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 .
Most recent deadline update
Source: Common App
Long-term progress toward diversifying the Common App applicant pool
Source: Common App
First-year admission pl
ans: 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
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
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