCF.
- Family section has zero content anywhere on this site — needs a direct family conversation, not a dashboard lookup.
- Resume for FSU hasn't been built — low effort once essays/activities are locked, but don't leave it for the last week.