Advisor Application Instructions
Step 1: Sign-in to the website.
You can sign-in to the website (www.truman.gov) with your username and password. Your username will always be your email address. Should you update your email address, your username will change accordingly. If you have forgotten your password, please use the "Forgotten Your Password?" link to have your password emailed to you.
After your initial log in, you will be directed to the Advisor dashboard page.
Step 2: Review your profile.
If you need to update your profile, click your email address in the top right corner.
Step 3: Start the Candidate Application.
From the dashboard, please click on the “Start Candidate Application” link in the first line of text.
Step 4: Enter the candidate’s information.
This page is the only page that you will need to complete for each candidate. You will need to enter the candidate’s name and email address. You will also need to answer the eligibility questions for each candidate (class standing and whether this is the first time the student has been nominated). If you respond "No" to any of the required questions, you will receive a text box where you can provide additional information.
You may return and edit this page at any time.
Once you have entered the candidate’s name, email address and responses to the eligibility questions, hit save. At this point, the system will send an email to your candidate providing access to the on-line application. If your candidate does not receive an email within 12 hours, please have them go to the website, enter the registered email address and request a new password. Your candidate should also check spam folders for an email from noreply@www.truman.gov or no-reply@truman.gov.
Step 5: My Applications.
Once you have saved an application, it will appear in the “My Applications” list at the bottom of your dashboard page. You can sort your applications by candidate name or the status of the application. To the right of the application status are several options:
Edit Registration: This option will allow you to make changes to your nomination materials. You may return to update responses to the eligibility questions, to enter your nomination letter or upload transcripts and letters of recommendations. Please see Step 6 for more information.
View: This option will take you to a view of your candidate’s application. Please work with your candidate to determine an appropriate time for you to review the materials. Some candidates may want you to have immediate access to an application while others would prefer to have more control over their materials. The candidate system still provides an option where the candidate can request your review. Once the candidate requests your review, you should receive an email notifying you that an application is awaiting your review. Those applications where a candidate has requested review will show as having a status of “Ready for Advisor Review.”
Edit Application: (Select the down arrow next to "View Application" to see this option.) This selection will permit you to edit a candidate application. There are some technical reasons why this option is available to you, but we were also attempting to be responsive to people who discovered the need to access candidate applications when their candidates were out of the country or otherwise unavailable.
Our expectation is that this feature will only be used to make minor changes in conjunction with the applicant. Please do not use this option to make substantive changes to the candidate’s application. Also be aware that we have the ability to see which profile is making changes to an application and we will disqualify any application that appears not to be the work of the applicant.
Application PDF: This option will produce a PDF of the candidate application. Due to technical limitations, the PDF includes only the candidate application, not the supporting materials.
Please note: Sending the application to us does not remove the application from your control. You and your student can edit materials right up until the deadline and those changes will be reflected in the application that we review.
Steps 6 through 8 may be completed in any order.
Step 6: Preparing your letter of institutional nomination.
You will insert your nomination letter into the nomination page for each student. Select the “Edit Registration” option next to the student’s name. You may either cut and paste your letter from another program or work directly in the on-line application and save your work as you go. There is no size or length limit for your letter, but the Foundation suggests that you limit your letter to no more than two printed pages. Keep in mind that what you see on the screen will be identical to the printed version. You should include a “Dear Selection Committee” salutation at the top of your page. Please break the letter into paragraph form; some white space is helpful to the readers.
Step 7: Uploading additional materials.
You are responsible for uploading your candidate’s supporting materials. Please work with them to ensure receipt of these materials in a timely manner.
Select the “Edit Nomination” option next to the student’s name. Toward the bottom of the page, you will see four areas where the supporting materials can be uploaded.
Transcripts: We are happy to accept either official or unofficial transcripts so long as you believe them to be authentic. Please select whichever option is more readable. If your student has transcripts from more than one institution, you may either upload them all as one large document or upload multiple transcripts.
Letters: Please attach each letter in the corresponding box. It is helpful, although not necessary, if the letter writer indicates which characteristic they are addressing in the header of the letter.
Step 8: Approving your student’s application.
Once the student has requested your review of the application – and the application has met with your satisfaction – you can approve the application one of two ways:
- Select "View Application" from the dashboard page. Next select the "Edit" option from the top of the page under "Application - [Your Candidate's Name]." Scroll to the bottom and select the button next to "Send Application to the Foundation."
- Select "Edit Application" from the drop down menu under "View Application." Scroll to the bottom and select the button next to "Send Application to the Foundation."
The student’s status will now be “Received by the Foundation.” This status will remain until we have reviewed all materials and changed the status to “Application Complete.” This change usually takes place a week after the deadline. You and your student will each receive an email confirming the receipt of the complete application approximately a week after the deadline as well.
Remember: Even if the application status is "Received by the Foundation" you and your candidate can still make changes that will be reflected in the final copy up until the deadline. You do not need to 'unsubmit' or have the application returned to you to make changes. We recommend early submission of materials to avoid last minute issues.