COMMON APPLICATION WORKSHOP.

C

OMMON

A

PPLICATION

W

ORKSHOP

H

OW

TO

APPLY



www.commonapp.org

 Remember username/password

 The navigation menu appears on the top

of the screen. Students can move through the application by clicking through each of the sections.

 You can add colleges on the College

Search tab

 Once you have added colleges, you will

P

ART

O

NE

: D

ASHBOARD

 The Common App dashboard is the central location to monitor

your applications, including deadlines, requirements, and progress.

 Dashboard icons give a visual indication of the status of your

progress. Green checkmarks signify that work has been submitted to that college, while yellow circles indicate work that is ready for submission or is still being worked upon.

 The Application Dashboard will display all of your colleges and

the status of your work for each major admissions component: Common Application, application fee, college Writing

Supplement, and Recommendations. From here, you can get a quick overview of your progress, and jump directly to the work you want to complete.

 Students should refer to the Dashboard page to confirm that all

required items have been submitted properly and by the deadline.



DEADLINES VARY GREATLY for

admissions and scholarship consideration

D

ASHBOARD

Yellow dots indicate that items have not been

submitted.

D

ASHBOARD

- W

RITING

R

EQUIREMENTS

T

AB

 Click on the Writing Requirements tab to understand what

different colleges expect of you when it comes to long, essay style responses.

 Use this tab as a planning tool so you can stay on track

D

ECISION

O

PTIONS

 Early Decision is a binding option, where applicants

receive a decision regarding their candidacy much earlier than other applicants. In exchange, the applicant - if

admitted - will immediately accept that offer of admission and withdraw their applications from other institutions.

 Early Action is a non-binding option, where applicants

receive a decision regarding their candidacy much earlier than other applicants, but with no obligation to enroll or withdraw their applications from other colleges.

 Rolling Admissions An admission policy of considering

each application as soon as all required information (such as high school records and test scores) has been received, rather than setting an application deadline and reviewing applications in a batch. Colleges that use a rolling

P

ART

T

WO

: M

Y

COLLEGES



The 'My Colleges' screen is where you will

complete work for each college to which you

intend to apply.



You must first add a college to your My Colleges

list before you will be able to use this screen (use

the College Search screen to add colleges to your

list).



Assign Recommenders through this tab

(teachers/counselors)



Shows college deadlines and application fees

Click on the name of the college to see

M

Y

C

OLLEGES



The My Colleges tab details both Application Fee

and Recommender Assignment requirements.

C

OMMON

A

PPLICATION

Be sure to enter in the high schools that you have

attended and Palomar if you took a class there. Use overall GPA listed on transcript for “cumulative

GPA”. *This is different than the CSU’s/UC’s!* GPA is either weighted with AP classes, or

unweighted without AP classes

 Graduating class size is 640. GPA scale is 4.

 Class Rank- choose “None” (District does not rank).  When entering in test info indicate # of tests. Report

highest scores as requested. If you are taking a test in the future (Oct/Nov) put that date on your

application. Must send ACT/SAT scores to every

school directly from College Board and ACT.

 Report AP and SAT Subject exam scores.

A

CTIVITIES

, A

WARDS

, E

XTRACURRICULAR

EVERYTHING- list up to 10 activities in order of

importance to you

 Clubs (list leadership positions)  Sports

 Church activities  Community service

 Awards and honors (from coaches or if a team makes CIF)  Use words like: mentor, taught, led, organized,

responsible for, etc.

 You want to represent LEADERSHIP, IMPROVEMENT,

DEDICATION within the activities section and your essay.

 Work: list responsibilities for your job and what you

do with your earnings

 Ed. Prep Programs: summer programs like Upward

S

ENIOR

Y

EAR

C

OURSES

 Senior Schedule: Enter in 1st semester and 2nd semester

courses as listed on transcript. You will also list ALL senior year classes (including non-A-G courses).

 12th grade (non-AP) English title: CSU Expository

Reading and Writing

 12th grade history (non-AP) title: Government (AS 2

HSS)

 Course scheduling system= Semester

 Select “Full Year” after course title. If you are planning on

dropping/adding a class, indicate either “first semester” or “second semester”

 If you listed a course on your application and then drop it,

you MUST notify the admissions office at each university to which you applied.

A

SSIGNING

RECOMMENDERS

-

(

UNDER

“

MY

COLLEGES

”

TAB

)

 The “Assign Recommenders” tab is located in the My Colleges area of your account, and becomes active once you have

provided the necessary information on the “Education” screen of the Common App.

 Applicants can invite teachers and counselor to provide

recommendations (counselor will complete secondary school report and upload official transcript). Most institutions require multiple teacher recommendations. To determine how many are required for your selected institutions, review their

requirements on the My Colleges page.

 After a teacher or counselor is added to a student's list of recommenders, an email is sent to that school official with instructions about using the online system.

 Don’t forget to click the “assign” button beside the

ASSIGNING RECOMMENDERS CONT

’

R

EQUESTING

L

ETTERS

OF

R

ECOMMENDATION

 ASKING nicely  for Letters of

Recommendation- packet available in the

Counseling office. Must give at least 2 weeks notice-

10 School Days! No packet = no letter of rec!!!

 Make sure you ask teachers/counselor if you may put

R

EQUESTING

L

ETTERS

OF

S

UBMITTING

THE

APPLICATION



Students should refer to the Dashboard to

confirm that all required items have been

submitted properly and by the deadline.



It is your responsibility to preview your

S

UBMITTING

THE

APPLICATION

You have two ways to submit the application:

 From the dashboard, click on the name of the school and click submit. Or,

from the My Colleges tab, click on the school name and select "Submission - Common App".

 Either way, The first step is a print preview. If you are satisfied with

the preview, please click continue on the bottom and you will be routed to the schools payment page. Once the payment has been completed you need to sign, date, and submit.

 Once the application has been submitted, you will be able to

submit the writing supplement (check submission status through Dashboard)

 If you are not satisfied with your PDF preview, click on the X in the top

right corner to close the preview and abandon the submission. The

F

EE

WAIVERS

 You can request a fee waiver on the Profile screen in the Common

Application Fee Waiver section (under Common App tab).

 You must meet at least one of the following indicators of

economic need:

 You have received or are eligible to receive an ACT or SAT

testing fee waiver.

 You are enrolled in or eligible to participate in the Federal

Free or Reduced Price Lunch program (FRPL).

 Your annual family income falls within the Income Eligibility Guidelines set by

the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

 You are enrolled in a federal, state, or local program that aids students from

low-income families (e.g., TRIO programs such as Upward Bound).

 Your family receives public assistance.

 You live in a federally subsidized public housing, a foster home or are homeless.  You are a ward of the state or an orphan.

 You can provide a supporting statement from a school official, college access

TRANSCRIPTS

 Counselor will complete secondary school report and

upload official transcript after receiving invite email from Common App (student must 1st enter in

counselor email).

 If you completed a course at Palomar or another

institution, you must request that the institution send an official transcript directly to the schools at the

time you apply.

 At the end of the school year, you must arrange to

send your final, official transcript from SMHS, as well as any other educational institution you have

attended (Palomar).

 All transcript requests go through the Registrar in

CSS P

ROFILE

 CSS Profile- Many colleges require both the CSS

Profile and the FAFSA application to determine your financial aid/scholarship eligibility. The deadlines for the CSS Profile vary from school to school (please

check each school’s financial aid website for specific details).

 Complete the CSS Profile online at

http://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile

 The fee for the initial application and one college or

program report is $25.00. Additional reports are $16.00.

 Fee waivers- if you qualify, fee waivers are granted

C

 Ms. Lori Nguyen [email protected] 760-290-2219  Ms. Erika Yi [email protected] 760-290-2263

 Ms. Kristi Harlig [email protected] 760-290-2314  Ms. Janet Paul- [email protected] 760-290-2220  Ms. Lisa Stout- [email protected] 760-290-2259  Ms. Lisa Berry [email protected] 760-290-2227

 Mr. Ruben Escobar [email protected] 760-290-2252



Title: School Counselor

 Counselor fax # 760-290-2278  Graduation Date: June 22, 2016

REMEMBER:

 4.0 GPA Scale, 640 sr. students

 Overall weighted GPA listed on transcript,