Common Application

The Common Application (more commonly known as the Common App) is an undergraduate college admission application that applicants may use to apply to over 1,000 member colleges and universities in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as well as in Canada, China, Japan, and many European countries.

Member colleges and universities that accept the Common App are made up of over 250 public universities, 12 historically black colleges and universities, and over 400 institutions that do not require an application fee. It is managed by the staff of a not-for-profit membership association (The Common Application, Inc.) and governed by a 18-member volunteer Board of Directors drawn from the ranks of college admission deans and secondary school college counselors. Its mission is to promote access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process, which includes subjective factors gleaned from essays and recommendations alongside more objective criteria such as class rank.

Membership
Of the Common Application's over 1,000 member institutions, about one-third are "exclusive users" that use the Common Application as their only admissions application online or in print (listed https://www.commonapp.org/explore/). If the member has a separate proprietary application, they are required to give equal consideration to applicants using either form as a condition of membership.

Digital application system
There are different Common Applications for first-year admission and transfer admission. The application is filled out once online and can be submitted to all schools of the applicant's choosing, with the same information going to different schools. Some schools require supplemental materials, such as essays, that are specific to that school. Once the application is submitted to a college online, it cannot be changed for that college; the student must contact the college directly if they wish to correct an error or provide more information. The Common Application also allows the student to submit and track other components of their application such as supplemental questions, recommendation letters, application fees, and school forms. Students may also roll over their account information within the Common App tab of the dashboard from year to year, using the same user name and password.

The Common Application allows applicants to self-report standardized test scores (including the SAT and ACT) and international educational qualifications (such as GCE A-levels or the Baccalauréat).

Competition
The Universal College Application was started in 2007 and, as of December 2023, had 2 participating institutions.

The Coalition Application was created by a consortium of 80 colleges and universities known as the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, in September 2015. By 2019, the organization was renamed the Coalition for College; that year around 150 universities participated. The Coalition application was created in an attempt to facilitate a holistic process of application, and includes "lockers" where students can create a portfolio starting in 9th grade.

The Common Black College Application (CBCA) was started in 1998 to facilitate the process of applying to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Students are able to complete the CBCA and apply to any number of the 67 participating colleges (as of 2022) at the same time for a fee that is typically $20.