Common Application
Common Application is a US nonprofit membership organization that operates a centralized online college application platform, enabling over 1,000,000 students annually to apply to more than 1,100 member colleges and universities worldwide through a single application.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1975
- HeadquartersArlington, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Common Application does
Common Application, Inc., operating as Common App, is a US-based nonprofit membership organization founded in 1975 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It operates a centralized online college application platform used by more than 1,100 member colleges and universities and over 1,000,000 students annually. The platform's core product is the first-year Common Application, which allows a student to complete a single application form and submit it to any of the member institutions, supplemented by essay management, recommender workflows, fee waivers, and application tracking. A separate Common App for Transfer product (built in partnership with Liaison International) serves students applying to more than 600 colleges that accept transfer applicants.
The platform is augmented by several add-on modules: Direct Admissions (a program that proactively offers acceptance to qualifying first-generation and low-income students based on profile data, expanded from 3 colleges in Fall 2021 to 215 in 2025-26 and delivering 800,000+ offers), Scholarship Matching (a discovery and matching tool for financial aid opportunities), College Explorer (a search and filtering tool across the member college catalog with filters including HBCU, Hispanic-serving, and minority-serving status), and a Recommender System (a digital workflow for counselors and teachers to submit school forms, transcripts, and letters of recommendation). The Direct Admissions program is the most strategically significant module, having grown its participating college count roughly 72x in four years and nearly doubled its offer volume between 2023 and the most recent academic year.
Common App's business model rests on two revenue streams: recurring membership fees paid by member colleges and universities, and transaction-based application fees on submissions (with fee waivers available for qualifying first-generation and low-income students). Specific fee schedules are not publicly disclosed. The organization distributes its platform through a direct-to-consumer self-serve website (commonapp.org and a dedicated transfer sub-domain), with member colleges functioning as the receiving institutions on the B2B side. The organization also invests in counselor-mediated channels, including conferences (ASCA, NCCEP/GEAR UP), webinar series, and content/research publications. Jenny Rickard serves as President & CEO; the organization is governed by a board representing member institutions and is not backed by venture capital or private equity.
Common Application firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Common Application
- Legal name
- The Common Application, Inc
- Website
- https://commonapp.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1975
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Common Application is a US nonprofit membership organization that operates a centralized online college application platform, enabling over 1,000,000 students annually to apply to more than 1,100 member colleges and universities worldwide through a single application.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Common Application industry classification
Industry- Product category
- College Admissions Platform
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Services (611), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Application Intake & Processing (EDALAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Transfer, Credit Mobility & Articulation Planning Platforms (EDAFAMAO), Application Strategy & School List Building (EDANAEAE)
Keywords
Where Common Application is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Arlington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Common Application business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Fees from Colleges: Colleges and universities pay membership fees to be part of the Common App platform and access applicants
- Application Fee Revenue: Revenue generated from application fees, with fee waivers provided to qualifying first-generation and low-income students
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard application fee with waivers for qualifying students |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Common Application product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Common Application operates a centralized online college application platform that enables students to submit a single application to over 1,100 member colleges and universities worldwide. The platform includes separate pathways for first-year and transfer students, a recommender system for counselors and teachers, a Direct Admissions program that proactively offers acceptance to qualifying first-generation and low-income students, and a scholarship matching tool.
Product overview
Common Application is a unified online college application platform comprising two primary application products — the core Common Application for first-year students (covering over 1,100 member colleges) and Common App for Transfer (covering over 600 colleges). These are supported by additional modules including Direct Admissions (a proactive acceptance program that expanded to 215 colleges in 2025-26), Scholarship Matching, the College Explorer search tool, and a Recommender System for collecting teacher and counselor endorsements. The platform is built and operated in partnership with Liaison International for its transfer application product.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Common Application (First-Year) Online college application platform enabling students to apply to over 1,100 member colleges and universities worldwide through a single application form, with tools for essay management, recommendation collection, fee waivers, and application tracking. Targeted at high school students applying to college for the first time.
- Common App for Transfer Specialized online application platform for transfer students to apply to more than 600 colleges that accept Common App for transfer, supporting students transferring from community colleges, other four-year institutions, or those re-enrolling to complete their degree.
- Scholarship Matching Scholarship discovery and matching tool that helps students find and apply for financial aid opportunities to support their college education.
- College Explorer Search and filtering tool enabling students to explore more than 1,000 colleges on Common App, with filters for application type (first-year/transfer), institution type (public/private), size, location, minority-serving status, and financial aid offerings.
- Recommender System Digital workflow enabling counselors, teachers, and other recommenders to submit school forms, transcripts, and letters of recommendation on behalf of applicants.
- Direct Admissions Program enabling qualifying first-generation and low-income applicants to receive college acceptance offers before applying, based on information already in their Common App profile. Expanded from 3 colleges in Fall 2021 to 215 colleges in the 2025-26 academic year, serving over 800,000 students with nearly double the offers from 2023.
Quantifiable outcome
- 800,000+ students received direct admissions offers in the last academic year
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Common Application
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Common Application technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Common Application partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor GEAR UP TeamcoreThe University of Michigan-Ann Arbor GEAR UP team partnered with Common App to share replicable strategies for launching college application bootcamps, practical tools for staff readiness, and real-world examples of cross-organizational collaboration to strengthen student access. The partnership was announced at the NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference.
- Kentucky State UniversitycoreKentucky State University joined Common App as a member college to expand access for prospective students, particularly first-generation and Pell Grant-eligible students. The university reported enrollment of 2,838 students at Fall 2025 census, representing a 34 percent increase over Fall 2024 and over 70 percent growth since Fall 2023.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Common Application competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Coalition for College: Coalition for College operates a competing common application platform used by ~150+ member colleges, primarily selective and public flagship institutions. It targets similar first-year applicants and competes head-to-head with Common App for both college memberships and student mindshare, especially among higher-income and underrepresented cohorts.
- Coalition Application: The student-facing application product of the Coalition for College, this is the most direct functional competitor to Common App's first-year platform, offering a single application accepted by multiple member colleges with its own essay prompts and recommendation workflow.
Others
- Liaison International: Liaison International is Common App's technology partner for the transfer application product and broader admissions solutions provider to colleges. While not a direct consumer-facing competitor, it competes in the same underlying admissions-software category and could emerge as a substitute vendor if Common App's partnership changes.
- AACRAO (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers): AACRAO is a membership association for registrar and admissions officers at US colleges. It operates the electronic transcript exchange and admissions standards that underpin college application processing, making it an institutional and standards-setting peer relevant to Common App's member ecosystem.
Emerging players
- Naviance (PowerSchool): Naviance is a college and career readiness platform used by high school counselors to track students through the application process. It overlaps with Common App's recommender and counselor workflows and serves the same high school ecosystem, often interfacing directly with Common App submissions.
- Scoir: Scoir is a college application and counseling platform that supports students through discovery, application, and decision stages. It overlaps with Common App's College Explorer, recommender system, and application tracking, and is used by both high schools and colleges as an alternative or complement to Common App.
- Cappex: Cappex is a college search and matching platform connecting prospective students with colleges and scholarships. It overlaps with Common App's College Explorer and Scholarship Matching modules and competes for student acquisition and college lead-generation budgets.
- CollegeVine: CollegeVine provides college admissions counseling, essay guidance, and application support tools targeting high-achieving applicants. It is adjacent to Common App's application strategy and essay prompt resources, serving a more affluent, advising-driven segment.
Broad incumbents
- College Board: College Board is a broad incumbent in US college access, administering the SAT, AP exams, and BigFuture college planning tools. It overlaps with Common App in the pre-application college discovery and planning funnel and competes for institutional relationships and student mindshare.
- ACT: ACT is a major US testing and college readiness organization with its own college planning and search tools (ACT Kaplan, ACT Engage). It competes with College Board and overlaps with Common App in pre-application discovery and student-counselor touchpoints.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Common Application social profiles
Digital presenceCommon Application financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Common Application leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Common Application funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Common Application M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Common Application
What does Common Application do?
Common Application operates a centralized online college application platform that enables students to submit a single application to over 1,100 member colleges and universities worldwide. The platform includes separate pathways for first-year and transfer students, a recommender system for counselors and teachers, a Direct Admissions program that proactively offers acceptance to qualifying first-generation and low-income students, and a scholarship matching tool.
Is Common Application a public or private company?
Common Application is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Common Application founded?
Common Application was founded in 1975. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Common Application based?
Common Application is headquartered in Arlington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Common Application make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Membership Fees from Colleges are the primary driver. The others are application Fee Revenue.
Who are Common Application's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Coalition for College and Coalition Application. Others are Liaison International and AACRAO (American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers). Emerging players are Naviance (PowerSchool), Scoir, Cappex and CollegeVine. Broad incumbents are College Board and ACT.
Does Common Application have an API?
No public API is recorded for Common Application.
What industry is Common Application in?
Common Application's product category is College Admissions Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDALAAAB, Application Intake & Processing, with a secondary code of EDAFAMAO, Transfer, Credit Mobility & Articulation Planning Platforms. Its NAICS code is 611310 and its SIC code is 8200.