Common App Sees Increase in College Applications
Credit: andresr / Getty Images- Over the 2023-2024 application season, 1,425,083 distinct first-year applicants applied to Common App member schools — a 7% increase from 2022-2023.
- The number of applicants who identified as an underrepresented minority increased by 11% in 2023-2024.
- The number of first-generation applicants grew by 5% but still didn’t catch up to the growth of applicants who are not first-generation.
A tumultuous year on many college campuses and repeated hiccups with the FAFSA rollout didn’t slow down Common App applications, according to the platform’s new end-of-season 2023-2024 report.
The college application platform saw growth in the number of distinct first-year applicants from previous years.
From the 2022-2023 to the 2023-2024 application cycle, the Common App saw a 7% increase in distinct first-year applicants. Both lower-income and underrepresented minority applicant groups saw distinct growth in this cycle compared to the previous year.
Additionally, there was an 11% increase in total application volume to all schools included on the Common App in 2023-2024. Each applicant this cycle submitted an average of 6.65 applications — up 4% from 6.41 the previous cycle.
The Common App allows students to apply to multiple colleges and universities at once, with most major schools using the streamlined college application system. The application season is typically open from Aug. 1-Jan. 1.
Number of Lower-Income, Underrepresented Applicants Grew Despite FAFSA Challenges
The 2024-2025 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) rollout featuring the “Simplified FAFSA” was marred with challenges for both students and admissions officers. This led to uncertainty about whether students would be able to receive federal aid in time for the start of the school year.
Funding granted through the FAFSA can be the difference between affording a degree or looking for other, cheaper options — or even delaying admission.
However, the end-of-season report on application trends seems to show that lower-income students weren’t deterred in submitting their college applications by the confusing FAFSA rollout.
The number of applicants who reported eligibility for a Common App fee waiver grew at over four times the rate of students not reporting fee waiver eligibility. Applicants eligible for the waiver increased by 14%, whereas applicants not reporting eligibility grew by 3%.
Eligibility for the fee waiver is determined by a set of economic factors, including if:
- The annual family income falls within the income eligibility guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.
- The family receives public assistance.
- The applicant received or is eligible to receive a Pell Grant.
- The applicant is a ward of the state or an orphan.
- The applicant lives in a foster home or is homeless, and other factors.
There was also growth in the number of applicants from below-median income ZIP codes, 12%, compared to slower growth in applicants from above-median income ZIP codes (4%).
The number of applicants who are considered first-generation college students grew by 5% between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 application cycles. This is slightly lower than the 7% growth for applicants who are not first-gen. The number of first-gen applicants has more than doubled since the 2014-2015 cycle.
The Common App defines a first-generation college student as “a student whose parents have not obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher (regardless of when the degree was received, or whether the student lives with adults other than their parents, or of institutional country or type).”
International applicant growth continues to outpace domestic applicant growth at 12% compared to 6% domestically, since 2022-2023. Domestically, growth in the number of applicants was strongest in the southwestern United States.
Applications to Selective Schools Dip
The Common App tracks the number of applications submitted to its member institutions — universities on the Common App accepting applications directly from prospective students.
Public institutions saw their number of applications grow by 16% since 2022-2023, compared to the 5% growth in applications to private institutions. This was the first time applications to public institution Common App members exceeded applications to private institution members.
As far as school selectivity is concerned, growth was highest for schools with admittance rates of 50-74% with 15% growth. It was slowest for the most selective schools — with admittance rates under 25% — at just 3% growth in applications compared to the 2022-2023 academic year.
The U.S. Supreme Court last summer prohibited universities from considering race in admissions decisions, and 2023-2024 is the first admissions year that could see the effect of that ruling.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) may have been a canary in the admissions coal mine: MIT’s incoming class of 2028 is less racially diverse than previous years, according to recently released numbers.
In previous years roughly 29% of MIT’s incoming students have identified as Black, Hispanic and Latino/a, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, but for the class of 2028, that percentage fell to 16%.
In the 2023-2024 application cycle, Common App applicants who identified as an underrepresented minority race/ethnicity increased by 11%, with the fastest growth among applicants identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native (15%), Latino/a (12%), and Black or African American (10%).
Of course, application numbers do not directly equate to admissions. Admissions offices must battle summer melt and competing interests to secure students’ placement on their campus. Admissions numbers will become more clear later in the fall.