Common App for International Students, Step by Step

Common App for International Students, Step by Step

Fill in the Common App from three documents: your passport, your transcript with its legend, and your school's own grading scale. Type your legal name exactly as it appears on official documents, report marks on your school's scale without converting them, and keep the essay to 650 words and each activity description to 150 characters.

Our view: the international mistakes that cost the most time are not essay mistakes. They are mismatches. Your counselor's School Report asks for your legal name, your school's CEEB code, your class size, your class rank and your GPA scale, and so does your own application. When the two disagree, someone has to work out which one is true. This page covers the sections that work differently when your school is outside the US. When you reach the Writing section, you can check a draft against the Common App narrative craft rubric for free.

Every Common App and college page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026. We found no 2026–27 printable form, so field wording comes from Common App's 2025–26 printable application and School Report, plus its May 21, 2026 briefing on 2026–27 changes. Recheck each field in your own account.

Before you start: keep three documents open

Open these before you type anything:

Before you fill the forms, see how US colleges evaluate international applicants: five colleges' own words on reading your record in context.

1. Your passport. It sets your legal name, its spelling and its order.
2. Your transcript and its legend. The legend is the key that explains your school's marks. Common App's School Report asks your counselor to attach your "current or most recent official transcript, including courses in progress and a transcript legend" (Common App School Report, 2025–26).
3. Your school profile, if your school has one. Counselors "have the option to attach a school profile" (same form). It tells colleges your school's scale, size and curriculum.

The rule for every field below: if a document already says it, copy the document. Do not improve, translate or round it.

Profile: legal name, preferred name and citizenship

The legal name fields are First/given, Middle and Last/family/surname, with the instruction "(Enter name exactly as it appears on official documents.)" (Common App 2025–26 printable application). A separate field asks for a "Different first name that people call you". That is where an English name goes. The form also asks for "Former legal name(s)" and whether you have "any materials under another name".

NYU Shanghai's how-to-apply page puts it more bluntly: "Use your name exactly as it appears on your passport or birth certificate on your application and supporting documents" (NYU Shanghai, How to apply, no year stated). For family-name order, pinyin spacing and what to do when your transcript uses characters, see our guide to your Chinese name on the Common App.

Citizenship. For 2026–27, Common App says "Students will see revised language and in-app guidance to make the citizenship status question easier to answer correctly", including relabelling the "U.S. resident" option as "U.S. resident with other status" (Common App, What's new for 2026–27, May 21, 2026). The 2025–26 form told international students living in the US to "select 'Citizen of a non-U.S. country'" when the listed statuses do not apply. Students abroad on a non-US passport choose the same option.

Education: your school, its CEEB code and the gap-year boxes

The Education section asks for your "Current or most recent secondary/high school" with a "CEEB code" field, plus Country and State/province fields (2025–26 printable). The CEEB code is the College Board's school code. The School Report asks your counselor for the same code.

Common App's help-center article on what to do when your school is not in the search would not load for us without a browser on October 30, 2026, so we do not quote its procedure here. Our recommendation instead: before you type a school name, ask your school official which school record and code past applicants from your school used, and pick that same entry. Never pick a different school with a similar name just to fill the field. Your counselor enters the school's name and code on the School Report, so a lookalike school on your side is a record their form will not match.

• The School Report asks a question you won't see: "Is your school located outside of the United States? If you answer yes, please complete the international supplement." Your counselor answers it, not you.
• Progression boxes. The form asks whether you "Did or will graduate early", "graduate late", "take time off" or "take gap year", and says to "provide details in the additional information section." If you repeated a year, changed tracks or are taking a gap year for an exam or for national service, tick the box and write two factual sentences in Additional Information.

Grades: report your school's scale, do not convert

The Grades section asks for "Graduating class size (approx.)", "Class rank reporting (if available)", "GPA scale reporting", "Cumulative GPA" and whether it is weighted (2025–26 printable). Your counselor's School Report asks "Do you report GPA?", the "GPA scale", the "School's passing mark" and the "Highest grade/GPA in class", and how your school reports class rank: "Exact Decile Quintile Quartile None".

The University of California, which uses its own application, states the principle plainly for international applicants: "Record all courses and marks/grades earned exactly as reported by the international school — whether as numbers, letters, percentages or words" (UC, Applying for admission: international applicants).

Our view: never convert a percentage or 100-point average to a 4.0 GPA yourself. Your counselor will report your school's real scale and passing mark on the School Report, and your transcript shows the original marks. A homemade 4.0 is the one number on your file that matches neither. The countercase: if your school itself publishes a 4.0 GPA on the transcript, as some international schools do, report that number, because then it is your school's number, not yours. For scale-by-scale detail, see how to explain your grading scale to US colleges.

Constructed example: one 100-point record, entered two ways

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's record. Context (invented): a student in the international division of a Shanghai public high school. The transcript shows 100-point marks with a passing mark of 60. The school does not rank and does not calculate a GPA.

The wrong column is not dishonest. Each guess is simply a number the counselor's form will not match.

Testing: gaokao, Suneung and English tests

The Testing section says you may "self-report scores or future test dates for any of the following standardized tests: ACT, SAT/SAT Subject, AP, IB, TOEFL, PTE Academic, IELTS, and Senior Secondary Leaving Examinations," and that this is "In addition to sending official score reports as required by colleges" (2025–26 printable). China's gaokao or Korea's Suneung belongs in the Senior Secondary Leaving Examinations row. If you have not sat it yet, list the future date or leave it out. Never estimate a score.

For 2026–27, Common App says it "Updated testing fields to allow students to accurately self-report their score results for" the Duolingo English Test, PTE Academic and TOEFL iBT (What's new for 2026–27). Which colleges require an English test, and which waive it, varies by college: see TOEFL and Duolingo requirements at US colleges.

Activities and experiences: what changed for 2026–27

Common App renamed the section "Activities and experiences" for 2026–27. The "position/leadership" field "will become optional", and "Character limits for activity names, roles, and descriptions will not change" (What's new for 2026–27). Those limits, from Common App's activities guide, are 50 characters for position, 100 for organization name and 150 for the description, and "You can add up to ten activities" (Common App, Approaching the Activities section).

The section's own examples are "clubs, extracurriculars, family responsibilities, hobbies, work, or volunteering." Clubs are one item on that list, not the whole list. If your school has none, read Common App activities when your school has no clubs. For field-by-field drafting, use Common App activities examples.

Writing: the 650-word essay and the two context boxes

• Personal essay. "Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words." Common App says the "2026–2027 essay prompts remain the same" (What's new for 2026–27); all seven are on our 2026–27 Common App prompts page.
• Challenges and circumstances. The 2025–26 form lists "Community disruption (violence, protests, teacher strikes, etc.)" and "War, conflict, or other hardships" among its examples, with "Max word count: 250". The only 2026–27 change Common App announced to this question is wording: "'caretaking' to 'caregiving'".
• Additional information. "You have the option to share any additional details or qualifications not reflected in the application ... Max word count: 300" (2025–26 form). This is where your gap-year, repeated-year or track-change sentences go. What belongs there and what doesn't is on Common App Additional Information: what belongs.

For how to write the essay itself when your school taught a different genre, see the genre guide.

School forms when your school has never used Common App

The School Report tells you: "send this form to your secondary/high school counselor or another school official" (School Report, 2025–26). "Another school official" matters. A head of the international division, a class teacher with an official role or a registrar can do this job when nobody is titled "counselor". Ask in September, not December: they may also need to write the transcript legend and a school profile.

Two guides cover this from each side: applying to US colleges without a counselor for students, and the Common App School Report for international schools for the school official filling it in.

Deadlines in your time zone

Common App's help-center answer on deadline time zones would not load for us without a browser on October 30, 2026, so we do not quote it. A college can set its own cut-off, and some do it in US time. NYU Shanghai's how-to-apply page lists its deadlines and says: "The cut-off time for applications is 11:59 p.m EST" (NYU Shanghai, no year stated).

Here is what that cut-off means where you live, taking EST as UTC−5 (our arithmetic):

Our recommendation: treat each deadline as a date in your own time zone and submit one full day early. That removes the US-time risk entirely.

After you submit: the international checklist

The application itself warns: "I understand that once my application has been submitted it may not be altered in any way; I will need to contact the institution directly if I wish to provide additional information" (2025–26 signature section). What usually follows for an international applicant:

Before you pay, check the Common App fee waiver for international students: some colleges marked 'Accepted' on the grid say on their own pages that international applicants are not eligible.

1. Financial aid forms, if you need aid at all. Johns Hopkins says international students who need aid "must indicate this on the admissions application and submit the CSS Profile and COF", and that "International students who do not apply for financial aid as a first-year applicant will not be able to apply for aid later" (Johns Hopkins, International applicants). See need-aware financial aid for international applicants.
2. Financial documentation for Early Decision. Boston University says ED and ED2 applicants "are required to submit their financial documentation by the application deadline" and that "the Board of Admissions will not be able to proceed with an academic review of your application without the above documents" (BU, International applicants).
3. Translations. NYU Shanghai's page says: "Include an official English translation if the document isn't in English. A school official or a translation agency accredited in the country of the educational institution can issue the translation."
4. Official scores sent from the testing agency to each college that requires them.

The mismatch audit: run it before you pay

Ten minutes, before you press submit for the first college:

1. Your legal name matches your passport in spelling and order.
2. Your English name, if you use one, appears only in the "Different first name" field.
3. Your school entry and code are the ones your school official will use on the School Report.
4. Class size and rank match the school profile, or rank says none when your school does not rank.
5. No mark on the page has been converted. If you entered a GPA, your school publishes it.
6. Every course name matches the transcript.
7. Every self-reported score matches the score report, or is left blank.
8. Each ticked progression box has a matching sentence in Additional Information.
9. Your aid answer is final for every college that says aid cannot be requested later.
10. Every deadline on your list is written down in your own local time, one day early.

If any item fails, fix it now. After submission, the only route is the college itself.

Questions about the Common App for international students

Should I convert my grades to a 4.0 GPA on the Common App?

No. Report your school's scale. Your counselor reports the scale, passing mark and highest grade on the School Report, and UC tells international applicants to record marks "exactly as reported by the international school". The exception is a GPA your school itself prints on the transcript.

Do I need a CEEB code if my school is outside the US?

The form has a CEEB code field, and the School Report asks your counselor for the same code. Ask your school official which code and school record your school uses. We could not load Common App's help-center procedure for schools that are not listed, so we do not describe it.

Where do I put my gaokao or Suneung score?

In the Senior Secondary Leaving Examinations row of the Testing section, if you want to self-report it. It is optional to self-report, and it does not replace an official result where a college asks for one. UC is not on the Common App; it has its own application and a November 30 deadline.

Get a free review of your Common App essay

Get a free Quick Review of your Common App essay against GradPilot's narrative craft rubric. It reads for one developed moment, details that shape the story, and reflection that shows how you think. The same free review works on your activities with the Common App activities list rubric, and on your gap-year or school-system note with the Additional Information rubric. More options are on the Common App essay review page.

More guides for international applicants:

• Common App Family section: Parent 1, Parent 2 and guardians, from Common App's own wording.
• All Common App essay guides: the full hub.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• Common App, 2025–26 first-year application, printable PDF (hosted by Harvard College; 2025–26): legal name, citizenship, Education, Grades, Testing, Activities, Responsibilities, Writing, Additional Information and signature wording.
• Common App, School Report, printable PDF (hosted by Harvard College; 2025–26): "another school official", transcript legend, school profile, GPA and rank questions, international supplement.
• Common App, What's new with Common App: 2026–27 first-year app updates (May 21, 2026): citizenship relabel, Activities rename and limits, English-test fields, "caregiving" wording.
• Common App, Approaching the Activities section (2025): 50, 100 and 150 character limits; up to ten activities.
• Common App, First-year essay prompts (2026–2027): the seven prompts.
• University of California, Applying for admission: international applicants (no cycle stated): record marks exactly as reported.
• NYU Shanghai, How to apply (no year stated): passport name, 11:59 p.m. EST cut-off, translations.
• Johns Hopkins University, International applicants (no cycle stated): aid must be requested as a first-year applicant; CSS Profile and COF.
• Boston University, International applicants (no cycle stated): ED financial documentation by the application deadline.
• Not retrieved: Common App help-center articles on deadline time zones and unlisted schools (appsupport.commonapp.org requires JavaScript; not quoted).