The Common App is expanding its direct admissions program for 2024-2025.
The Common Application has announced that it’s expanding its direct admissions program for the 2024–2025 application season to 116 member colleges and universities in 34 states. The full list of participating institutions — which includes public and private institutions, research universities and liberal arts colleges — can be found here.
Direct admissions is an increasingly popular enrollment strategy where students are offered admission to a college or university — sometimes with financial aid — without requiring them to complete a lengthy admissions process first. An increasing number of institutions have experimented with the program in an effort to boost enrollments and increase student diversity.
Think of it s a flipped system, something like receiving notice of a pre-approved mortgage. Here’s how it works in most states that have introduced the program. A student first creates and posts a profile, including information like grades, test scores, and other college-relevant information. Participating colleges then evaluate those profiles and extend admission offers without requiring students to go through the hassle of obtaining letters of recommendation, writing an essay, and filling out application forms.
In the Common App’s version of direct admissions, first-generation and low and middle-income students with a Common App account will receive direct admissions offers after they’ve submitted basic academic information, but have not completed all their applications. Application fees also will be waived on direct admissions offers.
New to the program this year is the ability for students to regularly see, learn, and act on their offers directly in the application. Common App Direct Admissions also will provide outreach and resources to counselors and families with students receiving direct admissions offers.
“As we continue to work toward our moonshot goal of increasing the number of low- and middle-income students applying to postsecondary opportunities, it’s imperative that we find ways to change the narrative about college from one of scarcity to one of opportunity,” said Jenny Rickard, President & CEO of Common App, in the announcement. “With today’s launch of our 2024–2025 Common App Direct Admissions program, even more students will know they are worthy and welcome on a college campus.”
Common App) piloted a small direct admissions program in 2021, offering admission to students who created a Common App account and provided enough academic information but had not yet completed all of their open applications.
In a subsequent Common App pilot, six participating colleges offered admission to 18,000 students; over 800 students accepted the offer. The impact of the pilot was strongest for Black or African American, Latinx, and first-generation students, according to Common App.
In November 2022, Common App launched a third round of its direct admissions pilot, with 14 colleges in six states participating, reaching over 30,000 students with direct admission offers.
The organization launched its full-scale program last year, offering over 400,000 first-generation and low-income students direct admissions from 71 colleges and universities. In that pilot, 3 out of 4 students who added a school to their college list after receiving a direct admission offer applied to that school.
Common App’s direct admissions program is one of the strategies the organization is using to expand the students it serves through its Next Chapter initiative, which has set a goal of closing its equity gap for low- and middle-income students accessing postsecondary education by 2030. To close that gap, Common App needs 650,000 additional applicants from low- and middle-income communities.
The Common Application, which allows students to apply to multiple colleges at once, is now accepted by more than 1,000 schools.