A system for creating and processing customized forms for unrelated institutions using a common third party data storage over a computer network, the system including:</claim-text> a server computer operated by the third party and in data nication over a data network with a client computer for requesting a form and for entering information onto the form; first data storage in communication with the server computer and including form description information specifying the content and appearance of each customized form; second data storage in communication with the server computer and including user information posted from the client computer, the second data storage including a database having a database field structure defined by multiple database fields, the database including multiple records, each record capable of storing information corresponding to each of the database fields; and a forms engine program operating on the server computer for generating a form from the form description information in response to a request for the form transmitted from the client computer over the computer network, the form including fields for the user to enter user information, the forms engine program automatically populating the fields for user information with user information available from the second data storage, accepting user information entered on the form by the user, and storing the newly entered information in the second data storage for automatically populating subsequent forms, the user information entered by the user including at least some information not entered on a previous form by the user, the forms engine automatically storing the entered information into the database by adding new records to the database, the automatic storing of the user information not altering the database field structure, thereby allowing new user information not previously requested to be added to a form without requiring alterations of existing forms or alterations of programs that access the database. view more

The system of claim 21 in which the first or second data storage comprises one or more relational database tables stored on a computer readable medium.

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A method of processing over a computer network forms directed by multiple public forms users to multiple institutions, the forms being processed by a third party forms servicer that is neither one of the multiple institutions nor one of the public forms users, the method comprising: presenting to a form user over a computer network by a third party forms servicer a form directed to one of the multiple institutions, the forms including fields for the forms user to enter user information; receiving by the third party forms servicer over the computer network user information and electronic payment information entered by the user; processing by the third party forms servicer an electronic payment associated with the form, the processed payment being from the user to the one of the multiple institutions to which the form is directed; providing by the third party forms servicer the user information to the institution to which the form is directed in a format specified by the institution, the third party forms servicer thereby providing to public form user customized forms identified with institution of higher education and providing to the institutions custom-formatted data, while relieving the institution of the administrative burden of processing forms and payments. view more

The method of claim 16 further comprising storing by the third party the user information entered onto the forms.

The method of claim 18 further comprising:</claim-text> presenting over a computer network by a third party forms servicer in response to a request from the form user, a second form directed to one of the multiple institutions; and automatically ting into the second form user information previously entered onto a form by the form user. view more

The method of claim 16 in which receiving by the third party forms servicer over the computer network user information and electronic payment information entered by the user includes verifying that the user information satisfies criteria specified by the one of the multiple institutions to which the form is directed. view more

The method of claim 16 in which presenting a form to a form user over a computer network includes presenting a form including multiple pages.

The method of claim 21 further comprising verifying in accordance with validation criteria user information on each of the multiple pages after each page is completed.

The method of claim 16 further comprising verifying in accordance with validation criteria the user information on a completed form when the completed form is submitted.

An apparatus for processing over a computer network forms directed by multiple public forms users to multiple institutions, the forms being processed by a third party forms servicer that is neither one of the multiple institutions nor one of the public forms users, the system comprising: a processor for executing computer instructions, the processor associated with the third party forms servicer; and computer accessible memory in data communication with the processor and storing computer instructions for: presenting over a computer network to a form user by the third party forms servicer a form directed to one of the multiple institutions, the form including fields for the form user to enter user information; receiving by the third party forms servicer over the computer network user information and electronic payment information entered by the user; processing by the third party forms servicer an electronic payment associated with the form, the processed payment being from the form user to the one of the multiple institutions to which the form is directed; and providing by the third party forms servicer the user information to the institution to which the form is directed in a format specified by the institution, the third party forms servicer thereby providing to public forms users customized forms identified with multiple institutions and providing to the multiple institutions custom-formatted data, while relieving the institution of the administrative burden of processing forms and payments. view more

The apparatus of claim 32 in which the computer accessible memory storing computer instructions stores instructions for verifying, in accordance with verification criteria, user information on each page of a multiple page form after the page is completed. view more

The apparatus of claim 32 in which the computer accessible memory storing instructions stores instructions for presenting over a computer network by the third party forms servicer in response to a request from the form user, a second form directed to one of the multiple institutions and stores instructions for automatically inserting into the second form user information previously entered onto the first form and stored. view more

A method of processing over a computer network forms directed by multiple public forms users to institutions, the forms process being administered by a third party forms servicer that is neither one of the institutions nor one of the public forms users, the method comprising: receiving by an institution from a third party forms servicer user information in a format specified by the institution, the user information being derived from a form customized for the institution and identified primarily with the institution rather than with the third part forms servicer, the customized form being presented to a form user over a computer network by the third party forms servicer, the customized form including fields for data to be inserted manually by the forms user or automatically, he information in the completed form being posted to the third party forms servicer; and receiving from the form user via the third party form servicer an electronic payment associated with the customized form; thereby providing to the form user a customized form identified with the institution and providing the institution with custom-formatted data and an electronic payment, while relieving the institution of the administrative burden of processing forms and payments. view more

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