> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.puddin.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Adding Applicants to Your Admissions Cycle in Puddin

> Add applicants individually or via CSV import to make them available for invitation and authorship verification in your admissions cycle.

Before you can invite applicants to complete their personal statements through Puddin, you need to add them to your admissions cycle. You can add applicants one at a time for small cohorts or import a CSV file when onboarding larger groups. If your institution uses a connected student information system, you can also pull applicants directly from that integration.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Add Individually">
    Adding a single applicant is the quickest option when you're onboarding a small number of people or filling in gaps after a bulk import.

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open your admissions cycle">
        From the Puddin Admissions dashboard, select the cycle you want to add applicants to. If you haven't created a cycle yet, go to **Cycles → New Cycle** and complete the setup wizard before continuing.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Navigate to the Applicants tab">
        Inside the cycle, select the **Applicants** tab. You'll see the full applicant list for this cycle, or an empty state if no one has been added yet.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Click Add Applicant">
        Select **Add Applicant** in the top-right corner of the applicant list. A slide-over panel will appear.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Enter the applicant's details">
        Fill in the following required fields:

        | Field         | Notes                                                  |
        | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
        | First name    | As you'd like it to appear in invitation emails        |
        | Last name     |                                                        |
        | Email address | The address the invitation will be sent to             |
        | Programme     | The programme or course this applicant is applying for |

        You can also add an optional **applicant reference number** to match your internal records.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Save the applicant">
        Click **Add Applicant** to confirm. The applicant is added to the list with a status of **Not Invited**. You can now send them an invitation immediately or return to do so later.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CSV Import">
    Use CSV import to add tens or hundreds of applicants at once. Puddin validates your file before import and reports any rows with errors so you can correct them without losing the clean data.

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Download the CSV template">
        Go to **Applicants → Import** and click **Download Template**. The template includes all required and optional column headers with example values in the first row. Delete the example row before uploading your real data.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Prepare your CSV file">
        Populate the template with your applicant data. Follow these formatting rules to avoid import errors:

        | Column             | Required | Format                     |
        | ------------------ | -------- | -------------------------- |
        | `first_name`       | Yes      | Plain text                 |
        | `last_name`        | Yes      | Plain text                 |
        | `email`            | Yes      | Valid email address        |
        | `programme`        | Yes      | Plain text                 |
        | `reference_number` | No       | Alphanumeric, max 50 chars |

        <Note>
          Each row represents one applicant. Do not merge cells, add extra header rows, or include columns that aren't in the template — Puddin will reject files with unrecognised columns.
        </Note>
      </Step>

      <Step title="Upload your CSV file">
        Return to **Applicants → Import** and either drag your file into the upload zone or click **Browse** to select it. Puddin will validate the file immediately.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Review the validation report">
        After validation, Puddin shows a summary of:

        * **Rows ready to import** — valid entries that will be added
        * **Rows with errors** — entries Puddin could not process, with a reason for each

        Download the error report if needed, correct the flagged rows in your file, and re-upload just those corrected entries. You don't need to re-import rows that already passed validation.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Confirm the import">
        Click **Import \[N] Applicants** to complete the process. All valid rows are added to the applicant list with a status of **Not Invited**. A confirmation email is sent to your account address once the import finishes.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Warning>
      If an email address already exists in this cycle, Puddin will flag it as a duplicate and skip that row. The same email address can appear in different cycles without issue.
    </Warning>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Connected Systems">
    If your institution has connected a student information system (SIS) or CRM to Puddin, you can import applicants directly from that source without preparing a CSV file.

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Check your integration is active">
        Go to **Admin → Integrations** and confirm your connected system shows a status of **Connected**. If not, contact your Puddin administrator to complete the integration setup.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Open the import panel">
        Inside your cycle, go to **Applicants → Import → Import from \[System Name]**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Select a cohort or filter">
        Use the filters provided by your connected system to narrow down the applicants you want to pull in — for example, by programme, intake year, or application status.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Review and confirm">
        Puddin displays the applicants that match your filter. Deselect any you don't want to include, then click **Import Selected**. Applicants are added to the cycle with a status of **Not Invited**.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Info>
      Available filters depend on the data your connected system exposes to Puddin. Contact your system administrator if you need additional filtering options.
    </Info>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## After adding applicants

Once applicants are in the list, your next step is to send them invitations. Head to [Sending and Managing Invitations](/admissions/applicants/invitations) to get started.

<Tip>
  You can add more applicants to a cycle at any time — even after invitations have already been sent to others. New additions always start with a status of **Not Invited**.
</Tip>