I’m just returning from Toronto where NACAC (National Association of College Admission Counseling), a U.S. association, held its first-ever conference internationally from September 19-21. I had the opportunity to tour 8 university campuses (see photos on my Face Book), attend a huge college fair representing U.S., Canadian and U.K. universities, met with admissions representatives from universities, chatted with high school counselors from across the U.S., Canada or international schools overseas, as well as exchanged ideas with other independent educational consultants.
I attended a number of interesting educational sessions. The open forum on the Redesigned Common Application was by far the most popular. There was so much demand from conference attendees that the NACAC organizers decided to repeat the session twice in one day. Members of the Common Application Board and staff were there to respond to questions, comments, and complaints. There are still a number of glitches in the system that are in the process of being taken care of. I certainly hope that my students will be able to print their applications while still in progress, review them multiple times and do a final preview prior to submission.
One piece of advice to all my students is to make every attempt to submit your first application, very likely your EA or ED application, early. One or two weeks before the deadline would be ideal. Remember, the Common Application Version 4 is new and there might be glitches that have not been corrected prior to the November 1 deadline. It’s better to be safe and have peace of mind that you have successfully submitted your early application than be in a panic minutes before the deadline when your attempts at submission fail. Remember, it’s generally the early bird that gets the worm!