Jessica Crosby is a freelance writer and former teacher with expertise in high school and college admissions. She creates content for education and personal finance companies and believes that all learning should be approachable.
Jessica Crosby, M. Ed. Education WriterJessica Crosby is a freelance writer and former teacher with expertise in high school and college admissions. She creates content for education and personal finance companies and believes that all learning should be approachable.
Written By Jessica Crosby, M. Ed. Education WriterJessica Crosby is a freelance writer and former teacher with expertise in high school and college admissions. She creates content for education and personal finance companies and believes that all learning should be approachable.
Jessica Crosby, M. Ed. Education WriterJessica Crosby is a freelance writer and former teacher with expertise in high school and college admissions. She creates content for education and personal finance companies and believes that all learning should be approachable.
Education Writer Veronica Beagle Managing EditorVeronica Beagle is the managing editor for Education at Forbes Advisor. She completed her master’s in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Before coming to Forbes Advisor she worked on education related content at HigherEducation.com and Re.
Veronica Beagle Managing EditorVeronica Beagle is the managing editor for Education at Forbes Advisor. She completed her master’s in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Before coming to Forbes Advisor she worked on education related content at HigherEducation.com and Re.
Veronica Beagle Managing EditorVeronica Beagle is the managing editor for Education at Forbes Advisor. She completed her master’s in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Before coming to Forbes Advisor she worked on education related content at HigherEducation.com and Re.
Veronica Beagle Managing EditorVeronica Beagle is the managing editor for Education at Forbes Advisor. She completed her master’s in English at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Before coming to Forbes Advisor she worked on education related content at HigherEducation.com and Re.
Updated: Nov 8, 2023, 1:42pm
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
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College application season can get stressful, especially when you’re applying to multiple schools and need to keep track of required materials and deadlines for each. The Common App can help relieve some of that stress by corralling multiple college applications onto one convenient platform.
The Common App simplifies the college application process by allowing you to use one application for several schools. More than 1 million students use the Common App to apply to over 1,000 member colleges annually.
Read on to learn more about how the Common App works and how you can get started applying to colleges today.
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The Common App simplifies the college application process for more than 1,000 schools. The platform allows you to apply to multiple schools at once without having to retype information like your name and address over and over again.
You can also use the Common App as an information hub as you continue through the application process. It’s a great place to track in-progress applications, letter of recommendation submissions and other elements.
Sign up for the Common App as either a first-time college applicant or a transfer student. Once you fill out your demographic profile, you can use the platform to apply to any of its member schools.
The Common App provides its own college application essay questions. Applicants can typically choose from several prompts and have to write only one essay for some schools.
Outside of the application’s common questions, member colleges can set unique requirements for:
The Common App opens on Aug. 1 each year. If you used the Common App to apply to colleges in the past, expect to refresh your account every year. From year to year, you may notice the following changes:
To ensure you don’t lose your application materials, keep copies of your written responses, and ask your references to keep copies of their recommendation letters.
Due dates vary among schools, so you should pay attention to the different application due dates. These are common due dates for college applications:
While the Common App simplifies the admission process, you’ll still have to juggle a lot to get all of your applications submitted on time. You’ll need to budget time to gather documents, request recommendation letters and write your personal essays.
It’s a good idea to start on your application essays over the summer, so you’ll have time to refine them with a trusted guidance counselor or teacher when the school year begins.
To help you get organized, we’ve created this college application checklist.
These are the Common App’s essay prompts for the 2023-24 academic year:
Students also have the option to describe how the Covid-19 pandemic affected their educational experience.
Length requirements for application essays vary among colleges, but most schools request between 250 and 650 words for the Common App essay.
The Common App is free to use, but colleges typically charge their own application fees. You can view information about your prospective schools’ application fees using the Common App database.
You can also filter the database to find schools without an application fee. More than 475 colleges allow students to apply for free.
A fee waiver allows you to apply to college without paying an application fee. The Common App offers a fee waiver for students who qualify.
To request this fee waiver, you must indicate in your Common App profile whether certain qualifications apply to your financial situation. The Common App then forwards your answers to your counselor for confirmation before granting you a waiver. If you satisfy the requirements, the Common App will waive fees for all of your future applications through the platform.
Though exact requirements vary among schools, these are some of the common materials needed for Common App applications:
You can create an account early in the college application process. Creating a Common App account gives you a chance to review prospective colleges and get a feel for their application requirements.
Start choosing colleges you’re interested in using the Common App. The platform will auto-populate a list of requirements for you to complete based on your selections.
One of the perks of the Common App is that it allows you to easily manage recommendation requests. You can send forms through the Common App and track when they’re complete. Colleges set different requirements and deadlines for recommendation letters, so you should review those first. Be sure to give your teachers and counselors ample time to complete their recommendations.
The Common App simplifies the application process by keeping everything in one place, but each school sets its own requirements for application components and deadlines. Take the time to ensure you’re fulfilling all of the requirements by the appropriate due date.
Once you’ve finalized your list of prospective colleges, you can view the specific essay requirements for each application. Many schools utilize the Common App’s official essay questions, but others use their own prompts.
Take the time to plan, write and edit each essay carefully. Schedule time with a trusted teacher or guidance counselor to get feedback on what you’ve written. Your personal essays help your prospective schools get to know you beyond your scores and stats, so take the opportunity to make them count.
Once you complete your application, take time to review all of the materials and make sure everything is in order. When you’re ready, pay any applicable fees and submit your application.
The Common App allows students to apply to more than one college through a single application. The platform streamlines the process so you don’t have to complete redundant forms. It also helps you manage the forms and recommendation letters you’ve submitted.
The Common App simplifies the college application process by gathering participating schools’ applications in one place. However, each school sets its own application requirements, so some applications may be easier than others.
Use of the Common App does not factor into a college’s admission decision. If a college participates in the Common App, it’s an acceptable platform to use.
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Education WriterJessica Crosby is a freelance writer and former teacher with expertise in high school and college admissions. She creates content for education and personal finance companies and believes that all learning should be approachable.
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