Each September, I devote the principal’s messageto school safety and the various procedures in place toaddress different types of emergencies both naturaland man-made that could potentially impact theschool, its students and staff. I hope you have theopportunity to periodically review the information onthe school safety section of our website. Recently, withthe tragic incident in Sandy Hook, Connecticut ourminds once again have been focused on how safe ourstudents are in school. If you have not read Dr.Knight’s message from last month I would urge you toas it paints a picture of what we do District-wide tokeep our campus safe. We cannot predict a randomsenseless act, but we can do our best to educate andprepare our children, our staff, and our families on how

to respond in the unlikely event that we are the targetof such an incident. We are planning a lockdown drillin the upcoming weeks.

However, as we continue to be mindful of theseissues, there are some other very specific actions thatwe can take every day that increase the safety and well-being of our students at school. There are risksassociated with being a teenager and we do our best toaddress them in athletics with certified coaches andtrainers. We address the social and emotional domainsthrough counseling and peer programs. Now thatschool is in full swing, one concern which has a veryhigh incidence likelihood, but can be very easilyprevented, is the potentially dangerous behavior ofdrivers in and around school. We have 2,500 students,

The Principal’s Message

pfc newsletterO A K P A R K H I G H S C H O O LJanuary 2013 www.oakparkusd.org/ophs

staff, parents and visitors who come and go on thecampus and library each day. They drive through,park, deliver, pick up, and share the exits and entrancesof a school that is also teeming with children walking,running, and meandering between cars while talkingto their friends often with their faces buried in theirphones while texting as they walk.

Elementary and middle school students fromMedea Creek and Oak Hills also walk down to bepicked up with their high school brothers and sisters.They are not as familiar with the high school layoutand are often distracted or playing around. We haveonly two campus supervisors working the parking lotsduring drop off and pick-up and it is very remarkablethat we’ve had no serious accidents this year. We’vehad accidents, property damage, close calls, and hadtempers flare, and even had our campus supervisorsignored and yelled at as they try to direct traffic duringthe two busiest times.

Almost every day, everyone does their part, but itonly takes one person to speed through campus, losetheir patience in line, cause someone else to lose theirpatience, or choose not to go with the flow to create apotentially devastating accident. There are many waysthat we can keep a clean sheet and ensure the safety ofeveryone on campus.

• Please obey the posted signs and routes whenentering and exiting the school and library.

• Please obey the direction of the campus supervisors at all times when on campus. They are under direction from the administration to ensure the safety of our students and staff by enforcing the flow of traffic and parking rules.

• Please turn your music down when entering the parking lot so you can hear someone who might be talking to you from within oroutside your car.

• Please pull all the way forward when dropping off and picking up, especially during peaktimes and especially near the library where failing to pull forward may cause the car pulling in behind you to block Kanan.

• Please require that your children not text while walking through the parking lot and to

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Jan. 7 School resumesJan. 8 Site Council Meeting, 3:30 pm, Lib. CRJan. 8 OPPAA Meeting, 7 pm, Lib. CRJan. 9 Financial Aid Workshop, 6:30 pm, G-9Jan. 10 Naviance Training, 6:30 pm, C-6Jan. 10 Talent Show, 7 pm, Pav.Jan. 11 PFC General Meeting, 10 am, Lib. CRJan. 12 PFC Mock ACT, 9 am, G-9Jan. 15 Board of Education Meeting, 6 pm, G-9Jan. 17-18 Shakespere Production, 7 pm, Pav.Jan. 19 Shakespere Production, 2 & 7 pm, Pav.Jan. 24-26 Final Exams, Dismissal at 12:10 pmJan. 21 No School, MLK HolidayJan. 22-24 Final ExamsJan. 22-24 Spring Sport Pre-Clearance, 12:15 pm, MOJan. 23 Mock ACT test results, 7 pm, G-9Jan. 25 No SchoolJan. 28 Period 1-6 DayJan. 28 Community Forum, 7 pm, Pav.Jan. 30-

Feb 2 Life Skills Retreat (#2) off-site

Key:MO = Main Office

Nutr. = Nutrition,

Pav. = Pavilion

Lib. CR = Library Conference Room

Campus Calendar, News & Notes

Make themost of every day!

Start todayto make 2013

the best year yet!!!

Be calm,be positivebe happy.

If you see someonewithout a smile -give them yours!!!

Oak Park High School PFC Newsletter published monthly September - June

by the OPHS Parent Faculty Club (PFC)for families of Oak Park High School

students.

Oak Park High School • Oak Park Unified School District

Principal: Kevin Buchanan899 N. Kanan Road, Oak Park, CA 91377

OPHS Main Line: 735-3300 Attendance/Temp. Off Campus Pass Line: 735-3311

(please call before 9 a.m.)

PFC President: Gillian Miller ophspfc@gmail.com

Newsletter Editor: Suzie Bock bockgraphx@sbcglobal.net 818-970-5251

eNews Editor: Uma Narayanan umasaa@yahoo.com 818-707-3124

www.oakparkusd.org/ophs • www.oakparkusd.org

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Principal’s Message (con’t)

have their wits about them while cars are coming and going all around.

• I’m sure I don’t need to remind you not to use your cell phone while driving, but I just did.

• Please be courteous to each other and to staff who all have the same goal in mind, which is primarily to get kids to and from school safely.

• Please bring safety or any other concerns tomy attention or to the attention of theassistant principals, Mr. McGugan or Mr. Martin.

We rely on you to help us to continue to create acommunity of safe and courteous drivers where theadults set and model the examples we’d like ourchildren to follow.

Have a prosperous and safe New Year.— Sincerely,

Kevin Buchanan, Principal

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Thank You to Our No Frills Families…

AggarwalAhdootAlexanderAndersonAnninoAokiAppelrouthArshtAsherAviramBagamianBalenBallasBearBenderBermanBernerBhatia

BochanBoganimBongioviBriton-JonesBronsteinR.BrownS.BrownBuckleyBulusuBurgerBurkeByrneCamhiCapposCarrilloCastilloCatoneM.Chang

ChasinCheneyChiuChowChrisakisClarkClaxtonClearyD.CohenJ.CohenS.CohenConklinConnersCookCorbittCroyCruzDave

DeGrinisDelgadoDetamoreDiPaoloDoheneyDorianDrewsDunnEbuenEichstadtEisenbergElayneFeemsterFelderFieldsFletcherFongFrame

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Thank you to the following families for their generous donations to our 2012 No Frills Campaign. Withouttheir contributions, the PFC could not continue to support Oak Park High School teachers and students. Abig thank you also to Wayne Kubik of T.O. Printing for his generous donation of printing for our Annual NoFrills Fundraiser mailing.

Give yourself the gift of knowledge for the newyear! As a fundraiser to support our OPHSstudents, the Parent Faculty Club (PFC) and theAssociated Student Body (ASB) sponsor AdultEnrichment @ OPHS.

These 6-week courses are for adults only andare taught by our talented OPHS teachers.Courses begin the week of February 4th. Clickhere to see our Winter course catalog.

Sign up now before spaces fill up!

For any questions, please contact: Hanna Melzer hannamelzer18@gmail.com

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No Frills Donations continued from page 3

FreedbergFreyFriedmanFuttermanGageGalaifGebhardGeeGeldinGerberGhaffariGodsickGoldsteinGordon

GorelikGorensteinGortnerGreenGreenwaldGreerGunnHainesHarrisHassaniehHasserjianHealdHedlundHelfand

OPHS THANKSJoAnn Tattersall, Kelly McGugan &

The Tattersall Teamof Active Real Estate

Kelly McGuganTattersall Team

Cell: 818.207.7408www.tattersallteam.com

JoAnn Tattersall & Kelly McGugan sponsor Oak Park High School’s “All Call,”

our computerized phone system - A vital link to our OPHS families!

JoAnn TattersallBroker/Owner, GRI, SFR

Cell: 818.370.7688www.tattersallteam.com

HerbertHolmesHorwitzHowardHsiongJamisonJassoJhaJohnsonJuliusKalinkeKatzKawamotoKealerKeeferKhawKopecky

KristensenKubikLaifmanLamLambLawsonLeeLevanonLevinLiuMaholchicMandellMarkarianMarshallMartinelliMcCleeryMedina

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No Frills Donations continued from page 4

MengMertzelMeyerMillerMiremadiMogaveroMoghimiMohabeerMoody-MorseMouzayaMyersMyersonNevilleNguyenO’ConnorOkimoto-WheatleyOngOrnsteinPaulPetersM.PhillipsR.PhillipsPiurkowsky

PowersRamirezResnickRidinioRifkindRinkovRisleyRiveraRobertsonRochonRomanovRosenRosenbergRozanskiSahleySalingerSanta CruzSaravisSaucedoSchapiroSchlatterSchneiderSchnurr

SchroederSchwartzScottSerafica-StermerShaevitzShanahanShaoShemtovSholtySilverSilverstoneSimonsSklarSmithSnaderSnyderStarkSteinhardtStilloStrauchTangTaylorThedinga

ThiruvamkulamTobiasTolentinoTooTorigianTownsendTreitmanTrnavskyVermaVosguanianWadaWaldmanWangWelinWhiteleyWiederspahnWilsonWingWuWulfWynerZaitlenZhang

Next OPPAA meeting:Tuesday, January 8th, at 7 pm in the Oak Park Library

Our production of Taming of the Shrew is January 17th-19that 7 pm with an additional 2 pm matinee on Saturday.

Click Here for ticket prices and sale information

Audition sign ups for our spring musical

Les Miserables

will be by email only 1/11 through 1/18.

Click Here for sign up directions.

The audition dates are 1/22, 1/23 and callbacks on 1/24.

Anyone who wants to audition must sign up by email.

Questions: Ellyn Schneider eschneid@sbcglobal.net

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Yearbook News & NotesOPHS Yearbook includes a special section called Senior Personals.In this section, you have a chance to send a congratulatory note or

greeting to your son or daughter.

Senior Personals: YOUR FINAL CHANCE!!!!! No Senior Personals received after Monday, January 7, 2013 will be accepted. If you are new to Senior Personals, or need an idea of sizes, please click on the

Yearbook link below. Please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Rohlfs at (818) 735-3300 x344 or krohlfs@oakparkusd.org if you have any questions.

Due Monday, January 7thFor Pricing: CLICK HERE

For Personal Ad Sample: CLICK HERE

For Personal Ad Form: CLICK HERE

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO PURCHASE A SENIOR PERSONAL!

PFC Update

President’s LetterDear parents and friends of OPHS,Happy 2013. Welcome back to school. I hope that

you all had a restful holiday.I would like to thank Leslie Meyer and her committeewho put on a wonderful Holiday Luncheon on behalfof PFC for the OPHS staff just before break! The foodwas delicious, the decorations amazing and the holidayspirit was plentiful.PFC is gearing up for Mock SAT, Mock ACT, and

a SAT boot camp in the Spring.

PFC is a parent volunteer organization. We haveseveral people whose children will graduate in 2013. Iwill hopefully have a list ready by February. If you areinterested in any positions, please contact me rightaway.Our first PFC General Meeting for 2013 is Friday,

January 11th at 10 a.m. in the Library ConferenceRoom. We look forward to seeing you there.

— Gillian MillerPFC President, ophspfc@gmail.com

Happy New Year

2013!

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Oak Park High School

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Friends Of Oak Park SchoolsFriends of Oak Park Schools, an Education Foundation is pleased to present a Community Forum that willfocus on our schools in Oak Park. This forum provides an opportunity for our community and parents to hearmore about the schools in Oak Park and present questions, comments and/or ideas to many of the personnel andparents who surround these schools. We encourage our community and parents to join us this year.

This forum is scheduled on Monday, January 28 at 6:30 pm at Oak Park High School, starting in the Pavilion.There will be an informative opening session focusing on School Safety:

School Safety – The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School has touched our nation in a profound way.School leaders everywhere are reviewing safety plans and looking at ways to make our schools safer. What arewe doing in Oak Park to ensure student safety? What can we do to make our schools safer?

After our Opening Session you will have a chance to breakout into three of four smaller, more intimateinteractive sessions.

Meet the OPUSD School Board – Even though the Board meets in public monthly and parents andcommunity members are always invited to attend meetings, this session will provide an opportunity to meet theBoard in a more informal setting and learn about their role in governance of our schools.

How are Oak Park Schools Financed? A guide to how public education funding works in California and howit applies to Oak Park. California has one of the most complex systems for school financing of any state in thenation. For example, did you know that 80% of our funding comes directly from Sacramento and not throughlocal property taxes? So, what about our local property taxes, bond taxes, parcel tax, etc? What are they, whatare they used for, and what will they look like in the future.

District of Choice – How does this program work? Why do we have it? About 38% of our students live outsideof Oak Park. Why has the District determined that this program is essential to the continuance of providing aworld-class education to Oak Park resident students? What is the future of this program? This session will alsoprovide an outline of what our district would look like without the DOC program.

Meet the Counselors - Oak Park's Counseling Staff provides much more than academic advisement for ourstudents. A significant amount of their day also includes the emotional factors our students encounter on a dailybasis including peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, bullying issues and overall safety concerns. This session will provideyou with an opportunity to understand what role they play in our student's day-to-day activities at school andthe opportunity to ask them questions you might have.

We will offer separate sessions for Elementary and Middle/High School Counselors..

Our goal is to answer any "what if " or "why that" questions as well as provide an opportunity for our communitymembers and parents to share their voices.

We hope you join us on Monday, January 28th at 6:30 pm at the High School Pavilion.

If you have any questions, please contact us at info@friendsatoakparkschools.org.

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Hello Oak Park Families!Welcome to 2013! As the new year starts and the

Fall Semester comes to an end, we hope that Oak Parkstudents and families realize that there are manydifferent resources available to them. Semester finalsare at the end of the month, and that can be a verystressful time for many. The Oak Park Counselors,Faculty Members, and Advanced Peer Counselors arealways accessible to students and parents and eager tohelp. Many people don’t realize the seriousness stress

can have on a student’s academic life or personal life.However, finding an outlet for stress, such as talking tosomebody or learning stress-relieving exercises, cangreatly improve how a student is feeling. When webottle stress up inside of us, the emotional strain hasmany consequences that would be easily avoidable.

Advanced Peer Counseling NewsIf you or your child are in need of assistance

through this stressful time of year, please do nothesitate to reach out to an Advanced Peer Counselor.Each peer counselor is available and eager to workwith your students in whatever capacity they can tosupport and encourage a positive high schoolexperience. Please feel free to personally contact us—and/or

our advisors, Ms. Debi Fries and Mrs. Janet Svoboda.You may request to speak with a Peer Counselor in theschool counseling office, and our contact informationis always available upon request. You can view the fulllist of Advanced Peer Counselors, just Click Here.We hope you have a wonderful month of January!

— Sincerely,Kayla Sadwick and Zack Reilly

Advanced Peer Counseling Liaisons

Athletic UpdateAs the new year begins, our winter sports teams

will be heading into league contests and attemptingto win Tri Valley League championships. Best of luckto all our teams: Boys Soccer – Varsity, JV, and Frosh; Girls Soccer – Varsity, JV, and Frosh; Boys Basketball – Varsity, JV and Frosh; Girls Basketball – Varsity and JV.

All of the teams have had strong pre-season showingsin the non-league and tournaments they havecompeted in. Please come out and support our teams– schedules of all the contests are on our OPHSwebsite under Athletics.

Spring Sports – Those going out for springsports (boys and girls track, golf, boys tennis, softball,baseball, boys and girls lacrosse, and boys volleyball)should pay attention to bulletin notices and the website for information regarding meetings coaches willbe scheduling with players, preliminary and finalclearance. (Preliminary clearance is Jan. 22-24)Proof of current physical and new blue emergencycards will be required. All information regardingspring sports and clearance is located on our web siteor you can contact us by phone 818-735-3303 or bye-mail at apettit@oakparkusd.orgBest wishes for a wonderful 2013!!!

— Ann Pettit and Dick Billingsley,Co-Athletic Directors

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Dear Oak Park Families,

Our community is at a turning point in the battle with chronic disease.

Conditions like obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers can all be

alleviated with simple changes in our diet. Thankfully, our Oak Park School District

is making great strides in health education and nutrition by providing school

lunches and snacks that meet the guidelines in our schools wellness policy. Each

day our Cafeteria staff creates delicious meals that are free from trans fats, nitrates,

and excess sugar and salt. Many of the ingredients used in preparing school lunches

are grown in our campus gardens and tended by our own staff and students. Even

our bread and pizza are made to our specifications by local vendors so they include

whole-wheat flour and are free of additives and preservatives. Now that’s Fresh!

Our campuses have been engaged with the national Meatless Monday campaign

for the past two years and we are looking forward to sharing more information about

it in the coming months. This campaign is a non-profit public health initiative in

association with the John’s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath and seeks to

educate the public about the benefits of reducing meat consumption. Meatless

Mondays offer an easy, effective reminder to start the week with a focus on heath

and nutrition, but we need to work together to spread this message. That’s why we’d

like you to support Meatless Monday by having your child purchase a school lunch

each and every Monday. Did you know that just one meatless day a week cuts one’s

saturated fat intake by an impressive 15% reducing their risk of chronic,

preventable illness?

Please join us and take the pledge to go meatless this Monday. For more

information and to join the movement, visit www.meatlessmonday.com and choose

Pledge to go Meatless Monday.

Sincerely,

The Oak Park Unified School District Wellness Council

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College NewsIMPORTANT DATES & DEADLINES FOR SENIORS:

• January 1st: Federal Financial Aid applications (FAFSA’s) may begin being submitted after this date. Youcan access the FAFSA at the following link: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/• January 9th: 6:30-8:30pm (G9): Financial Aid Workshop to assist students and parents with the FAFSAand other aspects of the Financial Aid process.• Feb. 15, 2013: Some colleges also require the CSS Profile, found online athttps://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp; complete the CSS PROFILE before your earliestcollege or program priority filing date. At the very latest, you must submit your PROFILE Application byFebruary 15th.• March 2nd:Deadline to submit the Cal Grant GPA verification form to apply. For more information aboutCal grants go to the following link on our website: http://www.oakparkusd.org/page/1080• March: is when most UC and CSU schools begin notifying applicants of acceptance or denial. Berkeley andUCLA are the last to send notices (surprise, surprise)! • Spring Break: Spring Break is the time to make final visits to schools that have made offers of acceptance.This is also the month students will notify most schools of their decisions. Information about scheduling tripsto UC & CSU campuses can be found at the OPHS Counseling "UC & CSU Admissions" web page. • May 1st: Commitment Deadline! Students must formally confirm acceptance or declination of an offer ofadmission by this date. • May & June: are still critical months for seniors because last semester grades do count! Spring semesterclasses (that were listed on the student’s admission application) that are dropped or not passed with at least a"C" may result in a college rescinding its offer. Most competitive universities expect seniors to maintain at leasta 3.0 GPA in the senior year.

ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT SUBMISSION & COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

One of the most significant developments in the college application process over the last decade has beenhow colleges now prefer to receive applications, transcripts, and letters of recommendation electronically. At Oak Park High School we strive to be on the cutting edge in supporting our students with their

applications. To that end, we have been using the NAVIANCE program since 2009 to not only assist parentsand students with college research, but also to submit documents electronically (i.e. transcripts, letters ofrecommendation, etc...). NAVIANCE gives us the ability to transmit documents to the 488 colleges who usethe Common Application, and an additional 1,828 colleges through Docufide Parchment Services. The good news is that electronic document submission (via NAVIANCE the Common App & Docufide),

has dramatically reduced the amount of paper that students and the school have to prepare and mail. It hasalso provided an added level of security because each of these services have tools that verify documentsubmission.

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In NAVIANCE, once a student loads a school into the "colleges I'm apply to" page under the "colleges" tab,they will be able to determine which schools accept electronic document submissions (of transcripts, andletters of recommendation) by viewing the following icons:

This is a Common Application school. All transcripts and letters of recommendation, and othersupporting documents will be transmitted electronically to these schools via the Common App.

This is also an electronic school. If they require a transcript or any other supporting documentation thesetoo can be transmitted electronically via Docufide Parchment Services.

This is not an electronic school. They require transcripts and supporting documentation to be mailed viaUSPS. For this kind of school you must either provide a stamped pre-addressed envelope to the OPHSRegistrar, or we can put the transcript and/or letter of recommendation in a sealed envelope for you to pickup and mail yourself.

To view the list of destinations that accept electronic transmission of documents through Docufide:http://www.docufide.com/hp2/general/edocs_destinations.jsps If your school/destination is on this list makesure you have added it to your list of “colleges I'm applying to” in the “colleges” section of Naviance.

So, if everything is electronic - why do we still get notices that documents have not been received?It is very frustrating for students, parents and OPHS faculty to receive this kind of communication fromcolleges when we know that the documents were prepared, paid for, and submitted on a timely basis. Aspreviously referenced, more than 1,000 non-Common App schools accept electronic documents fromDocufide Parchment Services. Both the Common App and Docufide provide document verification reportsto NAVIANCE.

Parents and students can confirm in NAVIANCE that their documents were submitted in the "colleges I'mapplying to" page. If OPHS has submitted your documents you will see "initial materials submitted" next tothe school in the "Office Status" column. If the Office Status still shows "Pending," you should contact yourOPHS Counselor. You can also check to see if your Teacher Recommendations are “completed” as well!

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When a student creates an account in the Common App Online, the studentmust first identify Oak Park High School (CEEB code 050006), as their"Current or most recent secondary school attended." Once they do this,

students will receive a prompt explaining that all of their school forms will be completed throughNAVIANCE. He or she will then identify one counselor and one or more teachers. After a teacher orcounselor is added to a student's list of school officials. Applicants are then able to monitor when individualteachers and counselors have submitted their various forms in the "School Forms" section.The "School Report" in the Common Application includes the following 4 documents in one packettransmission:1. The Common App's Secondary School Report evaluation form completed by your OPHS Counselor2. An OPHS School Profile3. Counselor's Letter of Recommendation4. The Student's Initial TranscriptHere is a sample of how this section will look in your Common Application:

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How do Common Application Colleges receive School Forms that were submitted online?

Common Application members log in to a secure Website where forms submitted online – via either theCommon App Online system or NAVIANCE – can be downloaded. This is the same Website wheremembers have downloaded the applications and supplements submitted by students for the past decade. Theinstitution receives the online portion of your application once you electronically sign the application and clickthe "Submit" button. Your application is then instantly made available to the institution, but it may takeseveral days or more until the institution actually views your application. The institution will not see or knowthe specifics of your online application until you complete the steps involved in the submission process, whichtypically includes the payment of an application fee, submission of any required supplements, andacknowledgement of the accuracy of your application by use of the electronic signature.

I created alternate "versions" of my Common Application for a few schools, and some of them have notreceived my School Forms - why is this?

The Common Application allows students to create as many as 10 separate "versions" of their CommonApplication. The Common App does not allow us to submit documents electronically to alternate versions -only to the first version. If you did create alternate versions, you must provide hard copies of the School Reportand Teacher Evaluation forms to your teachers & counselor, along with stamped, pre-addressed envelopes sowe mail the forms (and your transcript).

Note: A high percentage of Common Application schools already have supplements as part of theirapplication so they have provided a way for students to personalize their applications. Creating different'versions" of their Common Application is one of the most common reasons that School Forms can't bematched to the student's application.

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I've submitted my Common Application to multiple institutions, but some of them say they haven't receivedit yet!

Once your application has been submitted, it is the college's responsibility to download your application, andSchool Forms from the Common App. If you are concerned that an admissions office hasn't received yourapplication, ensure that your application shows green and complete on the My Colleges page (check out thestatus legend), then contact the school directly. Please provide them with your Common App ID so they cansearch for your record appropriately. Once a school has downloaded your application from the CommonApplication & School Forms it will look like this:

For more questions about the Common Application go to:https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/FAQ.aspx

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What if my college is a non-Common App school, but NAVIANCE says it accepts ElectronicSubmissions - how can I verify that my documents were sent?"

As previously referenced, more than 1,000 non-Common App schools do accept electronic documents fromDocufide Parchment Services. In addition to the “initial materials submitted" notification on your "collegesI'm applying to" page in NAVIANCE, this service also provides an internal “Submission Status" reportwith more details. Your OPHS Counselor can provide you with a copy of your "Submission Status" reportthat verifies your documents were submitted by OPHS, and whether they have been downloaded by thecollege. This report also contains a unique "Docufide ID" confirmation number for each document. Asample report will look like this:

Some Feedback From Colleges: Depending on the time of year it can take colleges 4-6 weeks to process your documents and acknowledgereceipt to you directly. If you feel it's necessary to contact the school, make sure to ask how long it takesthem to process document so you can make sure that amount of time has passed since you received theirlast confirmation. To help parents & students better understand this process we have some feedback from 3popular schools - Indiana, Arizona, and Texas about the time it can take to process a student's application:

INDIANA UNIVERSITY, BLOOMINGTON

• We’re glad that so many students want to come to IU, but processing all of the applications we receive takestime. Once your application is complete, you should receive information about your decision in four to eightweeks. • We do indeed accept forms such as transcripts and recommendations electronically via Docufide! • Please note that it may take up to two weeks from the time that your application materials are received inthe Office of Admissions before your status is updated online and you can see that the materials have beenreceived. • Thanks for your patience. You can check your status by logging in to OneStart if you have already set upyour IU computer account.

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UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

We do accept transcripts via the Docufide service. However, the processing time for any submit-ted documents can be 4 to 6 weeks and, as such, students may receive correspondence from ouroffice during that time indicating non-receipt. The transcripts do not need to be sent again. If

you still have concerns, please feel free to contact our Admissions hotline.

At the University of Texas in the best of circumstances, it can take two or three days foritems you submit online to appear in your MyStatus page. Items you submit in paper form(by mail, for example), may take two or three work weeks to show up, especially near thedeadline. And as the deadline approaches, the Office of Admissions can receive thousandsof documents by mail each week.

Document uploads: Electronically formatted documents are uploaded to our computer system and matchedwith individual application files. At this point they appear in MyStatus. If you submit several items in oneenvelope or package, they may not all be processed at the same time. Different areas of the office process dif-ferent kinds of documents, and what needs to happen and how much time it takes to complete each processvaries. So one or more of your items may show up on your MyStatus page a couple of days before another.

So, what should parents & students do when a college tells you they have not received documentsthat NAVIANCE says have been sent?

• Even in this electronic era it is important to understand that there is still a "human" element to thecollege application process in College Admission offices. They are overwhelmed with documents (both paperand electronic), and it simply takes time for them to work through them all.• Contrary to what most of us imagine, electronically submitted document are not automatically matchedto a student's application. A human being must download the document, match it to the student's application,file it, and then log it in the student's applications status portal.• Re-sending documents in the middle of the application crush does absolutely nothing to help theprocess. Even though it might make us feel better, it only adds another item that has to be logged in andreviewed. These "re-sent" documents ultimately add no new information, and actually end up delaying thereview of a student's application.• Bombarding them with phone calls and emails also takes away precious human resources from theapplication review process.

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If you absolutely feel it is necessary to contact a school about missing documents, make sure you have doneyour homework first! Preparing to contact a school should include the following:

1.) If it is a Common App school: make sure you have confirmed the "submitted" and/or "downloaded bycollege" dates of the documents from your Common Application. Make sure you have these dates, along withyou Common App ID when you contact the school. Also, make sure you to check whether created any alter-nate "versions" of your Common Application for one or more of your schools.

2.) If it is a non-Common App school: make sure you have confirmed in Naviance that "initial materialssubmitted," is posted. If Naviance does show that your documents were submitted, you can contact yourOPHS Counselor for a "Submission Status" printout. When you speak to the Admission office you shouldquote the "Docufide ID" number to them to help them locate the missing/un-matched document(s).

3.) Students should always be part of any communication with a college! Whenever a parent contacts aschool by themselves, the college representatives begin to wonder just how independent and ready the studentreally is for college.

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