2007-08 common app online

The Common App Online™

(c) Copyright 2007 AY Software Services, Inc. All rights reserved. This document contains proprietary information and may not be copied without written permission from AY Software Services, Inc.

Agenda

This presentation looks at the student experience in the Common App Online – from registration to submission.

Search Engine

Searching for Schools

Adding a School

Common Application

Sections

Submitting

Supplements

Payment

School Forms

Technical Support

Registration & Search Objectives

Learn how to create a new account

Perform searches for schools

Add colleges to the “My Colleges” list


Login Screen

From the main login screen, students will click on “Create a new account” to begin the registration process.


Creating a New Account

Of particular importance on this registration screen is the first question, which asks students to report as either a first-year or transfer student.


Instructions

Upon completion of the registration form and all its required questions (marked with a gold asterisk), the user is brought to the Common App Online Instructions screen.


Getting to the Search Engine

By clicking on “My Colleges” on the left-hand navigation menu and then “Search for Colleges,” the student is brought to the Simple Search Page.


The Search Engine

On either the Simple Search orthe Advanced Search, entering search criteria and clicking on the

button brings the applicant to the Search Results Screen.


The Search Results Screen

From here, schools can be mapped …

… and searches can be saved.


Comparing Schools

Clicking on the button from the search results screen allows students to compare up to three different institutions.

Clicking on the categories at the top (e.g., “Admission Criteria”) will display different sets of relevant data.


Common App Process

The “Common Application Process”tab displays information about application fees, deadlines, and requirements as well as whether the school has a supplement.


Adding a College

To add a school, check the box next to its name and then click on “Add” to get to the My Colleges screen.

On the My Colleges page, students can choose to apply for Early Decision or Early Action if any of those colleges offer alternative deadlines.


My Checklist

The My Checklist page allows students to see a complete list of the colleges they have chosen, as well as the statuses of their applications and supplements.


Agenda

We’ve looked at the Registration process and Search Engine. Now let’s take a look at the Common Application itself.

Search Engine

Searching for Schools

Adding a School

Sections

Submitting

Supplements

Payment

School Forms

Technical Support

Common Application Objectives

•Identify required, dynamic, and upload questions

•Understand the submission and payment processes

•Become familiar with supplements and school forms

Registration


The Common Application

After searching for and adding colleges, the applicant moves on to the Common Application itself, beginning with the Bio section.


CEEB Codes

On the “Academics” page, students can save themselves work and populate school information by clicking on “look up” for CEEB codes.

Click on “Search”

Then the school name.


Writing Samples

On the “Writing Samples” page, students will see two types of essays: text boxes with character counts and uploads.


Upload Documents

The Upload Document feature is new in the Common App Online.

Click on the button to bring up the “File Upload” screen.

Click “Browse” to locate a file and then “Upload” once again.

New buttons will now appear next to “Upload Document.”

Click on “View Document” to see the uploaded document.

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Printing and PDFs

Students can check their progress by clicking the button. This will bring up a PDF copy of the application.

Uploaded documents will beappended to the end of the printed PDF.


Error Messages

When students decline to answer required questions, a system message is displayed at the top of the page letting them know which questions have not been answered successfully.

These questions are also highlighted in the form itself.


Sign & Submit

On the final section of the Common Application, a “Submit” button is displayed.


Errors in Submission

If there are still some unanswered required questions, they are displayed as clickable links that, when clicked, take the student directly to the unanswered question.

Unanswered, required questions are highlighted in gold.


The Submit Screen

If all required questions are answered, students can select a college or colleges to which the Common Application should be submitted. Clicking “Submit” will send off the application to the selected schools.

The student is brought back to the “My Checklist” page, and a successful submission message is displayed at the top of the page.


SupplementsWorking down the left-hand navigation menu, students will arrive at the Supplements section. These can be submitted before or after the Common Application form is submitted.

Click on “Create” or “Edit” to view a supplement. Supplements have the same look and feel as sections from the Common Application.


Payments

The Payments section shows all the institutions from “My Colleges” and their payment statuses.


Payments

If the applicant attempts to “Pay Online” before the application and the supplement are submitted, an error message is displayed.


Online Payment

Here, students must:

1) Agree to the terms and conditions

2) Fill out payer information

3) Enter credit card / eCheck information

4) Click “Submit”

If “Pay Online” is clicked after submission, the applicant will be directed to an online payment screen.


Payment Confirmation

After clicking on “Submit” the student will receive a processing message . . .

Followed by a confirmation page . . .


Successful Payments

Back on the “Payments” screen, the most recent payment will be reflected next to the college name.


Fee Waivers

If a school grants application fee waivers, they can be accessed by clicking on an available Fee Waiver, such as “NACAC” to bring up the NACAC Waiver screen.

Clicking on “Check Qualifications”shows which schools accept the fee waiver.

Clicking “Save” will display your new payment status as Fee Waiver.


School FormsClicking on School Forms will take the student to a list of downloadable PDFs to print out and give to teachers and counselors.

Students from a select group of schools will participate in a new online school forms pilot system this year, which will have a differentappearance.


Technical Support

Technical support will include 24x7 help and a dynamic database of FAQs that can be searched by phrase and listed by relevance.

The New Common App Online™ : July 1, 2007

http://www.commonapp.org

2007-08 common app online

Technology

software services

proprietary information

written permission

colleges screen

colleges page

registration screen

common app process

simple search page