Shopping online? [Don't forget to use Ebates, where you get cashback -- for college and anything else.]
But I digress... When you shop online, what is the protocol? You browse. You select the items you want to buy, placing them in your shopping cart. You complete all required information pertinent to your order. And, last but not least, you PAY.
Simple, right? Logical.
In almost every online purchase, the final step is PAYMENT. Not so with your college applications, or at least those you attempt to submit via our old nemesis and yours, Common App.
No, if you are applying via Common App, payment is the FIRST step, not the LAST (as it is on, say, Amazon). When you hit SUBMIT on Common App, you are submitting payment, NOT your application. The FINAL button that appears after you enter credit card info, refers to your payment, NOT your application.
Once you pay, you must then sign and submit your application. If there is a supplement, this must be signed and submitted separately, after you sign and submit the application.
Convoluted? Bizarre? Simply silly? Of course. It's Common App. What did you expect?
Okay. So, machinations of not-for-profit status aside, it's all about the money. We get it. Still...
In a logical, rational world, even where payment is deemed to be a critical first step, why label it SUBMIT? Whay not call it, PAY? And why FINAL, when it isn't?
Because this, folks, the the college application and admissions process! As crazy, backward, and half-assed as it gets. And why not? After all, as the colleges themselves will tell you, it's complicated!
Time to stop the insanity? You bet! Open up your windows, stick your heads out, and shout at the top of your lungs to Common App, College Board, ACTstudent, and NACAC, and college administrators everywhere. "We're mad as Hell, and we're not gonna take it anymore!" Not, that it will do any good mind you. Well, unless we all start paying atention, and stop hitting SUBMIT with our wallets.
Call COLLEGE CONNECTION today at 516-345-8766 and let us help you successfully navigate the road to college!
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