So, I used Common App to transfer to the Columbia University. Little did I know that if applying to the School of General Studies in Columbia University, they have their own application and do not accept Common App.
I’m trying to transfer the application, the fee, the recommendation letters to Columbia’s GS program, only to find out that no schools in Columbia University has my application. I e-mail CommonApp (only contact method for this company) to see which college it was sent to, and CommonApp could not have given me a much more vague answer. First, they ignore the question and simply say, “Your submitted application has already been downloaded by the college.” I ask them a follow-up question about which college specifically, and they said they’ll contact the CommonApp representative at Columbia (is this a real thing? I still haven’t received a word about it). Next, I call up the third-party company that’s sent my application fee (found the number in my credit card statement-- it was some company in New Haven, CT) and they can only tell that it was a Columbia University college in New York. They can’t provide me with any other information besides just that for some reason. It’s very frustrating when you entrust some big company to send your application and fee, and they have no idea whom they sent it to… The third-party company did give me a 16-digit receipt code, and told me that if I give that number to Columbia, they should be able to help me out further. I do just that, and no one even knos about the 16-digit code.
Does anyone know where my application might be? I even called the Busar and cashier’s office to see if they have any record of my payment, which they don’t, and also don’t know about the 16-digit receipt number either. Is CommonApp doing something fishy, or is it legitimiately lost in transition? I even e-mailed and called the contact info for Columbia University provided on CommonApp under Columbia University section, and they both tell me that there is no record of my application. What the hell, like does CommonApp launder e-payments now?