Common App Preview and Feedback:2012-13 and Beyond

Scott Anderson, Director of Outreach

Beth Mahalak, Account Manager

The Common Application

2012 ACAC Conference

Today’s Goals

Association Overview

2011-12 Review

2012-13 Preview

Your Questions and Feedback

Association Overview

Not-for-profit membership association founded in 1975

Mission: to promote holistic admission as a path to college access

Free services for applicants and secondary schools

Volunteer Board of Directors• 9 chief enrollment officers• 4 school counselors

Two Advisory Committees• Applications: primarily admission operations professionals• Outreach: school and CBO counselors

Membership Requirements

Four-year degree granting institution

Regional accreditation or CIS Membership

NACAC member in good standing

Commitment to association’s non-discrimination statement

Holistic admission process• One academic recommendation• Untimed writing sample

2011-12 Statistics (Projected)

Applications 660,000 unique applicants (+14%) 2.75 million applications (+16%)

School Forms 18,600 high schools represented (+10%) 300,000 school officials will submit an online form (+26%) 8 million school forms (+47%)

2011-12 Regional Statistics (Projected)

26,000 unique applicants will submit 96,000 applications

1100 counselors will submit 110,000 forms (SR, MR, ED, etc.)

9400 teachers will submit 125,000 evaluations

2011-12 Demographics

Sex 56% Female, 44% Male

Ethnicity 52% White, 37% Students of Color, 11% No Response

Country of Home Address 92% Domestic, 8% International

Parental Education 68% At least one parent with a Bachelor’s, 32% First Generation

School Affiliation 71% Public, 14% Independent, 14% Religious, <1%Homeschool

• 4.2 online applications per applicant (4.17 in 2010-11, ~4 over last decade)• Without transfers and singleton ED apps: 4.6 (4.3 in 2010-11)

NE INTL MID-AT WEST SW MW SOUTHSCHOOLAVG

IND 6.4 5.8 6.5 6.2 5.6 5.5 4.8 5.8

CHART 6.4 4.5 5.1 4.3 4.4 5.2 3.9 4.8

REL 6.0 5.3 5.3 4.6 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.7

PUBLIC 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.0 3.6 3.9 3.8 4.2

HOME 4.1 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.1 3.7REGIONAVG 5.6 5 5.2 4.5 4.2 4.3 3.9

RED: Above average BLACK: Below average

2011-12 Averages

NE INTL MID-AT WEST SW MW SOUTHSCHOOLAVG

IND 6.4 5.8 6.5 6.2 5.6 5.5 4.8 5.8

CHART 6.4 4.5 5.1 4.3 4.4 5.2 3.9 4.8

REL 6.0 5.3 5.3 4.6 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.7

PUBLIC 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.0 3.6 3.9 3.8 4.2

HOME 4.1 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.1 3.7REGIONAVG 5.6 5 5.2 4.5 4.2 4.3 3.9

2011-12 Averages

Public schools account for 70% of all applicants.

• 4.2 online applications per applicant (4.17 in 2010-11, ~4 over last decade)• Without transfers and singleton ED apps: 4.6 (4.3 in 2010-11)

2012-13 Membership

37 new members (490 total, 1/3 exclusive users)• 9 new public institutions (69 total)• 46 states plus DC• 5 countries outside the US

2 new public flagships (14 total)• The Ohio State University, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville• University of Illinois at Chicago

5 new international universities (11 total)• Hult International School of Business, Keele University,

Richmond: The American International University in London, University of Stirling, Yale-NUS College

2 new HBCUs (7 total)• Dillard University, Lincoln University (PA)

2012-13 Enhancements

Application Minor text changes

School Forms Optional Grade Report: reason for submitting Email utility for communicating with colleges New SR prompt to enable submission without letter upload

I cannot provide a written evaluation because (check one or both):

[ ] I do not have sufficient personal knowledge of this student.

[ ] The demands of my counseling load do not afford me sufficient time.

Common App 4.0 (CA4)

$7M - $8M investment to accommodate anticipated volume• Redesign of user interface is important but secondary

Features under consideration• New application format, elimination of print application• Constant progress updates within the application itself• Essay topics to change annually, announced each March• Essay length enforcement• Plagiarism detection• Linking application and fee submission• Simplified supplement process• Redesign of commonapp.org and support resources

Timeline• Final feature-set unveiled at NACAC conference in October• Training materials released during Winter 2013• Launch August 1, 2013

For More Information

commonapp.org