Instructions for Completing the Standard Application Online (SAO 2.0)

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1 Instructions for Completing the Standard Application Online (SAO 2.0) Step 1: Start by searching for the schools you are interested in applying to by using the *Search for Schools Accepting Standard Application Online* filter on the Find a School page at Step 2: Login to your Student Account on If you have not yet created a Student Account, a video tutorial is available to guide you and can be found by placing your cursor over the word Test and then clicking on the link for Registration Step3: Once you are logged into your Student Account, select the My Applications page. 1 P a g e

2 Step 4: Complete and submit your biographic information by selecting Click to Complete Biographic Information. Important Notice: The Biographic Information section cannot be saved as a draft. Once the section is submitted, no edits are possible. This section requires answers about the student s biographic details such as Applicant Information, Education, and Family Information. The applicant must complete the required fields, pressing Continue to move on to the next section. Once all of the sections are complete the applicant is prompted to click the Submit button to submit and complete the Biographic Section. Once saved, the Biographic Information icon will appear as Biographic Information Complete as shown below. Please note, the students Address, Date of Birth, and Ethnicity can be edited from the My Profile page of the Student Account. However, any edits will NOT be communicated to schools where the student has applied once an application is submitted. Applicants should contact schools directly if they must change this information in their applications. 2 P a g e

3 Step 5: Once the Biographic Information is complete, applicants can select the schools where they would like to apply. Select the +Add Schools icon to begin searching for schools by name. Choose the correct school name and click Select to add the school. Important Notice: Always pay attention to the state listed next to a school name as some schools have similar names but different locations. Select the appropriate responses for Grade Applying To, Residential Status, and Financial Aid for each school application Enter Legacy information for each school added to the application workstation. If an applicant does not have any legacy information to share for a school application, simply leave those fields blank Select Add School Now to proceed Students may continue to add additional schools by repeating the process outlined here. 3 P a g e

4 Step 6: Pay for your Application. Your Application homepage contains a payment table showing all unpaid applications. Schools will not be sent your application until you have paid an application fee. Application fees vary by school and there are often different application fees for domestic and international students. You must pay for at least one application to activate your application workstation components Paying with Credit Card: Select the application for which want to submit payment by placing a check mark in the box Application fees may only be paid by Visa, MasterCard, or Discover. Note: A $4 administrative fee will be applied by SSATB, per application submitted, for the processing of your credit card payment. Paying with Application Fee Waiver: If the application fee poses a financial burden to the applicant s family, the applicant may request an application fee waiver. This is done by contacting the school to which you are planning to apply and requesting an Application Fee Waiver. Application Fee Waivers are granted at the discretion of each school s Office of Admission. An Application Fee Waiver is only valid for the application to the school that issues the waiver. If you are applying to more than one school, you will need to request an Application Fee Waiver from each school. If you are submitting an application with an application fee waiver, the SSATB administrative fee will be waived. Place a check mark in the box next to the application(s) you wish to submit payment for and then select Pay to Submit Selected Applications If using an Application Fee Waiver, enter the code in the blank box, press Click to Apply Fee Waiver, and then select Pay to Submit Selected Applications 4 P a g e

5 Review your selected schools and submit credit card payment by filling in the requested information. Name of school where you are applying will appear here Once you submit payment, you will receive an instant confirmation that your transaction has been processed. Form of payment will appear here Important to Remember: If an applicant decides not to submit an application for a selected school, it can be removed any time prior to payment of the application fee by selecting Remove from this dashboard. Please note, once an application has a Status of *PAID* it cannot be removed. 5 P a g e

6 Step 7: Work on your Application Components. Paying for an application will activate your application workstation. Begin by reviewing what application components are required by the school to which you are applying. All required components will be marked with the word *Required* on your workstation. When applying to multiple schools, always look at the required components for each school, while one school may require all components, another may not. The Student Essays and Parent Statement for grade group 6-PG and the Parent Evaluation for Grade Group PK-1 & 2-5 are standard components and are required of all applicants to those grade levels. These sections are submitted only once and they will be applied to all applications. You can view these items by clicking on the red box containing the name. Do not select *Submit* until you have answered each question thoroughly. We strongly recommend you take your time reviewing these pieces before submitting them, as you do not have the ability to save a draft or edit them once they are submitted. Completing short answer questions or essay components in a Word type document that can be saved, and then copying and pasting your responses into the appropriate fields, is strongly recommended for both parents and students. 6 P a g e

7 Step 8: Teacher Recommendations Each recommendation form can be assigned by clicking on the red box containing the name of the form. A popup box will appear for you to complete and submit. Once you designate a form to a recommender, you will notice that the component status on your workstation dashboard changes from Required to Required Designated. Complete the process above for each Required Recommendation. Your teachers will automatically receive an from SSATB with a link to complete the online recommendation form. Teachers do not need to create a recommender account. Stay connected with you recommenders! If you notice that a teacher has not yet had a chance to submit the recommendation after some time has passed, check with them to make sure they received the link from SSATB. If they did not, you can re-send it to them by clicking on the name of the form to open the pop-up box and re-entering the contact information for that teacher. If a teacher can no longer complete a recommendation for you, you can reassign the recommendation form to another teacher so long as the previously designated recommender has not yet submitted the form. Simply click on the name of the form and enter the new contact information for the teacher who will now be completing the recommendation. Important to Remember: If you are working with a placement director or educational consultant, please do not assign the recommendation forms until you have received directions on how they wish for you to proceed. Your placement director or consultant can advise you of their preferred method for assisting you with completing your application, so be sure to check with them before assigning any recommendation forms to your teachers. Please skip to the instructions on Designating an Advisor. 7 P a g e

8 School Supplement Forms: Some schools require supplemental forms as part of the SAO to gather additional information they feel is necessary for applicants to their schools. If you see this item marked as Required, click on the Upload icon to download, open, and print the supplement. Once you have completed it, you must upload the form back to your application file as a PDF. *If the supplement is an additional teacher recommendation, your teacher may wish to complete it and send it directly to the school that is requiring it rather than returning it to you for upload. In that case, simply ask your teacher to take a copy of the form to keep for themselves, in the event that the receiving school needs an additional copy later on. 8 P a g e

9 Step 9: Designate an Advisor. If you are applying to grades 6-PG, you may you wish to permit a placement director or private educational consultant to monitor the status and/or manage your applications. To assign an advisor click on the +Designate Advisor button. In the pop-up scree that opens, search for the name of your current school or your private educational consultant. Once you find the name, press Search. Enter the name of your current school or educational consultant in the search field. An Advisor will be able to oversee the status of your applications and assist with your recommendations. Important to Remember: Please note, your current school, organization, or educational consultant must be an SSATB member to serve as an Advisor. Granting this permission will allow the advisor to submit recommendation forms on your behalf and monitor the status of your applications online. If you are not working with a placement director or educational consultant, please leave this field blank. Only one advisor may be designated for all applications and cannot be removed once the advisor has submitted any application components on your behalf. 9 P a g e

10 Step 10: Monitor the Status of your Application. When any piece of your application is completed and submitted (by you, your parents, or your recommenders) the status for that component will change to Required Submitted. The status will also show the date that the form was submitted by your recommender. Important to Remember: Beginning for the year, all applications and related forms should be submitted online only. Please do not mail or your application or any school forms to The Standard Application Online. Doing so may delay or jeopardize your application. Any additional materials that are not part of the Standard Application Online should be sent to the schools directly, including Supplemental forms, if you are unable to upload them to your online application. Any such materials received by SSAT cannot be processed and will be shredded. Any questions about the Standard Application Online should be directed to: Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB) P a g e