Common App vs DreamApply

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.

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