Overview: Importing the Common Application
- 16 Nov 2023
- 2 minute read
- Print
- DarkLight
- PDF
Overview: Importing the Common Application
- Updated 16 Nov 2023
- 2 minute read
- Print
- DarkLight
- PDF
Article Summary
Share feedback
Thanks for sharing your feedback!
When the Common Application goes live mid-August, the Technolutions retrieval process runs daily from 2:30 AM-10:30 AM ET. Data and documents from the Common Application are delivered directly to the Common App folder of the SFTP directory, through the Scheduled Delivery Service (SDS) provided by the Common App. The files are then associated with the source format and uploaded to your database.
Although the Common Application files are delivered to the SFTP directory in your database, the data in those files will not automatically appear in the student records. Many of the fields and values are pre-mapped in the standard source formats; however, you must review, confirm, and update the mappings on the eight Common Application standard source formats to reflect your institution’s process.
Source Formats
The Common Application process includes the following source formats:
Source Format | Description |
|---|---|
This format contains information about students who have added your institution to their "My Colleges" tab in the Common Application. | |
This format contains information about students who have added your institution to their "My Colleges" tab and provides information on the start term and admission plan. | |
Contains application data for students who have applied to your institution. | |
This format allows you to select how specific materials should be saved in Slate. It's important to note that you must create the materials in Slate before mapping this source format. | |
Optional for institutions that import payment data separately from the Common App. Many institutions do not use this to map payment data since included in the CommonApp Application source format. | |
This format contains data from school forms and submitted recommendations. | |
Optional format for institutions that have enabled the self-reported transcript on the Common App. The data is exported in an XML format and imported to the person record's Courses tab. | |
This format applies to institutions with a Common Application writing supplement. Once you map this source format, the data will match to a student record using the Common App ID. |
Before You Begin
Before you begin mapping the fields and prompts on the source formats, you will want to ensure that you have done the following:
Create Periods and Rounds
If you still need to create Application Period and Rounds, refer to the Periods and Rounds documentation as well as the configuration process below.Create fields for member questions
Review the Common App Data Catalog (provided annually by Common App) and determine which data points are necessary for your Admission process. Create application-scoped custom fields for your member screen questions since they are unique to your institution. It is not necessary to re-create existing standard fields.Consider creating an “application source” field if your institution has multiple application sources
To keep track of where an application originated, consider creating a field for application source with prompt values for your different application sources (such as Common App). You can add this to your CommonApp import as a Static Value so all applications will display CommonApp as their source.Create Materials in Slate
Before importing documents from the CommonApp, material types must be created in Slate. Add Materials through the Database module under the Materials link. These will be used when completing the Value Mappings step of the CommonApp Materials source format.
Mappings from Previous Year
If the CommonApp file was mapped last year, those mappings will remain. However, it is necessary to review mappings and make updates for items that change from year to year (such as headers for member questions).
Was this article helpful?
