TRAINING MATERIALS
ARE ANY TRAINING DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
WHAT IS THE COMMON APP ONLINE SCHOOL FORMS SYSTEM?
This is an optional system by which counselors and teachers may submit supporting
documents to college admission offices electronically and at no charge to the school
official or to the student. This service allows school officials working with students
who submit applications through Common App Online the option of submitting letters
of recommendation, transcripts, school profiles, etc., electronically.
For a brief video tutorial of the online school forms system, click here:
WHICH SCHOOL FORMS MAY BE SUBMITTED ONLINE?
For teachers, the Teacher Evaluation (including an attached letter of
recommendation) may be submitted online. For counselors, the Secondary School Report
(including transcript, attached letter of recommendation, and optional attached
school profile), the Midyear Report (including transcript), the Final Report
(including transcript), the Homeschool Supplement (if applicable), and the International
Supplement (if applicable). The ED Agreement may also be submitted online for those
members accepting it electronically.
MY SCHOOL USES "COUNSELOR'S OFFICE" FROM NAVIANCE. MAY WE STILL USE THE COMMON
APP ONLINE SCHOOL FORMS SYSTEM?
No. However, you will be able to submit the various school forms online via the Naviance system.
Any form submitted via Naviance will be transmitted to the appropriate college in the same
format as forms submitted via the Common App Online School Forms system. Applicants at high
schools that use Naviance will be provided instructions specific to this process within the
Common App Online school forms section.
AM I REQUIRED TO SUBMIT SCHOOL FORMS ONLINE? DO I SIGN UP AS AN INDIVIDUAL OR A SCHOOL?
Participation in the Common App Online School Forms system is completely optional.
However, your choice, whatever it is, applies to all Common Applicants – all your forms
must be sent online for all your students who send their applications online, or all your
forms must be mailed. However, your decision is specific to you as an individual – not your
entire school. Therefore, other teachers or counselors at your school may choose to submit
their forms online, even if you do not.
HOW DO COLLEGES RECEIVE SCHOOL FORMS SUBMITTED ONLINE?
Common Application members log in to a secure website where forms submitted online –
via either the Common App Online system or Naviance – can be downloaded. This is the same
website where members have download the applications and supplements submitted by students
for the past decade.
MUST I SUBMIT THE SAME FORMS MULTIPLE TIMES FOR EACH STUDENT FOR ALL HIS/HER DIFFERENT COLLEGES?
No. Once you have submitted a form for a student, you never have to submit it again.
It’s immediately available for download by any Common Application member institution to
which the student has applied. And as the student applies to more colleges in the future,
it then becomes available to those colleges as well.
MAY I CUSTOMIZE MY RECOMMENDATION FOR THE SAME STUDENT DEPENDING ON WHICH COLLEGE WILL RECEIVE IT?
Yes, but only if your school purchases the Naviance Counseling Office system (www.naviance.com) which costs approximately $890 per year per school.
HOW DOES THE ONLINE PROCESS LOOK FROM THE APPLICANT’S PERSPECTIVE?
When an applicant creates an account in the Common App Online, the student must first identify a high
school. When this is done, the student can then access the School Forms section of the Common App Online
where teachers and counselors are identified. After a teacher or counselor is added to a student’s list
of school officials, an email is sent to that school official with instructions about using the online
system. Applicants are then able to monitor when individual teachers and counselors have submitted their
various forms. You can find more information here: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/FAQ.aspx
MAY AN APPLICATION BE SUBMITTED BEFORE THE SCHOOL FORMS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED?
Yes. An applicant can submit the application at any time, unrelated to when the school forms
are submitted. However, applicants must identify their counselor and teacher recommenders in the
School Forms area of the online application before they can submit their applications.
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
HOW DO I GET HELP?
If you are experiencing technical difficulties with the Common App Online, if you need to request
your personal access code or password, or if you have a general question about the Common Application
(including access to our numerous FAQs), please submit a request to the online Help Desk.
All email you receive from technical support will be sent from
school_forms_help@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 as "SPAM." This is particularly important for AOL users.
IS PHONE SUPPORT AVAILABLE?
No. In order to maintain the Common App Online as a free service to students and high schools,
all tech support is provided via a much more cost-efficient email system.
- School Officials (counselor/teachers): Please click here to access the online Help Desk.
Please do NOT submit support requests on behalf of a student; the student should submit those directly in order to avoid confusion and speed the resolution of problems.
- Applicants: Please click here to access the Help Desk.
Please do NOT submit support requests on behalf of a school official; the school official should submit those directly in order to avoid confusion and speed the resolution of problems.
HELPFUL HINTS
WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDED COMPUTER CONFIGURATION FOR THE COMMON APP ONLINE?
- Web browsers. Make sure you are using one of the following recommended browsers -- they're all free:
- Print Previews. Install Adobe Acrobat Reader--it's free:
Adobe Acrobat Reader Download Page
- School Forms Completion.
- Save your work often
- Logout after each session
- Use a word processor to type your writing samples before cutting and pasting or uploading them into the online forms.
