High school seniors who are applying to any of more than 500 colleges that use the Common Application have reported technical difficulties with the system, such as the garbling of text in their essays and the non-receipt of payments that lead to the false belief that the applications have been submitted, the New York Times reported last week.
Now with less time left until college early acceptance deadlines hit, the Common Application organization says most of the problems have been worked out, although several still show a status of “in progress” on the Common Application website. But more importantly, enough uncertainty exists that colleges have extended deadlines, created alternative application process flows, and taken other steps in a frantic spree to accommodate the technical problems with the application’s newest release, only offered online, which is premiering this year.
[See comment below] We’ve emailed the communications office at the Common Application in order to try to get more definitive answers about what happened and, I hope, what you might do to make sure your application made it to its intended destinations in good form. But until they respond, we want to make sure you double check your own applications. For example, some reports say the signature page for credit card payments can take a very long time to come up, which might lead you to close the browser before your payment is processed. If you did this, you might think your application has been submitted and is on its way to the university when, in fact, it isn’t. Check both the online application system and your credit card statements to make sure the payment was processed and the application submitted. Also check that you only paid one time.
Second, some students have reported, based on the buzz on Twitter, that the essays are garbled and don’t resemble what they typed in, especially if they copied and pasted from Microsoft Word. Again, we can only advise you to double check your applications, print them out, view them in a different browser—for example, if you normally use Internet Explorer, try to see what the application looks like in Chrome—and so on.
Finally, stay informed about the admissions deadlines at the colleges to which you have applied. Go to their websites regularly during this process, since there are glitches this year, and different colleges are responding in different ways. Many colleges, such as Northwestern and the University of Chicago, have extended their early acceptance deadlines because of the technical problems with the Common Application. Others, such as a few in Minnesota, have reportedly created alternative applications. Others have made it easier for high schools to use hardcopy because of communication problems between the Common Application and Naviance, which high schools use to send transcripts and other documents to colleges.
“There’s always anxiety approaching deadlines, but this has been on a different scale,” the Times quoted Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions at Duke, as saying. “We’ve been getting a lot of emails, a lot of phone calls, from students and counselors and teachers, who were feeling very challenged by the process.”
“It’s been a nightmare,” said Jason C Locke, associate vice provost for enrollment at Cornell University, in an earlier Times story. “I’ve been a supporter of the Common App, but in this case, they’ve really fallen down.”
From the Common Application Communications Office:
Over the last few weeks, some Common Application users have experienced technical issues with the new Common Application system. The most frequently reported problems have involved errors when attempting to log in, credit card payments that take a day or more to register, and the resulting delay in submitting an application.
None of these issues impacts all users, but each introduces a level of frustration for students, which adds anxiety to an already stressful process. These issues also have the potential to impact processes and deadlines for our member colleges, and we are especially appreciative of colleges that have taken steps to reassure students and parents.
We are committed to resolving these issues promptly, and we are encouraged that application submissions are up 25% over the same period last year, an indication that the system is functioning properly for the majority of users. In addition, we are working closely with Hobsons, the developer of the new Common App online system.
“As the technology provider to the Common Application, Hobsons is committed to the success of the Common Application and its community of users. We are working closely with the Common Application to address, and prevent, any system performance issues or user challenges. Additionally, we are working closely with the Common Application’s network of partners to assist them in their final integration efforts. The success of Common Application during the upcoming peak application deadline period is of the utmost importance to Hobsons. We have dedicated a team of experts to support this effort and collaborate closely with the Common Application,” stated Craig Heldman, Chief Executive Officer of Hobsons.
As we approach the busy deadline season, we are fully committed to ensuring complete and timely review of applications for all Common Application members, particularly those with November 1 deadlines.
In the end, I think the best advice anyone can give is to start the application process early. That way, if anything does go wrong for you, you’ll have plenty of time to fix it.