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Link Common App to Xello

Mandarin sends School Reports and counselor recommendations through Xello, not directly through Common App. Here is the full process for linking the two accounts, from the initial connection to requesting a teacher evaluation.

This is a required step, not optional.

Your counselor can no longer upload your School Report or recommendation letters directly to Common App. Both go through Xello once your accounts are connected. A transcript is a separate process handled by Mandarin's records clerk (or by STARS for most Florida public universities) — see the College Application Hub for the rest of the Common App process.

1. Link your Common App account with Xello

You can connect your Xello account to Common App to request documents and recommenders. If you are creating a new Common App account, you can prefill your basic profile details and saved colleges directly from Xello to save time.

  1. Sign in to Xello. In the top navigation menu, click Plans and select College applications.
  2. In the banner with the Common App logo, click Connect.
  3. Click Use Xello info to prefill your form using data saved in Xello.
  4. Complete the Common App form in Xello: review your required personal, contact, and GPA information, select up to 20 saved colleges to import, check the authorization box, and click Send to Common App.
  5. On the confirmation pop-up, click Go to Common App (or Continue later to finish account creation another time).
  6. Sign in or create your account on Common App. If you prefilled details, select Import when prompted on the account setup screen. Once logged in, you'll be redirected back to Xello, and the banner at the top of the page will confirm your accounts are connected.
Once connected, colleges in your My colleges list in Common App sync automatically to your Application tracker in Xello. Common App schools display a badge next to their name.

If you started working in Common App during junior year, some of your data may have been deleted over the summer — double-check your profile before relying on it.

2. Complete the FERPA Release Authorization in Common App

Before you can request counselor forms or teacher evaluations in Xello, you must sign the FERPA Release Authorization inside Common App.

  1. Log in to your Common App account.
  2. Under My Common Application, click Profile and make sure the required details in Profile and Education are complete.
  3. In the left menu, click College search and add at least one college you plan to apply to.
  4. Click My colleges and select one of your saved colleges.
  5. Select Recommenders and FERPA from the menu.
  6. Read and complete the FERPA Release Authorization form.

3. Assign a counselor to send forms

Next, assign a counselor at Mandarin to send the necessary forms for your application to your Common App colleges. They will send your School Report and counselor recommendation, if a college requires one — not your official transcript, which is a separate request (see the College Application Hub).

  1. Click on a college with the Common App logo.
  2. Next to Counselor forms, click Assign counselor.
  3. Choose the counselor in charge of your School Report and Common App forms, then click Select.
  4. Click Send to return to the college page. A banner at the top confirms success.

You only need to assign a counselor once. Selecting a counselor sends your School Report and necessary forms to every school saved in your My Colleges list in Common App.

4. Request teacher evaluations for Common App colleges

You'll use Xello to request that a teacher write and send an evaluation to colleges on your behalf.

  1. Click on a college with the Common App logo.
  2. Next to Teacher evaluations, click Request to open the list of teacher recommenders available at your school in Xello.
  3. Choose the teacher you'd like and click Select.
  4. Click Send to return to the college page.

You can also search for teachers at other schools in the district who use Xello with Common App enabled. This is useful if you transferred schools or your recommender changed schools.

Need help? Talk to your counselor if a college isn't showing the Common App badge, or if a form or recommendation request isn't going through. See Xello & Scholarships for general Xello login help.

Source: Xello, "Common App and Xello" student guide. Steps and screens are set by Xello and Common App and can change; confirm current details with your counselor.