How to Use AI for the Common App Additional Information Section

The Additional Information section is the most misused box on the Common App. Students treat it as a bonus essay and cram in a second personal statement. It is not that. As of the 2025-2026 cycle the box is capped at 300 words, cut from 650 because colleges said longer entries just repeated the rest of the application. Used right, AI helps you make two decisions here: whether you need this section at all, and how to say the necessary thing in as few words as possible.

I’m Nico. I’ve coached over 200 students into nearly every top 100 school in the country. Here is the honest use of AI on this section.

First, decide if you even need it

The section is optional, and for most students the best entry is nothing. It exists for facts that do not fit anywhere else and that a reader would genuinely want before deciding: a gap in your transcript, an unusual grading system, a major disruption, a commitment that explains a thin activities list. There is also now a separate “Challenges and Circumstances” section for hardships, so personal adversity often belongs there instead.

Prompt: “Here is a fact about my situation: [describe it]. My application already shows [summary]. Do not write anything yet. Tell me honestly whether this belongs in the Additional Information section, the Challenges and Circumstances section, or nowhere because it is already covered. Explain why.”

If AI, being honest, says it is already covered, leave the box blank. A weak entry is worse than an empty one.

If you do need it, write tight and factual

This section rewards a plain, informational tone, not storytelling. Context, briefly, then stop.

Prompt: “Help me state this in under 300 words for a college Additional Information box: [the facts]. Keep it factual and calm, no sob story, no padding. Lead with the most important fact. Do not editorialize about how it affected me unless it is essential.”

Then trim it yourself. If a sentence is not giving the reader a fact they need, cut it.

The traps to avoid

• Writing a second essay. This is not the place to show voice or tell a story. It is a place to give facts.
• Repeating the application. If it is already visible in your grades, activities, or essay, do not restate it here.
• Over-explaining hardship. Brief and matter-of-fact reads as stronger than a long emotional account, and the Challenges and Circumstances section may be the better home for it.

Where AdmissionsOS fits

Sol, the AI college counselor inside AdmissionsOS, is built to give you the honest answer most students do not get here: whether you need this section at all, and if so, how to say it in the fewest words. It knows what your application already shows, so it can tell you when something is redundant and help you keep the necessary facts tight, factual, and under the limit.

Not sure if you need it? Start with AdmissionsOS.