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Common App

commonapp.org

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Spec score 8.7 #1 of 29 in Admissions Software

What it is

Common App helps students explore colleges, submit applications, and navigate the admissions process. It serves first-year and transfer applicants and lets students explore more than 1,100 Common App colleges. Its first-year guidance covers gathering materials, setting up an account, adding colleges, engaging supporters, reviewing requirements, planning essays, and submitting an application. Accounts can roll over from year to year, and answers in My Common Application can be saved across years. Students who complete a profile may receive non-binding direct admission offers from participating colleges before submitting an application; applying through the program to colleges offering those admissions is free. Otherwise, each college decides whether to charge an application fee and the amount, and many colleges do not charge one. Qualifying students may be eligible for a Common App fee waiver, subject to participating colleges’ policies. The nonprofit membership organization describes its focus as access, equity, and integrity in college admission. Common App is available on web, Android, and iOS. It lists integrations with CRM and SIS providers, school counseling platforms, and embedded services including SlideRoom and UStrive.

Spec sheet

What it does
Common App is an online platform that lets students apply to participating colleges through one account.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Purpose
Common App helps students discover colleges, submit applications, and navigate the college admissions process.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Integrations
Counselors using a Common App integration partner submit school forms through that partner rather than directly in the recommender system.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Security
The privacy policy says supported browsers use TLS for server authentication and data encryption, and that personal data is stored in the United States.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Support
Common App directs first-year applicants to online support and provides a separate online support route for transfer students.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Headquarters
Arlington, Virginia, United StatesRead 28 Sep 2026 · commonapp.org
Founded
1975Read 28 Sep 2026 · commonapp.org
Account rollover
Accounts can roll over between years so users can begin exploring and save answers before applying.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Account security
Common App requires account verification and recommends unique passwords, signing out after sessions and not sharing credentials.Read 15 Oct 2026 · appsupport.commonapp.org
Advisor access
Applicants can invite up to three advisors to review an in-progress application and track progress; advisors submit no forms.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
API scope
The published Recommender API includes endpoints for assigning and inviting teachers, saving teacher profiles, checking form status and retrieving recommendation PDFs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · partners.commonapp.org
Application fees
Each college chooses whether to charge an application fee and how much to charge; many colleges do not charge one.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Application sections
The first-year application includes profile, family, education, testing, activities, writing and courses-and-grades sections.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Application steps
The first-year application guide covers gathering materials, creating an account, adding colleges, engaging supporters, understanding requirements, planning essays, and submitting an application.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
College options
The site says students can explore 1,100+ Common App colleges.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
College search
The service lets applicants search for colleges, filter results and add schools to a personal list.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Company founding
LinkedIn lists the organization as founded in 1975.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company legal name
Crunchbase lists the legal name as The Common Application, Inc.Read 15 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
Company status
Common App describes itself as a nonprofit membership organization.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Direct admissions
Completing basic profile information can make students eligible for admission offers from participating colleges before they submit an application.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Direct admissions fees
Applying to colleges where a student has received a direct admission offer is free through the program.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Documentation
Help resources are split among first-year applicant, transfer applicant, recommender and counselor support centers, with guides and toolkits.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Embedded services
Common App identifies SlideRoom and UStrive among its embedded integrations.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Fee waivers
The Common App fee waiver is available to students who meet qualifying criteria, and participating colleges set their own waiver policies.Read 7 Oct 2026 · appsupport.commonapp.org
Financial-aid resources
Common App provides financial-aid and scholarship research resources, including fee-waiver guidance.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Funding
Crunchbase lists a grant funding round with Lumina Foundation as investor, but the amount is obfuscated.Read 15 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
Headquarters and size
LinkedIn lists Arlington, Virginia as headquarters and a company size of 51–200 employees.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Limit: coverage
Independent guides note that major institutions such as MIT and University of California schools do not use Common App, so separate applications may be required.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ivycoach.com
Limit: mobile workflow
An independent review recommends using a larger screen for long answers and proofreading because the phone experience is better suited to monitoring and short tasks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · reviewed.app
Limit: outages
Ivy Coach reports that the platform can go down around application deadlines, especially in the final hours.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ivycoach.com
Limit: support complaint
A Google Play reviewer reported nearly two weeks of unresolved email support and inability to access an application before an early-action deadline.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Limit: technical issues
Citizens cautions that online technical problems can occur at critical submission times and advises applying before the deadline day.Read 15 Oct 2026 · citizensbank.com
Mobile platforms
The iOS listing describes a free iPhone/iPad app that integrates with the first-year desktop experience.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Organization
Common App describes itself as a non-profit membership organization focused on access, equity, and integrity in college admission.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Praise: centralization
Citizens says the centralized application saves time across multiple schools and helps track deadlines and requirements.Read 15 Oct 2026 · citizensbank.com
Praise: collaboration
Citizens highlights that teachers, counselors and other collaborators can upload transcripts and recommendation letters directly.Read 15 Oct 2026 · citizensbank.com
Praise: workflow visibility
Ivy Coach notes that applicants can preview essays, verify recommendation submissions and see when applications were submitted.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ivycoach.com
Profile
Students create a profile containing academic coursework, extracurricular activities and other application information.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Public API
Common App publishes partner Swagger documentation covering Auth, Applicant, DataCatalog and Recommender APIs.Read 15 Oct 2026 · partners.commonapp.org
Rating on Apple App Store
The listing says there are not enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Rating on Google Play
3.3 out of 5 from 1.28K reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Recommendations
Counselors can submit school forms and transcripts, while teachers and other recommenders can submit evaluations through the recommender system.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Scale
The organization says more than one million students apply annually to over 1,200 member colleges worldwide.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Scholarship matching
The Android listing says profile and GPA information may produce scholarship matches or direct-admission offers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Security and privacy
Common App’s privacy policy includes sections on personal information collection and use, information sharing, retention, and data security practices.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Student types
Common App offers application resources for both first-year and transfer students.Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Support availability
The counselor resource page advertises 24/7 help-center access for recommenders.Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
System requirements
Common App publishes a system-requirements page and says older browsers such as Internet Explorer are not fully supported.Read 15 Oct 2026 · appsupport.commonapp.org

Plans and prices

Common App Free College application platform; college application fees vary by institution Read 7 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org
Common App student application Free No charge Application fees may be charged by individual colleges · Up to 20 colleges in the first-year list Read 15 Oct 2026 · commonapp.org

Every Common App plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Serves first-year and transfer applicants
  • Lists more than 1,100 colleges to explore
  • Accounts and application answers can roll over year to year
  • Direct admission applications are free through the program

Limits

  • Application fees vary by college
  • Fee waivers depend on eligibility and college policies
  • Direct admission offers are non-binding

Who it suits

Common App suits first-year and transfer students exploring colleges and managing application steps. Its college and school integrations may also be relevant to applicants working with counseling platforms or supporters.

Common App in depth

Read the full write-up

Common App is an application platform for first-year and transfer students exploring participating colleges. It suits applicants who want to organize applications and carry answers across years; its main limitation is that each college still sets its own fees and requirements.

Overview

Students can explore more than 1,100 Common App colleges and manage application tasks in one place. The first-year guide moves from gathering materials and adding colleges to understanding requirements, planning essays, involving supporters and submitting. Applicant communications, document collection and decision workflow support that process, making the platform a useful organizer rather than a substitute for each college’s admissions rules.

Accounts can roll over year to year, with My Common Application answers saved across cycles. That continuity is valuable for applicants who return to the process, although saved answers do not remove the need to check current college requirements. Common App is run by a nonprofit membership organization focused on access, equity and integrity in admission.

Key features

Discovery and application guidance

The college directory and step-by-step first-year guide give applicants a common starting point for a complicated process. Transfer applicants are also served, with a separate online support route; first-year applicants have their own online support channel.

Direct admission and fee waivers

Students who complete a profile may receive non-binding direct-admission offers from participating colleges before applying. Applications to colleges where an offer has been received are free through the program, a meaningful advantage for eligible offers. This does not make all Common App applications free: colleges set their own application fees, and many charge none. Qualifying students may be eligible for the Common App fee waiver, while participating colleges determine their own waiver policies.

Connected services

Common App integrates with admissions CRM and student information systems including Slate, Ellucian and TargetX, and counseling platforms such as Naviance, Cialfo, BridgeU, Maia Learning and Xello. SlideRoom and UStrive are identified as embedded integrations. These connections matter most to schools and counselors coordinating applicant services; individual students should not assume every college uses the same tools.

The privacy policy addresses collection and use of personal information, sharing, retention and data security practices. Those topics are relevant for applicants sharing sensitive application material, but the policy itself should be reviewed by anyone weighing how their information is handled.

Pricing

The Common App plan is free: free. It provides the college application platform, while application fees may vary by institution. There is no free trial because the plan is already free. For students, the practical cost can therefore depend on the colleges chosen, with potential relief through college-specific fee policies, qualifying waivers or free direct-admission applications.

The pricing model is freemium, with pricing on request beyond the free plan. There are no published seat or usage caps to weigh against the free offering. Applicants should distinguish the platform’s price from the fees charged by individual colleges.

Platforms

Common App runs on Android, iOS and the web, giving applicants access across mobile devices and browsers.

Who it's for

Common App is a strong fit for first-year and transfer applicants considering its participating colleges, especially those who value a guided process and answers that carry over between years. It is less suitable as a guarantee of uniform requirements, costs or fee waivers: those decisions remain with each college.

Pros and cons

Pros: Year-to-year account rollover preserves My Common Application answers, reducing repeated entry for returning applicants.

Pros: Profile-based direct-admission offers can provide a non-binding route to participating colleges, with applications through the program free after an offer.

Pros: First-year and transfer applicants both have online support routes.

Cons: Application fees and waiver policies vary by college, so using the platform does not ensure a free application.

Cons: Benefits depend on college participation, and applicants still need to meet institution-specific requirements.

Alternatives

Browse Admissions Software for a wider set of options. BlueBic Online Admissions may suit schools seeking a free starter plan with unlimited students and classes, while its service plan is priced at 1,200 NGN as a one-time purchase. Choose Kira Talent when a paid platform license with consultative onboarding and a branded assessment portal is a better fit; pricing is custom.

SurveyMonkey is a freemium option for survey work, with a Basic plan that limits surveys to 10 questions and responses, and a Standard Monthly plan that includes 1,000 responses per month. AdmitCue is another freemium option, with its free tier capped at five courses and five scholarships, among other limits. Gecko is a paid alternative for readers comparing admissions software.

OpenApply is worth considering for schools seeking a paid subscription, with a two-year upfront option and an annual school subscription. Ravenna Admissions uses custom pricing and invites prospective users to request a demo. Schoolites Admissions starts at ₹10 a month, billed from ₹10 per student per month, and offers a free trial.

Verdict

For first-year and transfer applicants targeting participating colleges, Common App is a sensible place to coordinate application steps and preserve answers across cycles. Its strongest reasons to choose it are the shared workflow and the possibility of free direct-admission applications; look elsewhere if you need a school-side admissions system, or compare college policies carefully if predictable application costs are essential.

Verdict

Common App offers application guidance and account continuity for first-year and transfer students, with direct admission available at participating colleges. Applicants should check each college’s fee and waiver policies.

Where Specifiction places it

Alternatives to Common AppAll alternatives →