Once you submit your application, the Common App holds onto it until a designated time when we pull the day's submitted applications. If you submit after the day's pull, we might not get your file until the next day. That's totally fine.
Our system has to move the information from your file into our databases. Around deadline time, it can take a while for all of this processing to happen. Once your application has be set up in our system, an email will be sent to the email address you submitted. The email will give you login instructions for our Student Information System (SIS). It can take up to five business days for these emails to go out. It all depends on volume.
The first time you log into SIS, you might see several things on your "to do" list. For now, you should not be worrying about missing credentials that are being submitted by your counselors and teachers. I will let you know when it's time to worry about that. The system has to look through credentials that have already arrived to match up documents that are for the same applicant. This can take a little while.
If the only thing on your "to do" list is the mid-year report, your file is complete for now and ready to read! Hooray! Mid-year reports come in late January or early February.
One your file moves into our reading process, you'll see a "view decision" box pop up. It's built into SIS and we can't change it. It does not mean we have a decision for you. Decisions won't be final until some time in January. I'll post as soon as we are done to let you know about the release of decisions.
By the way, if you file financial aid documents, a second "to do" list will appear for that process. Be sure to log in regularly.