Common
Application –
The
A Tutorial for Transfer Students
Spring/Fall 2014
System Requirements
Only the following operating systems and browsers are supported:
PC (Windows Vista/7)
•
Do NOT use Google Chrome!
•
Current version of Firefox
•
Internet Explorer 9 or higher
Mac (OS X Tiger / Leopard / Snow Leopard)
•
Do NOT use Google Chrome
•
Current version of Firefox
•
Safari 5.1 or higher
Regardless of browser, please make sure the following browser settings are correct:
•
Javascript must be enabled
•
Cookies must be enabled
•
Popup blockers must be disabled
Other Software needed:
To view and print PDF files we recommend Adobe Reader 10 or higher. While PDF files should work
with most other PDF viewers, The Common App can only guarantee full compatibility and support
for Adobe Reader 10 or higher.
Email:
If your email offers a whitelist, please add the following address:
appsupport@commonapp.net
Application Check List
• ACCESS all materials through commonapp.org.
• CHECK the application deadlines for the colleges you plan to apply to.
• COMPLETE The Transfer Common Application, Writing Supplements and
application fee requirements.
• INVITE an Academic Evaluator through the Assign Recommenders section on
commonapp.org. You must assign an Academic Evaluator (aka recommender).
That recommender can be anyone but a relative. Your recommender can then
either submit their letter through the on-line Common App form OR they can mail
in their own letter on their own letterhead to the Office of Admission.
• INVITE a Registrar through the Assign Recommenders section on
commonapp.org.
• ASSIGN a Registrar (aka college official-counselor, mentor, registrar).
• SEND official college transcripts and high school transcripts (if applicable), SAT or
ACT with Writing scores (if applicable) and available AP/IB scores.
• CONTACT the Office of Admission of the college or university that you are
applying to if you have questions or concerns.
• REVIEW your application thoroughly to make sure you’re happy with your efforts.
• SUBMIT your complete application.
Technical Problems/Issues
1st Tip for completing your Common Application:
Required responses are marked with a red asterisk * You will not be
allowed to proceed until these are addressed and/or corrected.
Email communication you receive from The Common Application’s
technical support team will come from
appsupport@commonapp.net
Please be sure to add this email address to your address book
and/or safe list to prevent the messages from being blocked
or marked as "spam."
This is especially important for AOL users.
Make sure your email address is kept accurate so that you can
receive important information about deadlines and other admission
information from the Common App or your selected institutions.
Ready to Begin!
First: Create an Account
https://controlcenter.commonapp.org/Login
Second: My Colleges
•
•
•
•
•
Under My Colleges, click on College Search
On Criteria page, type the college or University
On Result list, place a check mark, then click Add
Next, click on Result List
Repeat with the names of all your colleges
Third: Getting Started
• The Dashboard Tab shows your progress
.
yellow circles mean
Getting Started (continued)
•
Click My Colleges tab to access college supplements
My Colleges - Chapman University
•
Click on the Questions tab & you will find 5 sections:
As you
complete
each of these
five sections,
you will
notice green
check marks
appear and
finally on the
questions tab
below.
Assign Recommenders: FERPA
Complete the
FERPA
Authorization:
Only then will you
be able to send
invitations to your
recommenders
via The Common
Application. Click
‘Save’ and you
will be provided
the following
form…
Recommender Invitations: Evaluator
INVITE an Academic Evaluator through the Assign Recommenders section on The Common
Application. You must assign an Academic Evaluator (aka recommender). That
recommender can be anyone but a relative. Your recommender can then either submit their
letter through the on-line Common App form OR they can mail in their own letter on their own
letterhead to the Office of Admission.
For each person invited you must:
1. Click Send Invite
2. Click Assign
Recommender Invitations: Registrar
INVITE a Registrar through the Assign Recommenders section on The Common Application:
Submission – Common App
Still Pending -Time to go to the Common App tab and begin!
Common App
The Common Application itself has six sections:
Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities and Writing
From the Profile tab you will find 8 subsections,
beginning with Personal Information and ending with Common App Fee Waiver. Click Continue when
ready to proceed further
Common App (continued)
The six sections of The Common App:
Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities and Writing
Tip: Jump to the last tab, Colleges
and Universities, where you will be
able to tell us how many colleges
you have attended and list them in
order. (Should you need to add an
additional college, you will have to
click this tab before you can add
one.) Be sure to start with your
current school, and then list the
other in the order New/Current –
Last – Older – Oldest
For example:
College 1 2013-2014
College 2 2012-2013
College 3 2011-2012
College 4 2010-2011
…
Common App (continued)
Profile, Family, Education (continued), Testing, Activities and Writing
The Common Application requires you to list
an Advisor –
•
Please list a counselor or advisor you have worked with
at your current college
Tip: Your Secondary School is your High School
If more than one High School was attended –
• Secondary school 1 is the one from which you graduated
• Secondary school 2, the one before that …
• Secondary school 3, the one before that, and so on ...
Common App (continued)
Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities and Writing
Be sure to fill in every required field indicated by a red asterisk *, including all dates.
Common App (continued)
Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities and Writing
You will need to earn green check
marks for each of the following:
1. Personal Essay
2. Disciplinary History
3. Writing
You will not be permitted to submit your
application with an essay of fewer than 250
words and you will not be allowed to enter more
than 650 words in the Personal Essay box.
If you try, you will receive the following message:
Common App – (Submit Now or Later)
You may submit this portion now, or move
onto work on the Writing Supplement and
return to submit at another time. Note that
you will need to submit the Common App
before you can submit the Writing
Supplement.
When ready
to submit the
Common App portion of your
Application, click
Start Submission.
A PDF of your Common App
will be created.
If this takes more than a few
minutes, you will need to
update your browser to the
latest version, or go to another
computer with a fully
compatible operating system
& browser.
Chapman University Writing Supplement
This is the writing supplement for
Chapman University. Writing
supplements can vary from one
college to another. Not every
college requires a writing
supplement.
(200 words or fewer) *
There are four prompts in the
Chapman Writing section of
the Common Application with
a strict 200 word limit. You will
be unable to paste or type
more than 200 words.
My Colleges:
Submission – Common App
Submission - Writing Supplement
Dashboard Check
My Colleges
Review & Submit: go to Dashboard
When everything is
‘Ready’ click ‘Submit’
Final Review: This is the last chance to make
changes to your application.
Be sure that everything looks right.
You may print the PDF for your records, but do
not send it to Chapman University in the mail.
Application Submission: Payment
Three steps: 1 Final Review (of PDF) - 2 Payment - 3 Signature
or
The Common App Fee Waiver question can be found
on the last tab of The Common App (see slide 18)
Depending on how this section was completed, you would
received one of these messages.
Application Submission: Signature
Application Submitted …
But there is more to do!
Submission – Writing Supplement
After you click Start
Submission, another PDF
will be generated for
your review.
Be sure that everything
is as it should be,
put a check in the box,
and then click Continue.
You will then be taken to
the Signature page
Writing Supplement Submission
Read statements and then fill in the check boxes,
sign (type in your name),
and finally Submit the Writing Supplement.
Writing Supplement Submission
Click on the
Dashboard &
My Colleges tabs to
verify that you have
earned all the
green checks marks
shown on this slide.