The
Common
Application –
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
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.
Application Deadlines
For Transfer Applications
• Spring 2014 = October 15, 2013
This is a postmarked deadline for ALL materials to be received
Late Spring apps will be reviewed on a space & funds available basis
• Fall 2014 = March 15, 2014*
1. Wait until your Fall 2013 grades are posted before applying for the following Fall
2. March 15 is a postmark deadline for ALL materials to be received
3. Late Fall apps will be reviewed on a space & funds available basis
You must submit your application online.
If you are having difficulties with online submission :
1. Check The Common Application’s Help Center Knowledgebase
2. Call the Office of Admission at 714-997-6711 or 1-888-CU-APPLY we will
assist in any way we can.
3. If you have been unable to resolve issue, please email
appsupport@commonapp.net, and they will address the situation.
Application Check List
• ACCESS all materials through commonapp.org.
• COMPLETE The Transfer Common Application, Chapman University Writing Supplement and $65
application fee requirements.
• INVITE an Academic Evaluator through the Assign Recommenders section
onCommonApp.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. Only one letter is required.
• INVITE a Registrar through the Assign Recommenders section onCommonApp.org. You must
assign a Registrar (aka college official-counselor, mentor, registrar). The Registrar Report is
NOT required for applicants applying to Chapman but CommonApp will require you to assign
an advocate/school official that Chapman could contact should they have questions.
• SEND official college transcripts and high school transcripts(if applicable), SAT or ACT with
Writing scores (if applicable) and available AP/IB scores. If at the time you hit submit on your
application you have less than 24 college units completed, an official SAT /ACT score is
required. If at the time you hit submit on your application you have less than 60 college units
completed, your official final high school transcript is required.
• COMPLETE the Art Supplement via SlideRoom through CommonApp.org if required by your
major. (Art, Dance, Music, Theatre, and any major in the Dodge College of Film and Media
Arts.)
• CONTACT the Office of Admission if you have questions or concerns.
714-997-6711 or 1-888-CU-APPLY.
• REVIEW your application thoroughly to make sure you’re happy with your efforts.
• SUBMIT your complete application to Chapman.
The
Common Application (CA4)
Step by step
A. Fill out The Common Application
B.
Fill out the Chapman University Writing Supplement
C. Complete the Art Supplement linked from The Common App
on SlideRoom (if applying to Art, Dance, Music, Theatre, or
any major within the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts)
D. Submit Common App, Pay the Application Fee & Sign
Common App (type in your name) and press submit
E.
Submit Chapman University Writing Supplement – Verify, Sign
(type in your name) and press submit
F.
Submit the Art Supplement (if applying to Art, Dance, Music,
Theatre, or any major within the Dodge College of Film and
Media Arts)
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 Chapman 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
5 sections,
you will
notice green
check marks
appear to the
right, and
finally on the
Questions tab
to the left
when you are
ready to
move on to…
My Colleges - Chapman University
•
An Art Supplement Submission is Required for all Talent Majors
Under My Colleges, from the Questions Tab,
on the General page
you will find the following question:
“Do you intend to submit
an Art Supplement
so that your special talent in one or more of
the arts will be considered as part of the admission process to
Chapman University?”
You MUST answer YES to this question,
or you will not be shown an
Art Supplement Tab
and you will be unable to apply to any of these majors:
Art * Dance * (Any Major in Dodge) * Music * Theatre
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. Only one letter is required.
For each person invited you must:
1. Click Send Invite
2. Click Assign
Recommender Invitations: Registrar
*Send a separate email to the Registrar(s) to let them know that you will be requesting
a hard copy of the transcript for Chapman through their school’s official channels.
Be sure to follow through with these order(s) with the Registrar’s Office at each of your schools.
INVITE a Registrar through the Assign Recommenders section on The Common Application:
You must assign a Registrar (college official, counselor, mentor, or registrar).
The Registrar Report itself is NOT required for applicants to Chapman, but The Common
Application will require you to assign a school official that Chapman could follow up with
should they find they have questions. You will not be allowed to proceed to submit without
inviting the Registrar(s) & Recommender(s) via The Common App!
Assign Recommenders: … Forms
If you have fewer than 60 transferable semester
credits completed the moment you hit ‘Submit’
(do not count current semester courses)
Then you must send in your Final High School
Transcript.
The PDF ‘offline form’ will print with the
Common Application ID# in the
upper right hand corner as well as at the bottom.
Please include form when requesting your official
transcript for Chapman University.
Receiving this form along with an official transcript
will help us get everything squared away as
documents arrive at Chapman, even should the High
School Guidance Office chose not to complete it.
We do not require this form, but we do
need the Final HS Transcript if you have
fewer than 60 semester credits posted to
your college transcripts.
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
You will still need to have official scores sent to Chapman
if you have fewer than 24 credits posted to your transcripts.
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 &
Art Supplement, and return to submit at
another time. Note that you will need to
submit the Common App before you can
submit either the Writing Supplement or
the Art 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. (see slide 2)
My Colleges: Writing Supplement
(200 words or fewer) *
The writing supplement also includes
15 questions requiring brief responses,
such as ‘Please list three words to
describe yourself’ and ‘What is a
super power you wish you had?
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
My Colleges:
Art Supplement
If applying to Art, Dance, Music, Theatre, or any major within the
Dodge College of Film and Media Arts,
you will see the following message from the Art Supplement tab:
Art Supplement / SlideRoom: Forms
Find your major, click on the link, and create your SlideRoom account.
(Penelope Panther is applying to transfer into Film Production for Fall 2014)
Even though there is now a
green check by Film
Production Supplement …
Penelope is NOT done …
she still has to upload her
video from the Media tab.
Continue to the next
screen for further
instructions regarding video
essay.
Art Supplement/SlideRoom: Media
(Penelope Panther is applying to transfer into Film Production for Fall 2014)
Media Upload
(Penelope Panther is applying to transfer into Film Production for Fall 2014)
Add a title to your media …
Having trouble? Contact SlideRoom email support:
Monday – Saturday, 9am – 9pm Central Time
support@slideroom.com
Art Supplement … (not ready to submit)
(Penelope Panther is applying to transfer into Film Production for Fall 2014)
The Common Application itself must be submitted
before you will be able to submit your Art Supplement via SlideRoom
(There are a few exception)
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, and that
nothing has been truncated.
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.
Talent Majors: Return to SlideRoom
SlideRoom
will verify
that your
Application
has been
submitted.
Review
and check
for errors …
then
pay
and
submit.
Non-Talent Majors
Majors that do not require
an Art Supplement
are now finished with
The Common Application online.
Have all of your supplemental materials sent to the Office of
Admission
-Use the Application Checklist (Slide 5) as your guide.
How do I know you received my application?
-After we have downloaded your materials from The Common Application Online (CA4),
your file will enter the processing stage. A confirmation letter and a list of any missing
documents will be sent after your application has been processed.
Note: Due to the high volume of applications it can take a significant
amount of time before you receive confirmation from Chapman.
How do I know I submitted the application by the deadline?
-If your application & supplement are listed as “submitted” on the Common App website by
the deadline, you will have made it on time. The date of submission is imprinted on all of The
Common Application pages themselves, and those are the dates we use, not the date we
process, or add it to your file, which can be much later.
Note: The Common App (CA4) is on GMT,
Thus, submitting before 4:00 pm Pacific will guarantee the correct date prints on your app
Do not send in a hard copy of your application
Do not send unofficial documents
How do I receive my username and password for WebAdvisor?
-Some days after we have downloaded your materials from The Common Application Online,
(CA4) your file will enter the processing stage. A letter will be sent via the US Mail to the address
you provided on your application. This letter will contain a user-name and a password for our
WebAdvisor system. If you have not received this information 4-6 weeks after submitting your
application, please call the Chapman ServiceDesk at 714.997.6600 and provide your Date of Birth,
Common App ID # and last four of SS# (if applicable). Allowing ample time for processing,
you will be able to monitor the status of your documents in the Office of Admission.
Web Advisor still says my documents are missing but I already submitted them!
-Normal processing time can take up to 4-6 weeks. If after that time items are still missing please
call the Admission Office before re-sending materials.
-Remember when mailing items to please list your full legal name and any additional identifying
information.
-Occasionally we receive unofficial, incomplete and/or illegible documents. It may be that
WebAdvisor is ‘missing’ an item for one of these reasons. Please be ready to resend if requested.
How can I track my admission status changes through Web Advisor?
 Status reads “Application Complete/Pending Evaluation”= All required documents are in and
review of your file is taking place to establish your GPA and transferability of credits.

Status reads “Pending Decision” = Your application is with the committee and is being
reviewed for an admission decision (this can take up to 6-8 weeks).

Status reads “Decision Reached” = A final decision has been made on your file. Please note
we will only mail out admission decisions. Decisions will not be released via phone, web or
through email.
I do hope that you found the tutorial helpful!
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance!
Christina Tardif 714.997.6711