Students Can Now Apply to Illinois Community Colleges on Common App
Credit: Klaus Vedfelt / DigitalVision / Getty Images- Four new community college members have been added to the platform for the 2024-2025 application cycle, with three more coming in the 2025-2026 application cycle.
- This is the first batch of community colleges to be added to the platform.
- All four of the community colleges are located in Illinois.
The college application platform Common App has added four community colleges to its membership.
This is the first cohort of community colleges to be added. The platform says this move is to increase college access for low- and middle-income students.
The Common App allows students to apply to multiple schools at once, using one platform. Low-income applicants may be eligible for a Common App fee waiver if they meet certain requirements.
“To close the gap in low- and middle-income students applying, we need to expand the types of institutions students can connect with,” Jenny Rickard, president and CEO of Common App, said in a press release. “Community colleges are critical to helping students — especially those from low- and middle-income communities — pursue their postsecondary dreams.”
For the 2024-2025 application season, applicants will be able to use the Common App to apply to:
- Sauk Valley Community College
- Rend Lake College
- Carl Sandburg College
- Black Hawk College
Starting in the 2025-2026 application season, Lincoln Land Community College, Oakton College, and Triton College will also join the platform.
All four of the community colleges added so far and the three schools to be added are located in Illinois.
“Illinois community colleges have long served as accessible and affordable entry points into higher education,” Illinois Community College Board Executive Director Brian Durham said in the press release.
“By joining Common App, these colleges are strengthening their commitment to access, opening new doors for students, and making the pathway to higher education even more seamless and attainable.”
Over 3 million applicants, counselors, and teachers use the platform each year. This is the first effort by the platform to target primarily associate-level, degree-granting colleges.
“We are excited both to help our members expand their reach and to provide our applicants even more opportunities to explore,” Rickard said.
Part of Common App’s mission statement is “removing … barriers and improving application rates for students who have been historically underrepresented and marginalized in higher education.”
In 2023, the platform advanced on that promise by offering direct admissions to students from low- and middle-income families.
During the pilot run, the most impacted demographics were Black or African American, Latino/a, and first-generation students, according to a press release at the time. Common App expanded the direct admissions program in 2024, offering automatic acceptance to 116 schools in 34 states.