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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Compatibility glitch has student in a panic

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Gerald Bradshaw

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Updated: December 5, 2011 8:09AM



Dear Mr. Bradshaw — I am filling out my Common Application and, when I upload my essays, for some reason, they do not post in the display box.

When I click “view document” or “print preview,” all that appears is a blank page.

I am in a panic.

I thought it had posted because it did not show an error, until I discovered they were not visible in the display.

I missed my Early Action deadline because of it. What can I do to fix the problem?

Please help. — Panicked Student Dear Student

— This will be a short answer because I want readers to understand what they have to do about this problem without digging through a lot of technical jargon.

Several of my clients who uploaded their essays to the Common Application with a Macintosh have experienced this compatibility issue.

If you view an application submitted on your Mac on a PC, you will be able to see your essays in the display. You have to use a PC to view them.

This glitch has given students fits because they missed the Nov. 1, Early Action filing deadline.

I have not seen references to this problem in the news and am unaware of any fix to date.

To be on the safe side, I recommend that my clients fill out their applications on a PC and not a Mac.

In the interest of fairness and full disclosure, I use an iPad and iPhone for fun, but, for my business, I use a PC, even though I am constantly under attack by viruses and malware.

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