The Common App Welcomes 42 New Members for 2020-21

The Common Application recently announced the addition of 42 new members to a roster of what will be well over 900 colleges and universities accepting the Common App for 2020-2021. The popular online platform and college planning website annually serves and supports over three million students, teachers and counselors in the U.S. and around the world. And with the addition of several well-known institutions including Auburn University, Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, Loyola University Chicago, Tuskegee University, and the University of Georgia, these numbers are bound to increase significantly.

“Through these unprecedented times, these 42 colleges and universities continue to help forge a direct and unambiguous path to a viable future for all students, and reduce barriers to college access for underserved students. We are honored to welcome them into our membership,” said Jenny Rickard, President and CEO of Common App. “Thanks to our diverse membership, all students, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to apply to the colleges or universities that will help them achieve their best future.”

Membership in The Common Application is open to colleges sharing the organization’s mission of advancing college access and must be

• Not-for-profit
• Undergraduate degree-granting
• Accredited by an association recognized by either the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education
• If located outside the U.S., a member of the Council of International Schools
• Committed to the pursuit of access, equity and integrity in the college admission process

Member institutions are no longer required to also be members of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). The requirement to evaluate students using a “holistic” selection process including a recommendation and an untimed writing sample (essay) was also dropped to accommodate a wider variety of member institutions.

  As a result, Common App membership before new members are included includes*

• Colleges from all 50 states plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico
• 404 colleges with no application fee
• 78% with admission rates greater than 50%
• 209 public universities
• Over 50 minority-serving institutions and 10 historically black colleges
• 28 women’s colleges and 3 all-male institutions
• 45 Hispanic-serving institutions
• 63 international universities in 19 countries
• Over 630 accepting transfer applications

But the Common App isn’t the only online application from which students can choose. They may consider the Coalition Application or the Universal College Application (UCA), which was welcomed last year by Harvard, Cornell and Princeton. The Common Black College Application enables students to apply to any number or combination of 55 HBCUs for a single low fee. The QuestBridge National College Match application is currently welcomed by 42 highly selective colleges and universities. And a significant number of colleges use a variety of school-based applications created specifically to meet their institutional needs.

 With all these different application platforms, it’s not unusual for a college or university to offer two or more options for prospective students. While the Common App remains by far the most popular of the platforms, it’s usually worth investigating how other applications are structured and what specific questions are asked. There can be significant differences some of which might provide better vehicles for presenting credentials.

But the Common App can’t be beat for its reach into a variety of academic communities. And among the new member colleges and universities offering the Common Application for 2020-2021 are:

Arkansas Baptist College (AR), Auburn University (AL), Augusta University (GA), Baker College (MI), Bethel University (MN), Bryn Athyn College (PA), Buena Vista University (IA), Carlow University (PA), Clemson University (SC)

Coastal Carolina University (SC), Cornerstone University (MI), Fresno Pacific University (CA), Holy Family University (PA), Indiana Wesleyan University (IN), Lake Superior State University (MI)

Lees-McRae University (NC), Loyola University Chicago (IL), Medaille College (NY), Milligan University (TN), New College of the Humanities (London), Norfolk State University (VA), Northern Illinois University (IL), Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL)

Richard Bland College of William and Mary (VA), Spalding University (KY), Texas Tech University (TX), Trevecca Nazarene University (TN), Tuskegee University (AL), University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (CO), University of Georgia (GA)

University of Louisville (KY), University of South Florida (FL), University of Texas at Dallas (TX), University of Texas at San Antonio (TX), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (WI), Wilmington College (OH), Winthrop University (SC).

* Some numbers updated: 6/15/20 as per Common App webinar