Common App problems

Just a few logistical questions as far as the Common App.
I’ve been working on this online all week, a few little issues came up.

-First off, under the parents section, there is only one space for Grad School. My Dad went to Tulane for his Masters in '84, and then went to The Union Institute for his Ph.D in 2000, thus has two grad schools. How do I handle this?

-As far as the 500 word limit goes, does this include words like “I” or “a” or “but”? Also, it said it’d truncate anything above 500 words, but according to Word, my essay is 900 words long (I have permission to write a longer essay from the college) yet it wasn’t truncated, could this have something to do with the whole “I” “a” “and” “but” thing? It is a personal narrative, so “I” is in there a lot.

<li>If not, how the hell do they expect us to get any meaning into 500 words?</li>

-Under work, I worked for the same place over the summer for 30 hours a week as I did during the school year for 4 hours a week. How would I handle this in the application?

-Also, when it comes time to mail in the application and fee, how is it recommended that the application is mailed? Should I send it certified or registered? Is it okay just to send it plain old first class? Is there a certain shipping company that is recommended?

Thanks!

<p>BumpBUMPbumpBUMPbumpBUMP</p>

<p>Um...any thoughts at all? Please?</p>

<ol>
<li>i would put the second one, because he got the higher degree there</li>
<li>i did it online: mine was around 550 and it wasn't truncated, just like my short ans was over by 100 words and it wasn't truncated. if it all shows up in the print preview correctly, then it's fine.</li>
<li>i guess if you need the extra space, then you could average the amount of time spent and have it all on one line (i'm not sure about this). or, if you have extra lines, then you could separate the two, and indicate the difference.</li>
</ol>

<p>Okay, thanks for the help. For those who had to snail mail it in, how did you send it?</p>