Many students who tried to apply to colleges early this fall hit a snag with The Common Application. Major technical glitches tied to the rollout of the platform's latest edition in August, used by more than 500 universities, were widely reported. But the larger problems that plagued the system – and caused many schools to push back early application deadlines – have been fixed, officials say.
很多学生今年秋季申请美国大学时在美国大学通用申请表格(Common Application)上都碰到了麻烦。Common Application是一家非盈利性机构，在今年八月首发了他们最新版的申请系统，该系统被美国500多所大学采用。然而，该机构却收到了广泛的技术错误报告。但是，Common Application官方称困扰系统的最严重的问题——也是导致很多学校推迟提前申请截止时间的问题——已经被解决了。
Despite the improvements, experts say that students may still run into some technical issues. High school counselors, college admissions officials and representatives from The Common Application – the nonprofit organization behind the application system – encourage students to remain calm and take the following advice if they have trouble completing or submitting college applications.
尽管已经有一些技术改进，但是专家称学生们还是可能会碰到技术问题。高中的学生顾问、大学的招生官和Common Application的代表希望学生们保持冷静，如果仍然在完成或提交大学申请的过程中遇到技术问题，不妨采纳以下建议：
Start applications early:
尽早开始申请：
If problems arise, students will have time to make sure their applications are submitted correctly.
这样，学生们在遇到问题时仍然可以有足够的时间来完成申请。
"The single most important piece of advice that any of us can give to a student right now is for them to be working and ideally submitting their application before their high school and before colleges close for the holidays," says Kelly A. Walter, associate vice president and executive director of admissions at Boston University.
波士顿大学的执行申请主主任和助理副校长凯莉·沃尔特说：“我们现在能给学生的最重要的建议就是在高中和大学放假之前提交申请。”
Students should also avoid submitting applications on popular deadlines like Jan. 1 and 15. The large volume of applicants then can increase wait time for students who need assistance from the Common Application support team, high schools and colleges, experts warn.
专家们还警告说，学生们应该避免在普遍的申请截止日期，即1月1日和15日提交申请，因为大量申请人的涌入会延长学生寻求来自Common Application技术团队、高中和大学的帮助的等待时间。
"Given what we have seen this year, the likelihood of problems, of submissions delays, of complications with fee payments are most likely to happen in those last few hours prior to a deadline date," Walter says.
沃尔特还说，根据他们今年掌握的情况来看，提交延迟、缴费故障等问题最容易在截止日期之前的几个小时发生。
Submit detailed requests for help:
提交详细的求助信：
Experts recommend students go to the applicant help center on the Common Application website to search the FAQs and submit a help ticket before they reach out to colleges and universities for assistance.
专家建议学生们在向大学寻求帮助之前，先到Common Application网站的帮助中心去搜索常见问题，然后提交一封求助信。
Scott Anderson, senior director for policy of The Common Application, says students should log in to their accounts and submit tickets that thoroughly explain their problem from the same computer that was used to complete their applications, as this will help techs solve problems more quickly.
Common Application的高级政策主管斯科特·安德森说，学生可以登录他们的账户，用他们完成申请所使用的同一台电脑提交一份详尽全面的求助信。这样可以帮助技术谭队更快地解决问题。
"The more information that they can provide at the outset the more quickly we can assist them," Anderson says.
“学生一开始提交的信息越多，我们就越容易帮助他们。”安德森说。
Reach out to high school counselors and college admissions offices:
向高中学生顾问和大学招生官寻求帮助：
Jim Montague, program director for guidance and support services at the Boston Latin School, advises students to talk to their high school counselor in person as soon as they run into problems.
波士顿拉丁学校的指导和支持服务的负责人吉姆·蒙田建议学生们在遇到问题后尽管和他们的高中学生顾问面谈。
"It makes it easier for us and more efficient if they come by our office. They can open up The Common Application with us and show us exactly what the problem is," Montague says.
蒙田说：“如果他们来我们的办公室的话我们处理问题就会更简单、更有效率。他们可以和我们一起打开Common Application然后把问题指给我们看。”
Students with concerns about their application after they have submitted a ticket should also reach out to their universities, college admissions officials say.
大学招生官说，如果学生提交了求助信之后还有顾虑，可以直联系他们申请的大学。
College officials can outline any additional steps students can take and make note of any complications on the student's file, but students may need to reach out to multiple schools about the correct process.
大学的招生官可以给学生指出他们需要采取的额外步骤，还可以把学生遇到的问题记入学生的档案。但是，学生们可能需要向很多学校一一询问正确的做法。
"That answer may be different from one college to the next. What's right and what works for Ithaca College may not be what another institution wants them to do," says Gerard Turbide, director of admissions for the school.
伊萨卡学院的招生主管杰拉德·图拜德说，“每个学校和每个学校的回答可能不一样。在伊萨卡学院的可行的做法可能并不是其他大学想让他们做的。”
Review, submit and verify:
检查、提交、确认：
The Common App's Anderson says that it's important for students to make sure they've completed the entire submission process. Students should review their applications, pay any fees, sign an affirmation and hit "submit." After doing so, Anderson recommends they go back into the application's dashboard to make sure that all materials were submitted correctly.
Common Application的安德森说学生必须确认他们完成了全部的提交流程，这很重要。学生应该检查他们的申请、提交费用、签署一个确认通知然后点击“提交”。安德森建议做完之后还应该回到申请的仪表盘上去确认他们所有的材料都已经被正确地提交了。
Students should also receive an automated message from the Common App, and colleges typically email students to acknowledge a submission. College admission officials say it's important for students to contact schools immediately if they don't receive a notice.
学生还应该收到一封Common Application自动发出的邮件，而且大学通常也会给学生发一份邮件确认申请提交。大学招生官说，如果学生没有收到通知，他们应该立刻跟学校联系。
Walter, of Boston University, also advises students to check the websites of any colleges where they've applied for any updates about deadline extensions.
波士顿大学的沃尔特还建议学生经常查阅他们要申请的大学的网站，看看有没有截止日期的延迟。
Meanwhile, The Common Application is still at work to resolve any lingering problems.
同时，Common Application还在努力解决存在的问题。
"We want to help you, we want to give you the assistance that you need and answer the questions that you have," the Common App's Anderson says.
安德森说，“我们希望帮助你，我们希望给你需要的帮助，回答你的问题。”
"We really need you to go to the help center to do it."
“但是你们真的得到帮助中心去。”
