Can I have applicants select both a district and a school when they apply?

District + School Selection lets you treat Sending Schools as either individual schools or as districts with multiple schools underneath. When scope is set to District, students and staff see separate Sending District and Sending School fields on applications instead of a single Current School dropdown.

Last updated About 2 hours ago

This feature affects how sending schools are configured, how applicants answer the school question on the application form, and how school information appears on admin application records and printed applications. It applies to student application templates only (not adult-education templates).

Before You Begin

  • Your site must have the Applications module enabled. The Settings button on Sending Schools only appears when applications are turned on for your organization.

  • You need access to Sending Schools to configure the scope and district school lists. This is typically available to School Administrators.

  • Sending School Scope defaults to School. No setup is required unless you want district-level selection.

  • Saving Sending School Settings takes effect immediately on the Sending Schools page. Applicants may need to refresh the application form to see updated fields.

  • District scope works best when each sending school record represents one district name, and individual schools are added under that district using Schools in this District.

Note: Switching between School and District scope changes labels and fields on forms. It does not automatically convert existing application answers from one format to another.

Step 1: Choose Your Sending School Scope

Use this step once per organization (or whenever you need to change how sending schools behave on applications).

  1. Open Sending Schools from the main navigation.

  2. Click Settings in the upper-right corner of the page.

  3. Click General Settings.

  1. In the Sending School Settings modal, find Sending School Scope.

  2. Choose one of the options below, then click Save.

Sending School Scope options

School (default)

Each sending school record is one school building or program

Applicants see a single Current School field. Sending school records show District Name (optional metadata).

District

Each sending school record is a school district, and you maintain a list of schools within each district

Applicants see Sending District and Sending School. Sending school records show Schools in this District instead of District Name.

Step 2: Set Up Districts and Schools

Creat or Edit an existing Sending School record

In this example, we’ll edit an existing record

  1. On Sending Schools, click the row action to edit the district.

  2. Add or remove school names in Schools in this District (type a name and press Enter to add).

  3. Click Save Changes.

Sending School modal fields (District scope)

Name *

District name shown in the Sending District dropdown on applications

Code

Internal or reporting code (optional)

Schools in this District

List of schools applicants can choose after selecting this district

Default Application Sharing

Which other sending schools can share application data (if used at your site)

Location Code, Funding District, District AUN, Calendar Codes

Optional reporting fields (if used at your site)

Hidden from Student Applications

When checked, this district does not appear in applicant dropdowns

Fields hidden in District scope

FieldBehavior

District Name

Hidden — the Name field represents the district

Note: If a district has Schools in this District entries, applicants must pick a school from that list (or use an Other option if configured). Districts with no schools listed do not require a school selection.

Step 3: How Applicants Complete the Application (District Scope)

When scope is District, student applicants see two linked fields on Step 1: Student Applicant Information of the online application.

  1. The applicant opens the application form and reaches Student Applicant Information.

  2. They select a Sending District * from the dropdown (searchable).

  3. After a district is selected, they select a Sending School * from the second dropdown (schools load based on the chosen district).

  4. If the district or school is not listed, they choose the Other option and complete the text fields that appear.

  5. They continue with Save & Next as usual.

Quick Reference

Enable district + school on applications

Sending Schools → Settings → General Settings → Sending School Scope: District → Save

Return to single school dropdown

Sending School Scope: School → Save

Add schools under a district

Sending Schools → edit district → Schools in this District → type name, press Enter → Save Changes

Hide a district from applicants

Edit district → check Hidden from Student Applications → save

Allow custom district/school entry

Create sending school named Other

Related Features

Sending Schools (School scope)

One record per school; applicants pick a single Current School.

District Name field (School scope)

Optional metadata on a school record — not a separate applicant dropdown.

Default Application Sharing

Controls which sending schools share application visibility — separate from district vs. school scope.

Hidden from Student Applications

Hides a specific sending school or district from dropdowns; works in both scopes.

Application Templates → Message to Applicants

Introductory message above Step 1 — unrelated to district/school selection.

Applications → Settings → General Settings

Banner text, theme color, counselor role, etc. — district/school scope is configured on Sending Schools, not here.