Quick Tips: Common App for Guidance Counselors
By UStudy
There are more than 500 colleges that use the Common Application, representing a wide range of higher education institutions in the US: public and private, large and small, highly and modestly selective, located on the East Coast, West Coast, and every region in between. Students can choose a maximum of three teachers and one guidance counselor per college/university to support their application.
- A guidance counselor will submit a school profile and provide general comments on the students’ performance through the School/Final Reports.
- Teachers will submit a more specific recommendation letter about the students’ academic and extracurricular potential.
- Counselors need to supply a school profile. This provides summary information about the school’s student body, curricular offerings, and grading system. The link below from the College Board website will give you an idea of a school profile.
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/counseling/profile/sample
- If a student has requested a Fee Waiver, you will need to affirm that the student does indeed qualify for a fee waiver from the drop-down menu.
- Counselors should submit Mid-Year Reports as soon as first semester/trimester grades are available. The Common App Online School Forms system does not send reminders about these forms, nor do counselors receive invitations to submit as they do with the Secondary School Report. It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of this requirement and ensure that the counselor is aware of it.
- The Final Report should not be submitted until after a student has received all admission decisions.
- Abbreviations on Students tab for Counselors
ED1 – Early Decision agreement form for ED school
ED2 – Early Decision agreement form for ED 2 school
SR – School Report
FW – Common App Fee Waiver
OR – Optional Report
MR – Mid-Year Report
FR – Final Report
- The School Report and any additional components (ED Agreement, etc.) should be submitted or postmarked by the application deadline date.
Submitting past a deadline: Some schools may be more lenient with school officials. You will have to contact the school to see if they will accept school forms later than the stated deadline.
- Colleges usually require two or three letters of recommendation from high school teachers or guidance counselors.
- GPA (Grade Point Average) is used by many American institutions. This number is calculated by averaging your class grades and number of classes being taken. If your school does not use GPA in their marking, you may leave these questions blank.
