Good Evening,
I hope you guys are happy and well. I have a few questions I need to ask:
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Should I complete my common application offline or online? And if I decide to go offline, where are the common application papers to print for that? Also, since I am not going to graduate from my high school, my counselor indicated that she won’t be allowed to be my counselor since she only does it when her students are in grade twelve. In terms of transcripts, will she still be obliged to send them to the universities I plan to go to?
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As with offline, am I required to request three separate transcripts (I only have three universities I want to apply to) from my high school and mail them myself?
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With my teacher recommendation letters, I understand that there is a form that must be completed by them for offline applications, will they have to repeat the same form thrice for the three universities?
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And finally, can I put my teacher recommendation letters in the same packet as my transcripts? Or should I consider getting a different envelope for them and mailing them separately? Is it alright that my transcripts and recommendation letters come at least eight months prior to my actual application?
Unfortunately I can’t complete my high school education due to shifting to another country and I would like to settle everything whilst I am still here. I apologize profusely if these seems like very basic questions. I am rather new to this process and my parents are equally clueless. I thank-you for the time you take to read, and hopefully answer these questions.
I would suggest calling the regional representatives for your location (it will be online) and discussing with them how to proceed for each school. Three does not seem like enough schools. It does not make sense to do the Common App Offline, the whole point is to make it easier and have everything prefilled. The common app cannot be done until August 1. Anything you do now will be erased on July 31 (unless you print it out of course but the questions may be different).
As for recommendations, are your parents on good terms with the administration? I would have them call and explain and see what can be done.
In the US legally a school has to release your transcript. Not sure where you are. Your transcripts and your recommendations have to be sent from your school. If you send them they are assumed to be fake and cannot be counted (except for a few schools which ask you to self report scores but then evenutally ask for an official transcript). At some point an official transcript from every school you attended needs to be sent in.
- It's easiest to complete it online. I don't honestly know if the Common App has paper forms to fill out anymore. You'd have to ask the specific college if you plan to fill out the Common App offline. Some colleges have their own application that you can fill out either online or offline. You can check if the colleges you are considering have a preference. Your counselor will be obliged to send your transcripts once you apply to colleges in senior year/12th grade.
- Three isn't enough especially if you're not sure if you'll get in. You might want to bump that list out to like 6 or 7. But either way, you would request for your GC to send the transcripts HERSELF to the colleges. You aren't supposed to send it out yourself.
- On the Common App, there is a recommendations tab where you put in your teachers' email addresses and it sends them a request to complete a recommendation for you online. That's the easiest, most efficient way to do it PLUS you are not seeing your recommendation letters. That is a key thing because students are not supposed to see their recommendation letters and know what their recommenders said. It's a way of proving that the recommender is writing honestly. The best way to send recommendations to the colleges is through the Common App where you can't see them. However, if you prefer offline snail mail applying, have your teachers send their letters in the mail. You can't send them AT ALL but for clarity's sake, I'll just say that they need to be in their own envelopes and not nestled next to your transcript.
Question: if you can’t complete your high school education due to moving, how will colleges be able to accept you? They have admission requirements and want to see that you are a HS graduate. Are you satisfying high school/graduation requirements at all? Are you taking the GED? I’m kinda lost here, forgive me.
I recommend you schedule a meeting with your current GC, sit down, and explain everything. See what can be done and how it can be done in the most efficient manner.
Actually not every college requires a high school diploma. Any college that offers early admission (after Junior year) does not require it but that is something you need to check with them if it applies to you
Have you considered staying by yourself with a host family and finishing high school here?
Thank-you all for the replies! Very swift too! TheDidactic, thank-you especially for your detailed yet concise answers. Indeed, I’m going to take a GED. Unfortunately here in the middle east, visas and restrictions are very hard to come by and since the reason we are here is because of my parent’s occupation, the fact that they no longer have it, hinders me from continuing.
Also, may I ask if the school decides to send their transcripts and letters of recommendations via mail, am I obliged too then to complete my application offline? Or are they separate totally and what they do won’t affect what the application process I have to do on my end. Because as duly noted, online is much easier.
Thank-you once again. Have a great day folks!
They’re separate totally and won’t affect your application process.
Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! The best news this morning by far!
Also (sorry!), since my teachers wants to complete their recommendations offline, would that mean that they would have to fill out the application by hand three different times for the three different schools I’m applying to?
Make sure you get copies of your transcript now. Also I think your GC should be able to complete forms, most here are done in the summer after Junior year
I am trying to think of someone your teachers can send your recommendations to that is official so that someone in your new country has them but it is not you or a relative. Did you previously go to school in another country? Could that guidance person be the keeper of your records and send out new copies if you apply to more schools (3 is not enough especially if you are not a US citizen).
Any reason to do a GED rather than switch schools? That way the new school could keep your recommendations but not sure if they could send them out since they are not part of their school. Also that may not be enough reason to spend another year in school
I think they have stopped the paper form a couple years ago.
SaphireNY, I’m thinking of asking them to put the transcripts in a tamper-proof envelope I purchased from the post office and the teacher recommendations in another separate tamper-proof envelope, but mail them together in one big envelope? What do you think? Will that work?
You will have to talk to each school individually and see if they will even ACCEPT the transcripts and recommendations from your mailing address. You aren’t homeschooled so you’ll have to explain your situation.
Why cant the school mail them to colleges directly? As a back up Have them mail them to a third party who is trustworthy for you and would be deemed trustworthy by the schools. It is really hard to tell you what to do without knowing your situation, I think you need advice from people in life. I would call or email the colleges, maybe they can suggest someone who can keep a copy of your records on your behalf in case the other country becomes not accessible to you for some reason (again not sure why that would be)
They are not going to effect I think so.