The Common Application Now Available for Submission

On August 1, the Common Application for Undergraduate Admissions became available for submission (Click here to download forms.)

Things are going to get really busy once school starts again so it’s best to start the application now, if you haven’t already.

This year, 45 new schools joined the Common App for 2011-12. There are now 463 Common Application members in 46 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, and Switzerland. This membership represents the full range of higher education institutions in the US: public and private, large and small, highly selective and modestly selective, East Coast, West Coast, and every region in between. For a complete list, click here.

The 2011-12 version of the Common Application was available for preview in April. The big change in this year’s form is the 500-word limit placed on essays.

A video on the Comm App website takes students through the process. Students register for an account and then access the system online. Users can search for colleges by criteria they enter and then click on the schools where they want to apply.

Clients of International College Counselors can call us or email us for help. Common questions on the Common Application can be found if you click here.

The Common Application currently provides both online and print versions of its First-year and Transfer Applications. (To download forms for Transfer Admission, click here)

Students do not have to be complete the Common App in one sitting. The form can be saved and worked on later (just don’t wait too long). The completed form can be previewed in a PDF format before you hit that send button. There are no take backsies.

Last year, close to 2 million Common Applications were submitted through the Common App Online. According to the Common App website, a new single-day record was set on December 31, 2010, when students submitted 127,175 applications.

The system does streamline the process, enabling students to complete one form to send to any number of member colleges. To note, some colleges have supplemental applications that include questions specific to their school, such as “Why do you want to attend ‘Name of School’ University?” Information about these supplements and more can be found on the Common App website.

If you have a meeting with ICC coming up- please try to complete the common app. Of course, please do not send it in- just save the long in and password for our review.