Reports and Insights
As a non-profit membership organization serving millions of students each year, Common App is uniquely positioned to share data and provide insight into the college admissions process.
Our reports and insights are driven from more than 40 years of experience supporting applicants, recommenders, and admissions professionals. With nearly 900 member colleges and universities serving more than 1 million applicants each year, we are able to devise insight into application trends across the applicant lifecycle and identify potential barriers and opportunities to improve college access.
Core to our mission of access, equity and integrity is a responsibility to move our practice forward by collaborating with like-minded organizations, developing best practices, and sharing the results of our findings.
Below are recent examples of research initiatives featuring contributions or data from Common App.
A majority of U.S. colleges admit most students who apply
Source: Pew Research Center
Nudging at a National Scale: Experimental Evidence from a FAFSA Completion Campaign
Source: EdPolicyWorks - University of Virginia
Source: EdPolicyWorks - University of Virginia
Source: Sidney D’Mello (PI), University of Colorado Boulder, Angela Duckworth (Co-PI), University of Pennsylvania
True Merit: Ensuring Our Brightest Students Have Access to Our Best Colleges and Universities
Source: The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
Source: EdPolicyWorks - University of Virginia