Dean's Certificate FAQ -- PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING A NEW THREAD

[wunder]

Can I ask another question?
This dean's certificate, is it only required when you have not graduated from a school you were enrolled in?

For example.  I was enrolled in
-College A (got a AA from them)
-went back for another year to take courses,
-transfered courses to University B
-took online courses from University C while attending University B
-took another online course from University D while attending University B
-transfered courses from University C and University D to University B
-got a BBA from University B


which of these schools, if any, do I need to have a Dean's Ceritifcate from?

At the schools I've applied to, they only want one from where you graduated.  But you should check with your individual school - they may have different rules.

[Mr. Burnz]

BTW, I contacted Columbia and they needed a Dean's Certification ONLY from my degree-granting school.  I took summer classes at 2 other colleges and they said Dean's Certs from those colleges were not required.

BTW, for those who got a Columbia Dean's Cerfication, did the person who filled it out actually use the evaluation form?  I ended up taking it to my advisor who is the head of the ECON department at my school and not only did he fill out good stuff for me in the boxes but he also wrote a mini-recommendation letter about my extracurriculars/resume/etc. (the form asks for an optional "Summary Report") to explain his selections.  It seemed pretty odd that this stuff was asked on the Dean Cert form...but I'm glad he did it for me!

[sacrilegist]

I attended two undergrad institutions: 2 years at the first, 2 years at the second.  I obtained a degree (obviously) from the second.  TODAY, Columbia contacted me to advise they need a Dean's Certificate from the first institution.  This is after they told me my file was compete several months ago.

At this point, I am thinking of just giving up 

[anabelle]

What about foreign schools?

Stanford's website says they don't require them. Has anyone asked other schools?

[madison07]

This sounds stressful.  Is there a way to get started on it early?  I don't want to be worrying about this in September, you know?

[wunder]

You can't submit Dean's Certificates until the new applications come out in the fall.  Most schools have procedures for getting these.  You can call around and find out the procedure ahead of time if you want but you can't fill out the paperwork yet.  It really isn't all that bad. 

[TinaTina]

tag

[cbm_flyer]

Not sure if this has been addressed...what about those of us who have been out of school for 10+ years?  Hopefully not a dumb question. 

Thanks, ya'll!

~Chris 

[fufukid]

Just a word of caution about Columbia, because their policy concerning split undergrad is confusing...apparently even to them. 

I was planning on applying ED and was going to be overseas at the time of submission, so I contacted them months in advance to make sure I had all my little ducks in a row.  They replied to me via email that I only needed a Dean's Cert from my degree-granting university.  I had that all set up and had everything in on time...then a month after I submitted my app they sent me an email saying that they hadn't received my Dean's Cert from the university I spent my freshman year.  I explained to them the situation and sent them a copy of the email they sent me.  It didn't matter to them that now I was overseas or that it was their mistake.  They totally refused to consider it complete without the other Dean's Cert.  In fact, they wouldn't even admit that it WAS a mistake, they just said it was a "misunderstanding."  Excuse me, but the email just said in reply "Just your degree-granting institution."  What was I supposed to have misunderstood?  As you might suspect, I won't be at CLS in the fall.        Anyway, don't listen to anything they say, just get as many Dean's Certs as you can!

[wunder]

Not sure if this has been addressed...what about those of us who have been out of school for 10+ years?  Hopefully not a dumb question. 

Thanks, ya'll!

~Chris 

You still have to get them.  The Dean's cert doesn't depend on whether the person filling it out knows you from Adam.  They just want someone to certify you don't have a discipline record.