‘Tis the season…for early application decisions!

Over the next few weeks, many schools will release their early application decisions - especially those with binding early decision plans (some non-binding early action decisions will not come in until January or even February). If you aren’t sure when to expect decisions from the schools on your list, check out this website for expected dates and times.

Make sure to consider where you want to be when you receive your decisions. We recommend you log into your portal or open your email or letter in the privacy of your room or home, not in your high school cafeteria ​​or while with a group of friends. You need to be able to have an honest, emotional response. We have seen a trend developing in which students record themselves opening their admission decisions and then post the video on TikTok. We definitely do NOT recommend this approach!

You should also take some time to decide how you want to share this information, whether positive or negative. Tell your parents. Tell your counselor at school. And of course, tell us! Beyond that, remember that YOU get to decide if and when you choose to share your news with anyone else.

Read on for some helpful tips, broken down by decision!

• If Accepted:

• First of all, congratulations!

• Be gracious. Congratulate yourself. It is ok to celebrate—but be appropriate. Remember there are many of your peers and friends who have not heard anything, are still applying to schools, or have been deferred, waitlisted or denied ​​(sometimes by the same school that just accepted you!).

• Be grateful. Thank your parents. Thank your recommenders. A hand-written thank you note goes a long way for an educator who cares about your success and puts the effort in to meet your school’s deadlines. 

• Be engaged. Your acceptance is not the signal to check out or give in to “senior slide.”

• Be proactive. If you have been accepted early decision, be sure to withdraw your applications from the remainder of your schools. You agreed to do this when you signed the early decision form.

• IF Deferred:

• Continue to work hard in your classes. Many schools will ask you to submit midyear grades in the portal, on the SRAR, or from your counselor.

• Check with us or your school counselor before sending additional submissions. More is not necessarily better. Follow the school’s directions for submitting materials.

• Compose your letters of continued interest (LOCI). Write brief (seriously: brief!) letters that state why you want to attend the schools and why you would be a great fit. Check out our prior blog post: Writing an Effective Letter of Continued Interest: Instructions and Samples, and again, only do this if the schools at which you were deferred will accept them (most will!).

• If Waitlisted:

• Respond. Be sure to follow the school’s instructions to accept your place on the waitlist. 

• Redouble your efforts and study, study, study. These schools will see your 3rd and 4th quarter or winter and spring term grades, which, if strong, can help you.

• Refocus. Be sure to deposit at another school by May 1 to ensure you are going to college somewhere, even if you remain on other waitlists.

• If Denied:

• Process the news. It’s ok to allow yourself time to be disappointed (for a day or two). What you feel is real and needs to be expressed, but cannot take over your life. This sounds impossible, but don’t take it personally. Read our previous post:  5 Steps to Take After Being Deferred or Denied Early Admission.

• Maintain perspective. Remember you have a balanced list for a reason.

• Pull yourself together and submit your remaining applications. Do not allow a denial to paralyze you. You need to continue to work hard in your classes and make sure all of your remaining applications are submitted.

• Prioritize self-care. Got a shredder? Print out your letter and shred it! Have a fire pit? Invite friends over and make s’mores out of your denial letters! Be creative and find a way to move forward!

If you ARE A CURRENT CLIENT:

• If you need help adding new schools to your list or reviewing application materials over winter break, make an appointment with Colleen or Sally to review it and discuss whether or not you need to make any changes

• If you need more essay coaching meetings, book them as soon as possible (but don’t add new schools without running that by us first)!

If you need help now but didn’t work with us earlier in the process on an ongoing basis, it’s not too late.

• If you need help adding new schools to your list or reviewing application materials over winter break, you can book one of our Class of 2024 Strategy Sessions.

• If you already know where you want to apply and just need help finishing up all those essays, you can book pay-as-you-go essay coaching sessions here. 

NOTE: We may be able to add additional essay coaching availability depending on demand, so the earlier you let us know you need help, the better! Please send our admin team an email to discuss options if you can’t find a session that works for you using the links above.

REMEMBER: We are rooting for you just as much as you are (maybe even more!). Stay smart, stay positive, and enjoy the rest of senior year! 

Notable Common Application® Changes - 2023-2024 Edition

As we pore through the Common App® to capture all of the changes in the 2023-2024 application, I wanted to draw attention to a few in particular that stood out!

LaFAYETTE’S STANCE ON ACTIVITIES

I actually really admire this! Lafayette has made the decision to only review a student’s first six activities on the Common Application® instead of all ten. The idea is to be straightforward with students about their preference for quality over quantity when it comes to extracurricular involvement - they want students to be “deeply invested” in what matters most to them. While this is supposed to make things more equitable across income levels, and it will, I think this is really helpful for ALL students. I am so tired of watching teenagers feel overwhelmed and exhausted, doing things they don’t want to do, just so they can write them down on college applications. As a mom, it is painful to watch. I hope other schools follow Lafayette’s lead here!

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NYU’S QUESTION ABOUT ASSISTANCE

NYU has added a question to their supplement about external guidance in the application process, and this threw everyone for a loop! As always, I would recommend being honest. There is nothing wrong with using an independent educational consultant - just as there’s nothing wrong with using an SAT tutor! However, I do think this is where it (really) helps to be using an organization that is vetted. NYU wants to make sure that the next Rick Singer isn’t running the show!

For what it’s worth, the counselors in our office are members of IECA - the Independent Educational Consultants Organization. We have an EXTREMELY strict code of ethics that goes well beyond expectations for most professionals in other industries. For example, we would never, ever accept any type of referral fee for directing a student to a third-party professional or organization, like an SAT tutor or summer program. Beyond agreeing to abide by this code of ethics, you can’t just sign up to become an IECA member - you have to qualify based on a certain number of college visits in recent years; professional references; experience; a certain number of students advised; and more. Because of this, colleges and universities have great relationships with IECA members - NYU itself held a private informational session just for IECA consultants! Anyway, I share all of this to point out that it’s important to let NYU know that you are working with an IECA member.

I would advise our clients to write something like this: “Because [I am the oldest child in my family/ my school does not provide individualized college guidance/ my parents are unfamiliar with the college admissions process today/ my parents didn't go to college in the United States/ etc] my parents and I felt that we could benefit from professional guidance with the college search and application process. I worked with Colleen Paparella, a professional member of IECA. Colleen and her team helped me narrow my college preferences to find the right fit; provided guidance on ways to determine which of my interests would translate to an intended major; advised me on course selection; and more. More recently, they helped review and edit my application materials. Every piece of information and aspect of my application is my own work, factually true, and honestly represented.”

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SO MANY ESSAY PROMPT SHIFTS

Wow - there have been an incredible amount of changes when it comes to supplemental essays! Colleges are clearly trying to work within the boundaries set by the Supreme Court in order to get a sense of the ways that students have been shaped by their backgrounds. Harvard and William & Mary, in particular, are ones that stand out to me as very different this year!

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LOTS OF AI/CHAT GPT ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Institutions ranging from the College of Charleston to Georgia Tech (and plenty more!) have added snippets to their supplements about the use of AI to generate essay content. Stay away from this! Remember, even the “good” AI-generated essays are not actually good, because there’s no way for a student’s voice to come through! Plus - by sharing these types of cautionary messages in the applications, these schools are actually TELLING students that they are watching for this type of thing. And they are! Any attempt to get pass their filters is not going to be effective and will ruin years of your hard work. Do the right thing from the start and create your own content!

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We’re still working our way through these applications, and we look forward to sharing more thoughts and guidance with our students in all of our August meetings!

Best of the Blog: Post-Submission Emails and Grade Updates

Now that first quarter grades have been released, we are receiving a ton of questions from seniors who want to know if they should be sending those grades to colleges - and if so, how do they do it?

We decided to share our post from last fall on this topic to provide some insight! Keep reading to learn more about whether you should send grades, how to follow up with colleges, and what a sample email would say!

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We are so excited to be DONE with submitting all of our early applications! But as our clients know by now, the work does not stop when you click “submit!” Not only is the post-submission portal tracking extremely important, as we have mentioned before, but some students may also want to consider sending follow-up communication to the various admissions representatives to share first quarter grade updates.

Let me start by mentioning that this is not a one-size fits all approach. Some schools specifically indicate that they do not want follow-up emails with grades.

If that’s the case, don’t send them! While schools that track demonstrated interest are generally the ones to whom these emails should be directed, it’s important to note that there’s a fine line between an enthusiastic update and over-the-top bombarding.

We do not recommend sending repeated emails. Down the line in a deferral or waitlist situation, depending on the school - possibly. But definitely not at this point in the admissions cycle. You do not want to annoy anyone, and repeated emails will be annoying - no two ways about it.

With that warning out of the way, we suggest that if you do have new grades to report that reflect positively on your candidacy, you take the initiative to reach out to the admissions office and let your assigned admissions officer know.

A handful of high schools will send out first-quarter grades as a matter of course, but most will not do so unless asked - especially this year, when school counselors are already overburdened. So if you believe your first-quarter grades will improve your application, it is up to you to take on the responsibility of sharing them with the admissions office!

One more note of caution: while I would not recommend proactively sharing poor first-quarter grades (or even ones that are relatively strong, but do show a downwards trend), it’s also important to recognize that it’s not necessarily possible to hide them, either.

I think that many applicants believe that admissions offices are too busy to follow up on particular aspects of a single application - but this is not necessarily the case! For a student who has had a shaky math score in 11th grade, the admissions officer is definitely going to want to see how that student is doing in math at the beginning of 12th grade. 

So, now that you know why to send a post-submission email, here’s how:

1. If you can, address your email to your regional admissions officer. At many schools, you can find this information on the website with just a bit of research. Your email is more likely to be read by the right person if you address it directly. You can also ask your school counselor if you’re not sure.

2. Identify yourself by name and indicate that you have applied to the school already.

3. Show that you have done your homework. This is a place to address any questions that you have that were not answered by the school’s website. You can also ask if the representative is planning a virtual visit to your school this semester, or reference a previous visit if you have met them before. 

4. Report your grades. Tell the admissions officer that you want to update your application with your first-quarter grades, and provide them in a clear way that is easy to read. 

5. Close your email by thanking the admissions officer for their time and reiterating your interest in attending their school. If this is your top-choice school, make sure to let them know!

Remember: keep it concise and simple. Here is a sample:

Congratulations to all of the students who have submitted their remaining early applications this week! Comment to let us know if you will be following up with your first-quarter grades! 

Tips for Organizing Your College Applications (and a Cautionary Tale!)

Our students are starting to submit their applications - yay! Unfortunately, the process doesn’t end just because they click “review and submit.” In many ways, that’s when they really need to start paying attention to details!

Each school has different requirements for applications (recommendations, test scores, transcripts, etc.) and will keep track of those requirements in different ways, in different status portals, with different login information and passwords… you get the idea.

It is incredibly important for every applicant to make sure that they find a way to keep their application components organized. Otherwise, you could have a nightmare scenario (stay tuned) where an admissions committee is unable to review your application because you’re missing important documents and aren’t aware of the problem in time to fix it.

We already do this with all of our clients as part of our regular service offerings. No missing materials on our watch, that’s for sure! But if you are a non-client blog reader, you will need to find a way to monitor components that works for you. Here are some of our favorite ways to keep track of all the elements you need:

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Asana

In our office, we use Asana to keep track of all our students’ applications. The best way I can describe it is that it’s similar to an electronic version of a list, with a lot of really cool functions like reminders, messaging, project-sharing and more.

If you like lists and you appreciate efficiency, it’s hard not to fall in love like I did. While we have a version of Asana that is meant for businesses, they also offer a free version that can work well for keeping track of personal tasks too! This is the one I make the other members of my household use so that we can link our accounts and collaborate together :)

Here is an example of a status chart for one of our students in Asana: 

But once students apply, we’re keeping track of different materials, to ensure that their file is complete:

Note that any form of organization that you use should contain this basic information: how you access the status portal, your login information, the materials the college has already received, and the materials that are currently missing as of given dates. We also like Asana because there is an app with push notifications, so our students can keep track of everything on their phones!

Trello

Trello is another service with a free level that can help students to keep everything organized, and it has an app too. We actually used Trello in our office for one admissions cycle back when we caught the project management bug and hadn’t discovered Asana yet. While we like Asana better, we still appreciate Trello, and it’s particularly great for people who are more visual and like a high-level overview without seeing all of the details.

The nice thing about these online services is that the student, parents, and anyone else helping with the application can all access the information and mark things off in real time. That way, parents don’t have to worry that the spreadsheet they have is no longer up to date, and students will know any changes parents make to the application. You can opt in for notifications every time someone else makes a change, too.

Trello uses kanban boards to help the user sort components into different categories:

You can also add checklists to individual tasks within a board, which helps to break some of the big tasks down into their smaller parts (and make sure you don’t forget anything!):

Google Sheets

You can also use free software like Google Sheets (or something similar, such as an Excel spreadsheet), which is perhaps not quite as fun but will get the job done. This type of system is probably best for a student who doesn’t need a lot of reminders, as it is much harder to set up automatic notifications in this system than in some of the others we mentioned. Or for parents who aren’t comfortable with learning new technology and like to keep things old-school.

The reason we prefer Google Sheets to Excel is that the file lives on a cloud. This makes it easy to share with parents and anyone else that needs to be able to keep track of applications in real time, and it’s also easy for students to update at any time without needing to be at their personal computer.

No, it’s not as pretty, but it’s functional:

P.S. - this is Shannon’s actual application spreadsheet from when she was applying to college! She’s learned a few new tools since then, but still stays just as organized :)

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If you’re not bought in yet, I’ll leave you with a true story that resulted in a major change for us here at DC College Counseling:

Long ago, we let families decide how involved they’d like us to be after application submission.

Many decided that they didn’t need professional help at this point and opted to take care of tracking components themselves with varying degrees of success (although a lot of times we’d hear back a few weeks later asking for our help after all!).

One winter morning, I woke up to a panicked email from one of my favorite students who had repeatedly assured us he had taken care of all the tracking.

Great kid, super smart, Mr. Personality - he was really a lot of fun to work with. For all of his positive qualities, he was not so amazing at checking email or just following through on tasks in general. Not to stereotype, but I am sure we all know a number of young men who would fit in this category :)

But this student was very confused because he did not receive an admissions decision from one of his top schools on their decision release date the way his peers did. Weird, right?

Several months earlier, he had asked his mom to send his ACT scores to all of his schools, and so she did. She forgot that one of his schools required the ACT with Writing (at the time - not anymore). Unfortunately, she did not send his ACT with Writing score - she sent a different score from an administration without the writing component.

This was such an easy mistake to make. Anyone could have done this, and the mistake itself was not the issue. The issue was the fact that we were not aware of the mistake.

The school emailed him a few reminders to set up and monitor his post-application status portal, but he missed the emails. Most schools don’t even send email reminders, by the way. They just expect that students are taking care of post-submission tracking on their own.

As soon as I got involved and learned that he’d never set up his portal, I knew that his lack of decision notification wasn’t because the mailman was late that day, and that we were likely not going to be happy with the outcome. I helped him find the emails and set up portal access.

We immediately discovered that the Portal showed he had not fulfilled the test score submission requirement, so his application remained incomplete for months, and they ultimately withdrew him from consideration without his knowledge.

This would have literally taken all of five minutes to fix if we had known about it when it occurred. But we just never knew! So all of his hard work - three supplemental essays, a visit there, that extraordinarily time-consuming business school portfolio (if you know, you know!).. it was all for nothing. We are talking about 10+ hours of work literally thrown away. The school never even read the application.

At that point, I decided that we were going to start keeping track of application components whether our families believe they need our help or not!

It all goes back to one of my favorite sayings, “if you don’t know, you don’t know,” and many people just don’t understand what a big deal application component tracking is. I feel a professional responsibility to make sure things like this don’t happen on my watch!

We then modified our packages to include specific hours dedicated to administrative work, including those ever-popular ongoing reminders from Donna as well as the application status tracking this post explains. These are the same packages we have today.

And because we have access to every single portal, nothing like this could ever happen again, and it never has, despite the process becoming so much more complicated all these years later.

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Moral of the story? Whether you go with Asana, Trello, Google Sheets or something else entirely, the important thing is that you have all of the information you need in one place both during the application process and well after submission.

Moreover, you need to monitor your portal carefully until all materials are accounted for and the application file is considered complete. Only then can you breathe a sign of relief and put everything aside until decision day!

Want more about the ins and outs of applications? Check out these posts!

Post-Submission Emails and Grade Updates

We are so excited to be nearly DONE with submitting all of our early applications! But as our clients know by now, the work does not stop when you click “submit!” Not only is the post-submission portal tracking extremely important, as we have mentioned before, but some students may also want to consider sending follow-up communication to the various admissions representatives to share first quarter grade updates.

Let me start by mentioning that this is not a one-size fits all approach. Some schools specifically indicate that they do not want follow-up emails with grades. If that’s the case, don’t send them! While schools that track demonstrated interest are generally the ones to whom these emails should be directed, it’s important to note that there’s a fine line between an enthusiastic update and over-the-top bombarding.

We do not recommend sending repeated emails. Down the line in a deferral or waitlist situation, depending on the school - possibly. But definitely not at this point in the admissions cycle. You do not want to annoy anyone, and repeated emails will be annoying - no two ways about it.

With that warning out of the way, we suggest that if you do have new grades to report that reflect positively on your candidacy, you take the initiative to reach out to the admissions office and let your assigned admissions officer know. A handful of high schools will send out first-quarter grades as a matter of course, but most will not do so unless asked - especially this year, when school counselors are already overburdened. So if you believe your first-quarter grades will improve your application, it is up to you to take on the responsibility of sharing them with the admissions office!

One more note of caution: while I would not recommend proactively sharing poor first-quarter grades, it’s also important to recognize that it’s not necessarily possible to hide them, either. I think that many applicants believe that admissions offices are too busy to follow up on particular aspects of a single application - but this is not necessarily the case! For a student who has had a shaky math score in 11th grade, the admissions officer is definitely going to want to see how that student is doing in math at the beginning of 12th grade. 

So, now that you know why to send a post-submission email, here’s how:

1. If you can, address your email to your regional admissions officer. At many schools, you can find this information on the website with just a bit of research. Your email is more likely to be read by the right person if you address it directly. You can also ask your school counselor if you’re not sure.

2. Identify yourself by name and indicate that you have applied to the school already.

3. Show that you have done your homework. This is a place to address any questions that you have that were not answered by the school’s website. You can also ask if the representative is planning a virtual visit to your school this semester, or reference a previous visit if you have met them before. 

4. Report your grades. Tell the admissions officer that you want to update your application with your first-quarter grades, and provide them in a clear way that is easy to read. 

5. Close your email by thanking the admissions officer for their time and reiterating your interest in attending their school. If this is your top-choice school, make sure to let them know!

Remember: keep it concise and simple. Here is a sample:

Congratulations to all of the students who have submitted their remaining early applications this week! Comment to let us know if you will be following up with your first-quarter grades! 

#COMMONAPPDAY (2 days later!)

After spending the last couple of days digging through the 2021-2021 Common App ®, I thought I’d share some initial reactions!

MOST SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO THE 2020-2021 APPLICATION:

Separating the positions from the names of the organizations in the activities section; removing the counselor contact information from the Education section; adding the COVID-19 essay.

Nothing too major here.

PROBLEMATIC ISSUES RELATING TO THE NEW APPLICATION RELEASE:

The “Advisor Preview” function is not working and will not be available until “later in the month,” the charts with testing and other application requirements are incomplete and have not been updated since April

Regarding the Advisor Preview, this is why we use our students’ usernames and passwords in order to get right into the applications to edit and review. Not a big deal - if you are working with someone who is reviewing your application, make sure they have your login information.

Regarding the latter, make sure to review each school’s requirements on each individual school’s website. Do not rely on the Common App ® for this at all during this application cycle.

SCHOOLS WE ARE LOVING BECAUSE OF MANY LESS ESSAYS THIS YEAR:

Pitt, Delaware, Wake Forest

Yes, five total from Wake is many less.. I’ll take what I can get!

NEW ESSAY PROMPT THAT WILL GET THE MOST SIDE-EYES:

Engineering and Computer Science students are sometimes assumed to have personalities with shared traits or characteristics. What is a trait or characteristic you believe you share with other engineering and computer science students and another where you differ? Please tell us about these two traits and why you chose them. (250 word limit)

I think this could make for a very awkward essay coaching session! That said, it’s important that the person helping a student write this essay is confident enough to approach this from a positive, but authentic perspective even if it makes for an uncomfortable conversation.

Remember, the admissions committee will read this in the context of teacher and counselor recommendations, so an applicant can’t pretend to be someone they’re not.

This is an essay where I’d definitely recommend bringing in some professional help if a parent and student are working together.

FAVORITE NEW ESSAY PROMPT:

What brings you joy? (200 word max)

This one is pretty fun, right? I’d recommend that students think about the characteristics that they have demonstrated throughout their application (and those they are trying to show in the supplement) and making sure their answer lines up. Because there are probably lots of things that actually do bring the student joy - so it’s best to pick one that aligns with the overall message.

This is also one where the student will really want to focus on showing, not telling, so the reader can understand the entire experience and why it feels joyful. The more specific the better! This will help it stand out.

Here’s an example from my own life. Off the top of my head, here are three things that bring me joy: spending time with my kids, learning about my students’ college acceptances, and clean and organized spaces. They are all true, but each of them would give the reader a very different message about who I am.

If I were writing this and wanted to share a more personal side of myself, I’d go with the one about my kids. Then I’d bring more specificity into it by focusing the response on a specific weekly tradition we have that I love. So it would be a little more unique and descriptive than just saying I like to spend time with my kids!

LONG-TIME ESSAY PROMPT I’M THRILLED IS NOW GONE:

Who is the person you dream of becoming and how do you believe Syracuse University can help you achieve this? (Response required in 250 words.)

This was always much harder for students than you’d expect because so many of them took it literally.

I’ll never forget working with a student in the Class of 2011 about why he wanted to become Kobe Bryant - literally. He was dead set on writing the entire essay about turning into Kobe Bryant.

His parents were so grateful when I convinced him that it was not the right approach :)

LONG-TIME ESSAY PROMPT I WISH WAS GONE:

Give us your top ten list.

This is so hard to do well. Students are asked to write their “top ten list” (about ANYTHING!) and are now also given a box to indicate the theme.

Back in the day, they weren’t able to list the theme and the admissions committee had to guess - that terrified me!

The key to doing this well is tying it to the applicant’s background and interests while making sure it’s not cliche or boring. My all-time favorite response was from a student in the Class of 2017 who gave his top ten reasons that Canada is better than the US. It was absolutely hilarious.

If I were writing this for myself…. I’d ask Staci to help me brainstorm ;)

MOST UNEXPECTED BUT PERHAPS SMARTEST “ACKNOWLEDGMENT”:

I hereby certify that I understand that the University of Notre Dame is required by law to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect. I also understand that if I choose to reveal any instances of abuse or neglect in my application, the University may be required by law to report such abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities.

Makes sense, they are probably mandated reporters. So am I, by the way. Never thought of sharing that with anyone before but maybe I will add it to my contract in the future.

Knock on wood this has never been an issue and I hope it stays that way!

SCHOOLS WE WISH HAD PUT UP THEIR ESSAYS BY AUGUST 1:

Baylor, Fordham, UF, Carnegie Mellon, GWU, NC State, Princeton, more

I know this was a difficult year for everyone on the college side in terms of timing. Hoping the essays come up soon!

SCHOOLS THAT ARE STILL COMPLETELY MISSING FROM THE APPLICATION:

Auburn, UGA

UGA is supposed to by up by 9/1 and I’m not really sure on Auburn. Thought it would be up by now. Will look into that!

GOOD LUCK filling this out! We are finished with our 2020-2021 Common Application ® guides and now I’m off to the Coalition App!

And remember - anyone can purchase access to our application guides this year through the Membership Vault!

Nervous to click "Review and Submit"? You're not alone!

Over the years I have noticed that many families have a lot of anxiety over submitting applications. Totally understandable! It’s actually a very easy process but can be completely nerve-wracking at the same time.

It reminds me of a comment a pilot made to me once - that no matter how many flights he’s landed, he still gets a tiny bit anxious. I’ve helped submit probably 200 applications this month alone and I feel the same way! It’s a lot of pressure.

Before starting the process…

Step 1: Complete the application and ask a trusted adult to review it carefully! We do this with our clients, of course, but those working at home can pick up a copy of one of our application guides to help. Pro tip: the activities section is the most difficult part. If it’s not a little hard, you’re probably not doing it right. READ THE DIRECTIONS IN THE GUIDE!

Step 2: “Invite” any recommenders (teachers, counselor, parent for ED authorization, etc) through the “Recommenders and FERPA” tab. Again, we do this with all of our clients, typically at our early August college counseling meetings.

If any questions remain about Step #1 or Step #2, stop. Do not pass go. You are NOT ready to start submitting yet.

Let’s begin!

Step 3: Confirm that you have green check marks next to “Questions” and “Recommenders and FERPA” under the college’s name. If you don’t, there’s a problem with your completion of the initial steps and you weren’t ready to submit after all! Time to back up.

Step 4: Click “Review and Submit.”

THIS WILL NOT RESULT IN A SUBMITTED APPLICATION! I promise :) There is literally no possible way that you can submit this by accident.

Step 5: If the college does not require the Common App (R) essay, click “Yes, include my personal essay” unless you have a unique circumstance and are not doing so for a specific reason. Most colleges DO require the Common App (R) essay, so you won’t see this too often.

Step 6: Click “Review and Submit.”

Once again - you can’t submit by accident. I swear!

STARTING TO REVIEW

The next page that will come up is a PDF form of your Common Application (R).

Step 7: Either scroll down in the screen or click “Review PDF” to open the PDF in a separate window.

For your first submission, I’d recommend clicking on the “Review PDF” button because you will likely have to go back to make tweaks as you review the PDF. If you stay within the main screen, you can’t go back to revise while keeping the PDF up for reference. You’ll have to complete Steps 4-6 again each time you correct an error.

If you like reviewing on paper, you may want to just go ahead and print the PDF. This is what I usually do.

When submitting additional applications, you can scroll down to the individual school supplemental pages since you will have already reviewed the main Common App that stays the same for each school. These usually begin on page 10 of the PDF document, but the length can vary depending on the answers to questions in the application.

I don’t usually click on “Review PDF” for submissions #2 and beyond because I rarely have to make changes after that point. Personal preference, I guess!

Step 8: After reviewing the entire document, click the blue “Continue” button on the lower right hand side of the page, as you can see on the photo above.

Step 9: A pop-up will appear with directions. The gist of it is that you’ll be redirected to a third party site to pay. You MUST NOT FORGET to return back to the Common App after paying, because paying and submitting are not the same thing!

(I told you that you wouldn’t submit by accident! Accidentally NOT submitting is a bigger risk!)

PAYING THE FEE

Step 10: Confirm that your name appears and click the grey “Next” box.

Step 11: Indicate that you will be paying with a credit card. If you’re paying with an electronic check, you’re on your own because I do not have a clue as to how to do that! Click the grey “Next” box.

Step 12: You will be able to enter your credit card information. BUT WAIT. Don’t enter anything yet..

TIME FOR MY TIP!

Step 13: Open a new window - a google document, a blank email, whatever.

Step 14: Type out the following information on separate lines:

• Credit card number without spaces

• Expiration month and year (any format is fine)

• The name of the card holder as it appears on the card

• The house number and street of the billing address (a.k.a. 131 Park Street NE)

• The billing zip

• The student’s email address

• The student’s name

Step 15: Put both windows up side by side or at least have them next to each other.

COPY AND PASTE

Note: I did not include a screen shot for this page. There was so much personal information on it that it would not have been helpful once all of it was blocked out.

Step 15: Start copying and pasting the information over. First the CC#. The expiration month and year are in drop-down format but I like you to have it accessible anyway for reference. Name of the card holder. House # and Street. Select the state from the drop-down. Copy and paste the zip. Make sure “United States” is selected.

Step 16: Accept the CashNet Terms and conditions by checking a box and click “Next.”

Step 17: You will reach the page below. Copy and paste the student’s email address into the box. Click “Submit Payment.”

Step 18: You’ve paid! Great. Click “Return to Common Application (R).”

Remember, you have NOT submitted the application yet!

SUBMITTING! FINALLY!

Step 19: Read the boxes carefully and check them all.

Step 20: Type out your name in the “Signature” box and select the date. Click “Submit.”

YAY! You have submitted. Enjoy the confetti! It’s new this year and makes me smile every time.

Step 21: Click “What’s Next” (after you have gotten your confetti fix - if you need more just keep clicking “Celebrate”!)

College specific information will typically come up that shares next steps in relation to that school’s portal.

More on the portals in another post!

STOP AND DOUBLE CHECK

Some schools have essays in separate writing supplements. There is no rhyme or reason why some schools do this and others don’t. Under where it says “Review and Submit Common App(R)” under the school name, confirm that there is no mention of a separate writing supplement. If there is, click on “Review and Submit” and repeat the process for that (minus the payment screen). This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

AND… REPEAT!

This is fun the first time but gets old pretty quickly. You will thank me that you do not have to retype your credit card information in repeatedly. Just keep copying and pasting. This will save at least three minutes per application, which can add up if you’re submitting ten apps at the same time!

Check the Dashboard

When you’ve submitted your last application for the day, go back to the dashboard to confirm that each school is listed as having been submitted. You’re done!

2019-2020 Coalition Updates

Anyone who has set foot in my office during the last twelve months or so has heard me complain about the Coalition Application. It’s seriously the most user-unfriendly software I’ve ever used. It’s also hard to fully grasp how frustrating it is until you’re in the midst of using it.

In any case, we have two major updates today:

1. The University of Florida, one of the first schools to go Coalition-Exclusive (before Virginia Tech), made the decision today to join The Common App®. This is HUGE for Floridians! Here in the DC area, most kids don’t apply to UF, but there’s a lot of chatter that maybe some of the other Coalition-Exclusive schools will follow suit (cough cough Hokies cough cough).

2. The 2019-2020 Coalition Application launched without much fanfare. I tried to log on to update my guide for students, and… well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Welcome to the new season, folks!

In other news, I have continued to update the database of 2019-2020 Supplemental Essays - check out the latest additions!

The Common App® New (Grammatically Dubious) Member Question

Who in your life is depending on you? What are they depending on you for?

You heard it here first! This query will be added to the Member Screen short answer questions that colleges will be able to include on their individual supplements. Start thinking about this- who depends on you?

Siblings, parents, neighbors, club members, teachers, volunteers.. there will be many ways to answer this question.

We don’t have any information about word limits yet, and it’s likely that they will vary on a school by school basis. My prediction is that most schools will choose limits between 100-250 words.

You can actually see all of the Member Screen questions here. Again, schools decide on an individual basis which questions they would like to include, so every single school will not ask every single one of these questions.

Current clients will work on these questions during the first few days of August before coming in for editing sessions during their two-hour individual college counseling meetings that begin on August 5.

P.S. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point out the fact that this question ends in a preposition. #smh