Solutions for uploading files to the Common App.

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>Each morning the Common Application sends me an "Update" regarding issues. This morning's update included instructions for uploading files to the CA. Since yesterday I saw a lot of posts concerning the trouble students/teachers were having in trying to upload files to the CA; I am posting the instructions give by CA in today's update. The instructions below are from the CA. I hope am not techie so I can't give any more information other than what is posted here. (P.S. CA says that they have hired additional help for the help center so hopefully those of you with help tickets still unanswered will finally get some kind of response. </p>

<p>From the CA:</p>

<p>Solutions for uploading files</p>

<p>If you are having an issue in uploading your files and have access to a different browser, please try uploading in that browser. If you are still unable to upload, please see below for some suggested solutions:</p>

<p>Please make sure your file is 500kb or smaller in size and in a supported format (.pdf, .doc, .txt) before attempting to upload.</p>

<p>If you are working on a PC:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Open the original file</p></li>
<li><p>Under the file menu, select the "print" option</p></li>
<li><p>In the printer name box, select "cutePDF writer"* and click "ok"</p></li>
<li><p>Adobe will print the file to your screen and prompt you to save the file</p></li>
<li><p>Save the file with a different file name than your original file</p></li>
<li><p>Upload the new file</p></li>
</ol>

<p>*If you do not have the cutePDF writer option available in your printer pull down menu, you can download it for free here: CutePDF</a> - Convert to PDF for free, Free PDF Utilities, Save PDF Forms, Edit PDF easily.</p>

<p>If you are using Firefox as your browser</p>

<p>1) Make sure you are using Firefox 23 or higher (you may need to upgrade to this version)</p>

<p>2) Download the Mozilla PDF Reader extension.</p>

<p>a) Click the "Firefox" Menu button in the top left corner</p>

<p>b) Click "Add-ons"</p>

<p>c) Search for "PDF viewer 0.8.298" and install it</p>

<p>3) Disable Adobe Reader Plug-in and restart your browser</p>

<p>a) From the same menu as above, click "Plugins"</p>

<p>b) Click the dropdown next to Adobe Acrobat and select "Never Activate"</p>

<p>If you are using a Mac (and the Firefox solution above does not work for you)</p>

<p>Please try to re-save your file again as a PDF to your desktop and then upload that newly saved document.</p>

<p>If any of the above options do not resolve your upload issue, please send the the file to the Support Team here at Common App, along with a description on where it should be uploaded, and we will try to upload the file for you.</p>

2

<p>Here is one more bit of information to help students/teachers if the file is too large to upload. </p>

<p>This comes directly from the Common Application and is posted in their Help Center. </p>

<p>File too large to upload</p>

<p>If your file exceeds the limit of 500k, you can try to reduce the size of your file using the information at Adobe’s site: [How</a> to reduce PDF file size using Acrobat 9](<a href=“http://acrobatusers.com/tutorials/reducing-file-size]How”>How to reduce PDF file size using Acrobat 9) .</p>

<p>You may also get help from your tech team to reduce the file size. Otherwise, you will need to submit the forms on paper.</p>