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.