What should a proper header look like for a college application essay?

You’re not alone in being confused about headers for Common App essays! The good news is that for most college application platforms—including the Common Application—you don’t need to include a header at the top of your essay.

When you copy and paste your essay into the application portal, your name and ID are already associated with the submission electronically. Colleges don’t expect (and in some cases specifically request that you don’t use) any extra information in the main essay text area, such as your name, high school, or even the essay prompt itself.

Here’s what to do: After writing your essay in Word, Google Docs, or another writing program, remove any headers or footers with personal info before pasting into the Common App essay textbox. Just include the essay text.

Formatting is simple:
- No name, no date, no high school, no word count, no essay title—the essay should start directly with your first sentence and flow from there.
- You don’t need to restate the prompt, since admissions officers already know it.
- If you have paragraphs, make sure there’s a clear line break between each paragraph (double spacing between paragraphs is common).

One example:

Instead of:
John Smith Smithtown High School Common App Essay 646 words Prompt #5

Growing up in a family of five, I quickly learned to cherish the small victories...

You should submit only:

Growing up in a family of five, I quickly learned to cherish the small victories...

There are rare exceptions (some schools with their own application portals may ask for a name or ID on each page for uploaded PDFs), but almost all Common App and Coalition essays are header-free in the text area. If you’re ever unsure, you can check each college’s instructions, but clean and simple is safest!

Focusing on the content and clarity of your essay will matter vastly more than the presence or absence of a header. Colleges want to evaluate your story, not your formatting skills for this section.