The Common App for transfer Program User Guide
This guide provides you with documentation, reference guides, and direct links that answer common admissions questions about The Common App for transfer Applicant Portal and WebAdMIT. It also contains resources that may help you work more efficiently throughout your admissions process. If you have additional questions or need further assistance, please contact a member of your account team.
Cycle Timeframes
Applicant Portal
The Applicant Portal opens in late July and closes in late July. You can view the specific cycle dates, including final processing dates (e.g., last date to submit transcripts, last date to request letters of recommendation, etc.), on The Common App for transfer Cycle Dates page.
Configuration Portal
Between early March and late May, configurations are entered into the prelaunch environment. The account team and The Common App for transfer review submitted configurations in June.
WebAdMIT
You can initiate a transfer settings before the cycle opens in late May, and view new applicants shortly after the new cycle opens in late July.
Program Participation Requirements
The Common App requires all programs to designate two contacts at your institution who will receive all communication from The Common App for transfer, including the application and WebAdMIT launch notifications.
Applicant Portal
The first three sections of The Common App for transfer application (i.e., Personal Information, Academic History, and Supporting Information) compose the core application. They contain questions that are commonly asked of applicants across all participating programs, such as an applicant's biographic information, standardized test scores, and experiences. The fourth section of the application is Program Materials, which is customized by you through the Configuration Portal (discussed in the next section).
You can access The Common App for transfer application and The Common App for transfer Help Center to review the applicant experience. You can also create a test application in the Applicant Portal; we recommend creating a new account and adding "test" to your name (e.g., TestJohn TestDoe).
For a general overview of the applicant experience, review the following documents:
- Applicant Processing Reference Guide: learn how applicants move through the application and Liaison processes applicant materials, such as transcripts. Note that only the Applicant Experience and Transcript sections are applicable to The Common App. In addition, The Common App only accepts electronic transcripts from National Student Clearinghouse and Parchment.
- Application Statuses Reference Guide: review what each application status means and how you can interact with applicants at different stages. Note that The Common App's final application status is "Complete."
- Review the requirements for The Common App for transfer Complete application status.
- The Common App for transfer Quick Start Guide and FAQs: a suggested timeline for completing and submitting the application, links to important pages including cycle dates and fees, and a FAQs section.
You can direct any applicant inquiries related to the application to The Common App for transfer Customer Service.
Configuration Portal
Use the Configuration Portal Quick Start Guide to make sure you configure your program(s) efficiently and completely in the prelaunch environment. Be sure to check out your CAS's configuration options and review the best practices found throughout. If any optional sections of the application are required for your program (e.g., experiences, test scores, etc.), you'll want to note this on your program home page.
Once you've configured your program, you'll need to have it approved by the account team and The Common App before it is available to applicants. If your program is reviewed after the cycle launches, The Common App will approve it.
WebAdMIT
Review The Common App for transfer Quick Start Guide for any questions related to working in WebAdMIT. The Reference Guides and WebAdMIT Training and Support sections are additional resources as you configure WebAdMIT for your needs. Documents commonly requested include:
- Application Coupons Reference Guide: learn how to request coupons to offset application fees and disperse them to applicants.
- Application Coupon Codes FAQs: review answers to frequently asked questions about offering coupon codes.
- Data Dictionaries and Master Code Lists: a comprehensive list of all fields available in the Export Manager and Report Manager, including associated lookup tables.
- Invitation Codes Reference Guide: learn how to offer individual deadline extensions directly to applicants
- Social Security Number (SSN) Documents Reference Guide: a guide on how to configure a PGP key to receive an encrypted file that contains the applicant's CAS ID and SSN.
- Transfer Settings Guide: a review of how programs and templates built in WebAdMIT are carried forward each cycle. Note that The Common App does not use the Scoring, Assignment, Interviewing, and Local GPAs features.
The Release Notes feature new enhancements in the Applicant Portal, Applicant Gateway, Configuration Portal, Letters by Liaison, and WebAdMIT, in addition to upcoming training opportunities.
For any questions, contact the Client Support Specialist Team.
Cycle Enhancements
2023-2024
The table below contains enhancements for Common App for transfer for the cycle timeframes noted at the top of this page. Note that some sections have multiple enhancements. If an action is required by participating programs to use the enhancement, click the links under Enhancement Details to learn more. Additional enhancements may have been automatically released; review the Release Notes to learn more.
|
Portal |
Section |
Enhancement Details |
Implementation |
Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Applicant Portal |
Dashboard |
A new notification banner is available for the application dashboard. CASs can share best tips and tricks with applicants as they complete their applications. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Create Account, My Profile |
The Name questions now include sections where applicants can enter different and former names. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Extended Profile |
The Community College Status question was changed to "Are you currently a community college student?" |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
A new "X or another legal sex" answer option was added to the Sex question. For more information, review the Common App's explanation of the legal sex and gender changes. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Nationality Information |
The Country of citizenship drop-down was renamed to Non-U.S. country of citizenship. This drop-down appears when applicants select U.S. dual citizen, U.S. permanent resident, U.S. refugee or asylee, or Citizen of a non-U.S. country as their citizenship status. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Supporting Information – Experiences |
Applicants can edit in progress experiences after they submit their application. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Program Materials |
Applicants can create a custom recommender pool, where they enter a recommender’s information once and then select the recommender for any programs that they apply to. This enhancement alleviates the applicant burden of entering recommender information for every program and speeds up the application process. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Configuration Portal |
Program Details |
A new Academic Honor Society Certificate document type was added. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
2022-2023
The table below contains enhancements for Common App for transfer for the cycle timeframes noted at the top of this page. Note that some sections have multiple enhancements. If an action is required by participating programs to use the enhancement, click the links under Enhancement Details to learn more. Additional enhancements may have been automatically released; review the Release Notes to learn more.
|
Portal |
Section |
Enhancement Details |
Implementation |
Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Applicant Portal |
Extended Profile |
Responses to the Date of Birth question determine whether the Parent/Guardian section displays in the Personal Information quadrant. If the applicant is younger than 24 years old, the Parent/Guardian section will display. Additionally, the Military History questions were updated and a new Community College Status question was added. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Common App Fee Waiver |
The Common App Fee Waiver question text was updated. A UStrive Mentoring question was also added. Additionally, a fee waiver is now automatically granted to applicants who select Yes for the Do you meet one or more of the Common App fee waiver eligibility criteria question. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Personal Information – Biographic Information |
A new Birth Information question block is available and requires applicants to report only their date of birth. Additionally, the questions in this section were reordered. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – Colleges Attended |
When applicants enter their colleges attended, they can now identify if they paid in-state or out-of-state tuition for each college or university. Additionally, if an applicant selects Unlisted French Speaking Canadian or Other Foreign Institution, they must complete a new required field for the college’s country. If you created exports to pull a college's country data, you must edit and select the new college country fields. Review the Country Field for Manually Entered Foreign Institutions release note for more information. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History |
A new Community-Based Organizations section was added. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Applicant Portal |
Academic History – Standardized Tests |
Applicants can report their AP (Advanced Placement), CLEP (College Level Examination Program), and IB (International Baccalaureate) tests in the Standardized Tests section. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Configuration Portal |
College Transcripts |
You can select different requirements for domestic transcripts and foreign transcripts or evaluations. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
Configuration Portal |
Organization Details and Program Details |
You can preview your programs in the application using the Preview feature and continue making edits as necessary. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
Configuration Portal |
Organization Details |
Instead of rebuilding your program in the prelaunch environment, you can import your program from a previous cycle's production environment into the prelaunch environment. You can access the Import from Previous Cycle button in the Configuration Portal prelaunch environment. Visit the Import Your Programs page for more information. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
Configuration Portal |
Organization Details |
You can only access the Add Program and Copy Program buttons in the Configuration Portal prelaunch environment. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
Configuration Portal |
Program Details |
A new College-Specific Writing document type was added. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available now |
|
Letters by Liaison |
Account |
Evaluators can now submit their evaluations as a guest, without creating a Letters by Liaison account. Guest users can create an account at any time while working in Letters by Liaison, and evaluators who already have an account can also complete an evaluation as a guest. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
Letters by Liaison |
Forms |
The Academic Recommender, Professional Recommender, High School Official Recommender, and Personal Recommender forms were updated. |
No action required by participating programs to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
Clipboard |
You can now add multiple applicants to your Clipboard by uploading a CSV file of their CAS IDs. Review the Using the Clipboard page for more information. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |
|
WebAdMIT |
PDF Manager |
If you create a list that searches for applicants based on any field in the Designations field grouping (e.g., Designation, Application Status, etc.), you can now extract the full application PDFs that adhere to your list's criteria. For more information, see the PDF Manager page. |
Action required by participating programs choosing to use this enhancement. |
Available at cycle launch |