<p>1. School forms not in by the deadline? It’s ok. Get them in as soon as possible. Make sure your application and supplement are submitted by the deadline.</p>
<p>**2. Sure you paid, but payment has a red triangle? ** It’s ok. Payments are processed offline. Give it up to 48 hours, then check again. See the FAQ pages in the link above if it still doesn’t show your payment submitted.</p>
<p>**3. Submitted your app a few minutes past the deadline? ** It’s ok. If commonapp.org allowed you to submit, then you made it in. By the way, a deadline of 1/2 means 11:59pm EST on 1/2 – and each college has defined its own “grace period” for slightly late apps.</p>
<p>4. App says “Downloaded” instead of “Submitted”? That just means the college has accessed your application and is in the process of reviewing your amazingness. Lucky you.</p>
<p>**5. Stupid little triangles and squares got you freaked out? ** Don’t worry; they’re not reliable. The text tells the truth.</p>
<p>**6. Applying EDII after an ED rejection or deferment and it won’t let you? ** Here’s how to do it. In Future Plans, specify RD. In the EDII college’s supplement, specify EDII.</p>
<p>**7. Not sure how to explain a special circumstance? ** Be honest and brief, and end on a positive note.</p>
<p>**8. What to put in the Additional Information section? ** If you don’t think you have anything to include there, leave it blank. That’s ok to do. The Additional Information section is there as a catch-all for anything you have to tell the college that doesn’t fit anywhere else.</p>
<p>**9. Submitted on time, but now it shows Downloaded and a date that’s past the deadline? ** See #4 above and relax: You’re in.</p>
<p>**10. Forgot to add something really important before you submitted? ** See [this</a> post](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1061572554-post2.html"]this”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1061572554-post2.html) for how to send an update.</p>
<p>**11. Screwed up and submitted the wrong essay or other information that absolutely must be corrected? ** Either follow the instructions in #10, or contact the college’s Admission Office and ask how best to send a correction.</p>
<p>**12. Want help with your essay? ** Please don’t post it here. Read this thread first: [How</a> to safely use CC for essay advice without getting ripped off!](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-essays/258179-how-safely-use-cc-essay-advice-without-getting-ripped-off.html"]How”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-essays/258179-how-safely-use-cc-essay-advice-without-getting-ripped-off.html). Then visit the [College</a> Essays](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-essays/"]College”>College Essays - College Confidential Forums) forum to get started. Allow some time for people to respond!</p>
<p>**13. Where are the Arts and Athletic Supplements? Or how to send them on paper? ** First, select the college you’re applying to. Then, go to the Future Plans section. There is a completely separate Future Plans section for every college on your list, so you have to do this separately for each college. If the college in question accepts the Common App’s Arts and/or Athletic Supplement, you will see questions here about your submission plans. Respond accordingly.</p>
<p>**14. Print preview doesn’t look right; some stuff is missing or chopped off? ** Not a problem. If it looks right on the Web form, it will look right to the college. See [this</a> post](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1061571677-post3.html"]this”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1061571677-post3.html) for explanation.</p>
<p>**15. Teachers mailed their recs, but commonapp.org says the forms are incomplete? ** Yeah, it’ll do that. It’ll do it forever if your teachers are identified as “online providers,” which they are if you gave their email addresses. It won’t affect your application, as long as the colleges actually receive the recs. If they don’t receive the recs, they’ll usually contact you within a week or two after the deadline to let you know your file is incomplete and ask you to resend the missing documents (and they’ll even kindly let you know which ones are missing!).</p>
<p>Question not answered above? It’s probably answered on the Common App Web site, in one of these two places.
a. [Common</a> App Support Center](<a href=“http://s3.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=5524"]Common”>http://s3.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=5524)
b. [Common</a> App School Forms Support Center](<a href=“http://s3.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=5525"]Common”>http://s3.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=5525)</p>
<p>Absolutely certain you need help from someone with super powers? [Submit</a> a ticket](<a href=“http://s3.parature.com/ics/support/ticketNew.asp"]Submit”>http://s3.parature.com/ics/support/ticketNew.asp) to the Common App tech support team – they’re really helpful and responsive, from most of the posts I’ve read about them. Use this as a last resort, though, to make sure they’re able to stay helpful and responsive!</p>