Common App Facing Technical Problems

Students who are working on submitting the Common Application, a widely accepted admissions form, may experience some frustration when filling out the electronic version. The electronic version of the Common App says that students can submit short essays that don’t exceed 150 words, yet many students are finding that the end of their responses are being cut off. The problem is known as the “truncation” issue, and not only affects the short essay, but also parents’ job titles and the extracurricular activities fields of the form.
For a time, students did not discover these problems until they printed their completed applications, revealing the final version that would be viewed by admissions officers. The New York Times reports that the Common App office has now at least added an error message to the online form, warning students that their responses may be too long.
The common app, which is accepted by over 400 universities and colleges in the U.S. was designed to reduce the stress of applying to college placed on high school seniors. The newest universities to accept the Common Application include the University of Michigan and Columbia. However, these technical glitches seem to add triple the stress of applying to college because the stakes of submitting the Common App are so much higher, considering the single form will be seen by many colleges.
Students should be aware that fields marked with a 150-world limit are really limited to about 1000 characters. You should always print a preview before submitting a final copy.
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The Common Application