Every single student has been affected by COVID and colleges understand this. You want to write essays that stand out, so writing about a common experience, even in these uncommon times, is not the way to do it. That said, the impact of the coronavirus will most likely make it into your application. Did you do something to help others during this time? Were you supposed to play in a concert that got cancelled due to COVID? You can put those things in your activities list. Does staying home all summer give context to a story you want to tell? Work that into your essay.

However, if you were significantly affected by COVID, there are specific places to tell those stories. The Common App will have a new optional question on this year’s application:

“Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces.

Do you wish to share anything on this topic? Y/N

Please use this space to describe how these events have impacted you.”

The question will appear in the Additional Information section of the application, and your answer will be limited to 250 words.

The Coalition App, too, will offer students the opportunity to disclose any hardships brought on by the virus:

“An optional checkbox-style question will allow them to choose the statements that describe how COVID-19 has affected their ability to engage in schoolwork. Statements cover a range of impacts, allowing students to indicate whether they’ve dealt with unreliable access to the internet or a home computer, for example, or if they or a parent or guardian have suffered job loss or been designated as an essential worker. An optional text field will be available for students who choose to say more.”

And the University of California gives this advice (emphasis added):

“Recall that individuals from around the world have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. If you or your family has been significantly impacted, consider using the Additional Comments section to share any unusual, rare or exceptional information. The PIQs are best utilized to share individual student information to help admission readers hear the students in their own words, learn about the students achievement, perspective and environment that cannot or has not been shared in other parts of the application.”

Answers have a 550-word limit (note that answers to the Personal Insight Questions are limited to 350 words).

So, you could write a very impactful statement about how COVID has affected you, but be mindful when determining if it’s appropriate.

UPDATE. March 18, 2021. The New York Times published this article that includes samples of student responses to the 2020 Common App optional question: “‘When Normal Life Stopped’: College Essays Reflect a Turbulent Year,” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/17/us/covid-college-admissions.html?searchResultPosition=1

Additional Resources

Coalition for College. “Coalition Adds Application Question to Help Students and Counselors Address the Pandemic.” June 2, 2020. https://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/news-announcements/coalition-adds-application-question-to-help-students-and-counselors-address-the-pandemic.

Common App. “COVID-19 Question on 2020-2021 Common App.” May 12, 2020. https://www.commonapp.org/blog/COVID-19-question-common-app.

Franek, Robert. College Admissions During COVID: How to Navigate the New Challenges in Admissions, Testing, Financial Aid, and More. New York: Penguin Random House, 2020.