Applying to college can be one of the most stressful times for high school students. It only becomes that much more stressful when there are problems with the application website itself.

The Common Application, or Common App, is supposed to make the application process easier for students by allowing them to apply to several schools at the same time, including Furman. This year, however, it’s made the application process a nightmare for many high school seniors.

In August, the Common App rolled out a new online version — Version 4 of the Common App — but quickly ran into trouble because so many people were trying to access it at once.

According to Lindsey Waters, Furman’s Senior Assistant Director of Admission, students experienced a range of problems with the Common App: students were locked out of the site, counselors couldn’t submit their forms. Waters said some students submitted applications on time but schools wouldn’t be able to see the applications until days later.

To combat this issue, Furman extended the deadline two weeks for the early decision application and two weeks for the early action application.

“We’re trying to be as understanding as possible,” Waters said.

So far the issue has only affected students applying early to schools, and the Office of Admissions is hoping the issues will be resolved before it’s time to review regular decision applications.

Westley Renner, a prospective Furman applicant from Fort Mill, SC who recently toured campus, said he hadn’t heard much about problems with the Common App. Several other prospective students on tour at Furman expressed similar sentiments or said they were waiting to start applications until they’ve visited more schools.

Renner’s mother, however, said she’d run into problems accessing the Common App on her mobile phone. She said the website showed up as all symbols.

One student who experienced some issues with the website was Anna Leigh Prokhaska, a prospective Furman student from Greenville.

Prokhaska said that her teachers have been having trouble with recommendations on the site. She also said the newly designed site was hard to figure out and didn’t provide much direction.

With the Common App glitches and the confusion, the Furman Admissions Office said they have been doing the best they can to answer students’ questions and provide support.

“Obviously this hasn’t been the ideal situation for anyone, but the good thing with a school like Furman is we look at each application individually so we have time to figure this out,” Waters said.