Common Application Updates

Green Checks. Occasionally, a green check might not display even after a section is complete. Students who encounter this problem should contact the Help Center. The Support Team can fix the issue quickly.

  

Date Stamp Questions. As a rule, submission date and time stamps are recorded in Eastern Time.  In some instances, these time stamps are defaulting to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Since GMT is several hours earlier than Eastern Time, some late evening submissions may display as the following day.  Do not be alarmed if you see this. The submission time stamp will always be recorded accurately, even if the time zone reflected is incorrect.

Help Center Information. We are responding promptly to new applicant and recommender tickets, and we continue to work through a backlog of older tickets. You can help us help you in two ways:

• Please do not submit new requests about an unresolved, existing issue.
• Please do not reply to messages about unresolved issues and request progress updates.

Both of these actions will slow down our ability to help you and your students.  The first introduces confusion to the process. The second resets your place in the support queue.  If you have an outstanding issue, we assure you we will respond, and we request your patience.

Recommender Accounts. Earlier today we identified the cause of a problem that is preventing some recommenders from creating accounts. We are developing a fix for this issue and expect to release it later this week. 

Internet Explorer 9. Some recommenders have reported that they can only see two colleges listed for each of their students. This issue is unique to IE9. If you encounter this situation, please try another browser.

Student List. When using the Recommendation System, counselors, teachers, and other recommenders may notice that a student name does not appear on the student list under the Students tab. 

• COUNSELORS: Make sure that the student hasinvited you and not just listed your name in the Education tab of the application.      
• TEACHERS/RECOMMENDERS: Make sure that the student has invited AND assigned you from within the application.  

No Visible Submit Button. When using the Recommendation System, counselors will be able to submit school forms only after all required questions on the form and on the Profile screen are completed and saved. The submit button will not be visible on the recommendation until the Profile screen is complete.

Unable to Login to New Account. We have received reports of cases where recommenders are able to create an account but are then not able to log in via the Recommender tab. If this is the case for you, please contact the Help Center at recsupport.commonapp.org for assistance.

Deadline Changes. Some colleges are extending their deadlines to alleviate the anxiety that students and counselors are feeling in trying to meet application deadlines. The deadline dates in the Common Application system and on the Requirements Grid are updated daily and reflect the latest information that we have received from our members.  

Application Submitted. Given the issues that some students experienced with the payment submission process, we want to help ensure that all students who think they have submitted an application have actually submitted. Please have your students confirm that their applications have been submitted by checking their Dashboard. There will be a green check mark in the "Application" column for each submitted application. 

Parchment. As we announced yesterday, Parchment integration with the Common App is complete. Students are able to select Common App as a transcript destination on parchment.com and sending institutions may send transcripts to Common App via Parchment Exchange.

Some Famous Parenting Quotes

Parents might feel like they’re traversing an ever-changing landscape of parenting issues, with modern problems like cyber-bullying and rising celebrity culture providing new challenges. But while the world evolves at a rapid rate, the best parenting advice stands the test of time. These 10 parenting quotes are as relevant today as they were when they were first spoken.

“Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk.” –Carl Jung

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was best known for his theories about personalities, but raising five children may have been his proudest achievement. Jung knew you can’t simply tell your kids what to do—you must lead by example.

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” –Anne Frank

Sadly she never lived to raise her own children, but Holocaust victim Anne Frank still knew a thing or two about parenting. Perhaps her family’s struggles taught her that no parent can guarantee a child’s success or failure. Instead she recognized the wisdom and morals parents can pass on to their offspring. While these tools will give children the best start, it’s ultimately up to them how they’re used.

“If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent.” –Bette Davis

The silver screen icon was all too aware of the downsides of being a parent. No doubt this mom of three had to make some hard decisions at home. There’s nothing glamorous about those occasions when your angels are cursing you out for laying down the law. Their behaviour can sting, but don’t let that weaken your resolve. The best parents know they can’t play the good cop all the time.

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” –Frederick Douglass

African-American abolitionist and author Frederick Douglass knew of the importance of a strong foundation. Children thrive when they’re challenged, given responsibility and encouraged to assume leadership roles. Strong children will inevitably become strong adults.

“One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun.” –Jane Goodall

Parents face enormous pressure from the moms and dads around them, and themselves. But don’t let it get to you. Jane Goodall, a primatologist and mother of one, saw we’re not so different than our animal friends. Just like the chimps, we should appreciate the joys of the present rather than obsessing about the uncertainty of the future and the failures of the past.  

“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” –Oscar Wilde

The Irish writer didn’t have his own children, but he has a point here: Children who behave the best tend to be the happiest. Those who feel neglected, misunderstood or under pressure are the ones who typically act out. Discipline is important of course, but it should never be the overriding force in a child’s life.

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Nurturing Your Child's Creativity

Here are some tips to inspire creative thinking:

• Shop for toys that are interactive and can be used more than one way. Instead of coloring books, provide construction paper and crayons; instead of talking figures, help your child make up silly voices for plain-jane dolls and stuffed animals; instead of buying toys that only do one thing, show how wooden blocks and household items can become just about anything with a little imagination.

• Improvise. Instead of running to the store the next time your child wants something, think about ways to create what you need. Could a laundry basket and a football be a basketball set? Could you make kneepads from bubble wrap and duct tape? Instead of stepping in immediately to solve her problems, brainstorm together and encourage her to take a risk. It’s okay if her ideas don’t always work; independent thinkers need to learn resiliency, too.

• Encourage confidence, not conformity. So one sock’s blue and the other one’s red; so her bird has three wings. If you want to raise an original thinker, praise originality.

• Turn off the TV! (Come on, you knew that was coming.) Read stories and get them involved: “What would you do? How do you think that makes him feel?”) Ask them to tellyou a story. Close the book and make up a story or repeat a classic folk tale; without illustrations, their imagination will run wild.

• Give ‘em time to daydream. Kids who race from school to scheduled activity to play-date don’t have the time to engage their imaginations. Let them be bored once in a while; they may surprise you with what they can dream up.

Need more ideas? Use your imagination!

More information on www. education.com

Educational Fair Next Week