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 by more than 40 years of experience supporting applicants, recommenders, and admissions professionals. With more than 1,000 member colleges and universities serving over 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. Learn more about Common App research briefs.

Common App deadline updates

Most recent deadline update
Source: Common App

Common App data and insights

First-year admission plans: trends over time and applicant composition
Source: Common App

Growth and change: long-term trends in Common App membership
Source: Common App

Applying to college in a test-optional landscape
Source: Common App

Pandemic patterns
Source: Common App

2020–2021 Common App state reports
Source: Common App

2019–2020 Common App impact and trends
Source: Common App

Evolving the Application: removing school discipline from the Common App
Source: Common App

2018–2019 Common App impact and trends
Source: Common App

Third-party research and collaboration

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

Mindsets and the Learning Environment: A Big Biodata Approach to Mindsets, Learning Environments, and College Success
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

The Michelle Obama Effect: How Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Community Events Impact FAFSA Completion
Source: EdPolicyWorks - University of Virginia

Common App member case studies

Navigating the new normal: How the University of Georgia streamlined the application process and improved student and family communication during COVID-19
Source: Common App