Where on the Common App do my recommenders submit their letters?

This might be a dumb question, but where are teachers supposed to upload their recommendation letters on the Common App? Do I have to do anything to make sure they can submit it, or is it all on their end? Just want to be sure everything goes smoothly!

Hey there! No question is a dumb question when it comes to college applications – it's great that you want to make sure everything is done correctly. For the Common App, your teachers will submit their recommendation letters through an online platform that they'll get access to once you invite them as recommenders. Here's what you need to do:

First, you'll go to the 'My Colleges' section and select a college you're applying to. Next, you'll navigate to the 'Recommendations and FERPA' section, where you'll release your FERPA rights. This step is super important because it allows your recommenders to submit their letters. Afterward, you get to invite your recommenders by providing their email addresses. Once they accept the invitation, they'll be led through the process of uploading their recommendation letters.

So, you do need to initiate the process, but after that, it's up to your teachers to upload the letters on their end. Keep an eye on your application dashboard where you can track whether they've submitted their letters or not. If a deadline is approaching and they haven't submitted, it's perfectly okay to send them a polite reminder. Hope that clears things up for you, and best of luck with your applications!