2. 2017 Harvard Summer Institute
Janet Rapelye
Princeton University
Common Application Board of Directors
2017 Harvard Summer Institute

3. Goals Who We Are Who We Serve What We Do
The goal for this presentation today is to help you understand more about the Common Application organization, the constituents that we work with and the initiatives that are currently in the works.
And of course, we are happy to take any questions you have about the content we talk about today at the end of the presentation!
Who We Serve
What We Do

4. WHO WE ARE

5. The Common Application is a
not-for-profit membership organization committed to the pursuit of
access, equity, and integrity
in the college admission process.
Also a good place to mention our longevity and history of service to the education community (founded 1975 with 15 liberal arts colleges)

6. WHO WE SERVE

7. 33 International Universities
48 States & DC
11 HBCUs
33 International Universities
250+ Test-optional
130 Public Universities
275+ No Application Fee

8. NEW MEMBERS FOR 2017-2018 Public Institutions
Appalachian State University (NC)
East Carolina University (NC)
Kent State University
University of Arizona
University of Houston (TX)
University of Missouri System
University of Nevada – Las Vegas
University of Northern Colorado
University of Oregon
University of Wyoming
Western Michigan University
Others to be announced shortly
47…and counting
21 public, 6 international
Our 49th state: Wyoming
Updated list coming this summer

9. 43 Minority Serving Institutions
THE MEMBERSHIP 17
Countries
Outside US
54 International
Members
49 States
Plus DC and PR
140
Domestic Publics
(20%)
749 Members
43 Minority Serving Institutions

10. 4.8 Avg. Apps Submitted Per Applicant
BY THE NUMBERS
4.5M
Applications
Submitted
(+9%)
22M Recommendation
Forms Submitted
405K Rollover
Accounts
998,000
Unique Applicants
(+7%)
1.9M Applicant Profiles Created
4.8 Avg. Apps Submitted Per Applicant

11. 33% First–Generation Students
36% Students of Color

12. Countries and Territories
Worldwide Reach 210
Countries and Territories
89.5% U.S.
10.5% International
China accounts for approximately 35% of international applicants

13. WHAT WE DO

14. We provide a free, reliable application
with 24/7 support for everyone.
We connect students with a
wide range of opportunities.
We provide tools and resources to students and the people who support them.

15. commonapp.org
We provide a free reliable application service with 24/7 support for everyone.

16. COMMITTED TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
commonapp.org
Member Suggestions
The Common Application relies heavily on critical feedback we receive from our users to make improvements to our application system and enhance the tools and resources we offer. We strive to consider feedback from every constituent group.
Applicant & Recommender Surveys
Advisory Committees
Counselor Focus Groups
Service & Support Input
Student Focus Groups

17. ESSAY PROMPTS
commonapp.org
Respondents Who Said Current Prompts Are Effective
5,000
Respondents to Survey
Changes to the essay prompts reflect over 5,000 responses to our recent survey
Students represented 59% of respondents
91% of members of 90% of constituent respondents agree or strongly agree that last year’s prompts were effective
Two New Essay Prompts developed in close consultation with counselors on Outreach Committee
Updated prompts provide expanded opportunity for students to express themselves
Highlight 6th prompt & topic of your choice
New resources coming to help students understand opportunities presented by essay prompts
Another enhancement that originally grew out of constituent feedback two years ago, is account rollover
90%
New Prompts in
59% 2
Student Respondents

18. commonapp.org/rollover
ACCOUNT ROLLOVER
commonapp.org
Any account created in can carry over to and beyond.
Feedback about the process has been great so far, and counselors and students seem to be very pleased with the process
Allows students to take some of the pressure off; students are start including information in their Common App on their schedule, at their pace, and when they are ready.
Allows counselors and families to start working in the app in the spring of the junior year
Learn more about the process at commonapp.org/rollover
Another enhancement we launched two years ago is Common App OnTrack
User name and password remain the same
What rolls over? Any answers to questions within the Common App tab:
Profile
Family
Education
Testing
Activities
Writing
commonapp.org/rollover

19. COMMON APP ONTRACK Mobile companion to Common App account
commonapp.org
Mobile companion to Common App account
The mobile app, Common App onTrack, is designed to help students keep track of their application deadlines
Students can:
View list of colleges on Common App accounts
See college submission status
Add and remove colleges
Set reminders to help stay on top of admissions requirements and deadlines
Invite and manage recommenders
Launched in November 2015, now in its second version
Available on both Android and Apple devices
**Who has Common App OnTrack on their phones already? If you don’t, take a minute after the presentation to take a look! It works with Practice Accounts!
-Looking forward to enhancements for next year
Student-centered design
Add and research colleges, track deadlines and submissions, track and invite recommenders, set reminders, and more
Available in iTunes and Google Play stores

20. KEY ENHANCEMENTS FOR 2017 Recommender & CBO Enhancements
commonapp.org 1
Recommender & CBO
Enhancements 2
Spanish Language Resources 3
Google Drive Document
Upload 4
New Transfer Application (Winter 2018) 5
Courses & Grades

21. COURSES & GRADES
commonapp.org
The new Courses & Grade section will allow many students to self-report their high school academic records as part of their Common App. Member colleges can opt to use self-reported transcript information in admissions and enrollment management processes.

25. We connect students with a wide range of opportunities.
commonapp.org
We connect students with a
wide range of opportunities.

26. ADVANCING ACCESS
commonapp.org

27. ADVANCING ACCESS
commonapp.org
170K
95K
450K 1M
100K

28. commonapp.org
We provide tools and resources to students and the people who support them.

29. Encourage you to visit our refreshed website.
A newly refreshed, content-rich commonapp.org uses the organizing concepts of: learn, explore, grow, focus, apply.
This will help guide students along the path of college readiness.
Will help them learn how to plan, how to pay for, and why every student should consider going to college.
Our enhanced Explore Colleges section now has the ability to search by state, as well as region, through our interactive map.
More than a portal to the application itself
Goal to build a website that would provide info students need to apply to
Encourage you to sign up for the counselor newsletter!

30. 9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade
Organizing concepts of: learn, explore, grow, focus, apply.
Looking to help guide students along the path of college readiness, a process that can begin as early as middle school
Early school counseling points to building a college going culture, our resources are aimed at supporting that with grade appropriate content
Middle School
9th Grade
10th Grade
11th Grade
12th Grade
LEARN
Absorb knowledge, develop skills and study habits
EXPLORE
Explore opportunities, challenge yourself, try something new
GROW
Strengthen skills and maintain involvement in activities
FOCUS
Focus on grades, entrance exams, college search, and yourself
APPLY
Apply your knowledge, apply to colleges and scholarships

31. COMMON APP READY commonapp.org/ready
Comprehensive training resources covering every aspect of the application
Varied formats to meet different needs
Complement to Solutions Center
Common App Ready arms teachers, parents, and counselors with the most up-to-date tools and resources they need to guide students along the path to college.
These resources are ideal for presenting at college prep workshops with students and parents.
commonapp.org/ready

32. Virtual Counselor is an online resource library of college counseling videos and articles submitted by counselors for students and parents.
Contributors to the Virtual Counselor include knowledgeable school counselors, teachers, admission officers and college educators.
Designed to provide advisement for students who may not have access to counselors at their schools or in their community.
We want all students to feel supported throughout the college preparation and application process.
Topics in our Virtual Counselor library include:
Finding your fit when searching for colleges
Financial aid
Advice for First Generation students
Note: “The Common Application is always looking for contributors to the Virtual Counselor. You can find out more information by visiting the Virtual Counselor website or see one of us after the presentation.”
You can either collect the person’s contact information or invite them to Jen Davis at

33. TRAINING VIDEOS
Students can get the help they need using training videos found directly in the Common App account.
We also added inline training videos within the app this year so students wouldn’t have to leave the app to watch a how-to video
Works on mobile too
Check out the YouTube channel for all our videos

34. SOLUTIONS CENTER RECOMMENDER SUPPORT APPLICANT SUPPORT
recsupport.commonapp.org
Chat: 10am-8pm EST, Monday-Friday (October-February)
Schedule a Call: 10am-6pm EST, Monday-Friday (October-February)
Solutions Center is staffed with real live people 24/7/365
APPLICANT SUPPORT
appsupport.commonapp.org
Chat: 10am-8pm EST, Monday-Friday (October-February)

35. CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
commonapp.org
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
“Our social media channels provide yet another active source for support and additional resources”
Plug YouTube channel again
@CommonApp
@CommonApp
@CommonApp
CommonAppMedia

36. Q & A

37. Common App is the one - here's why
Thank you!