Online applications appear simple. Just create an account. Login. Sit down and fill in all the needed information at one time. Click submit. Done.
Nope.
Each online application has its own technical quirks, and of course 8 point font sized directions, that only the rare teenager will take the time to read. So, if you need technical help, write an email and wait for a response. And, wait some more. Or, sit through a holding pattern, after wading through an automated series of options, to wait, then speak with a customer service person who’s only available until 5 pm–not when the teenager is actually completing the application at 11 pm.
At the same time, applicants must be sure to actually complete each required field of information to the exact standards set in the online application, otherwise the system will automatically return an error message, when trying to submit, and prevent the application from being sent. (NOT the message you want to see if you’ve waited until 11:40 pm on the deadline day and have 15 minutes to still submit on time.) Plus, calling the actual admissions office at the college may not be any additional help, as the online applications are often administered by other organizations.
Typical questions arise when self-reporting one’s classes and grades. Seems simple, but, inputting that information often follows the college’s logic, rather than a year by year listing of one’s classes and grades, as the actual high school transcript appears. Students must often report only academic classes, jumping around their transcript, leaving room for mis-transcribing a grade here or an AP distinction there. In addition, high schools often list multiple different GPA calculations on the transcript–College Prep GPA, High School Cumulative Weighted GPA, High School Cumulative Unweighted GPA, Honors GPA–leaving applicants to wonder which one to choose?
If students are asked to list their activities and awards, then there’s often a character count. These limits are deceptive. Applicants often think, “That’ll be easier to only write something short.” However, how does one condense 12 years of soccer playing into about a “tweet and a half”, or 160 characters including spaces, which is a typical character count in an online application? That’s where applicants will have to put in some effort–bursting any expectations that the online application will be completing in an hour at one sitting, in between sports practice and dinner.
Knowing what you’re confronting, when completing online applications, can help you plan accordingly, so no deadlines are missed.
For help completing applications, based on years of experience learning online college applications and guiding 100’s of students to navigate online applications, call us at (916) 769-6092. You’ll get a real person and real voice to talk through your questions, so you don’t miss a deadline.
Photo Credit: Art Baird, Creative Marbles Consultancy 2012
