Presenters will detail changes in next year’s Common Application and share a progress report on development of the next-generation Common App, set to launch in summer 2013. Counselors will have an opportunity to provide feedback that will be used to design future support resources. Admission officers wishing to understand how the process unfolds for their applicants will also benefit from the conversation.

1. Common App Preview and Feedback:
2012-13 and Beyond
Scott Anderson, Director of Outreach
Beth Mahalak, Account Manager
The Common Application
2012 ACAC Conference

2. Today’s Goals
 Association Overview
 2011-12 Review
 2012-13 Preview
 Your Questions and Feedback

3. Association Overview
 Not-for-profit membership association founded in 1975
 Mission: to promote holistic admission as a path to college
access
 Free services for applicants and secondary schools
 Volunteer Board of Directors
• 9 chief enrollment officers
• 4 school counselors
 Two Advisory Committees
• Applications: primarily admission operations professionals
• Outreach: school and CBO counselors

4. Membership Requirements
 Four-year degree granting institution
 Regional accreditation or CIS Membership
 NACAC member in good standing
 Commitment to association’s non-discrimination statement
 Holistic admission process
• One academic recommendation
• Untimed writing sample

5. 2011-12 Statistics (Projected)
Applications
 660,000 unique applicants (+14%)
 2.75 million applications (+16%)
School Forms
 18,600 high schools represented (+10%)
 300,000 school officials will submit an online form (+26%)
 8 million school forms (+47%)

6. 2011-12 Regional Statistics (Projected)
 26,000 unique applicants will submit 96,000 applications
 1100 counselors will submit 110,000 forms (SR, MR, ED, etc.)
 9400 teachers will submit 125,000 evaluations

7. 2011-12 Demographics
Sex
 56% Female, 44% Male
Ethnicity
 52% White, 37% Students of Color, 11% No Response
Country of Home Address
 92% Domestic, 8% International
Parental Education
 68% At least one parent with a Bachelor’s, 32% First Generation
School Affiliation
 71% Public, 14% Independent, 14% Religious, <1%Homeschool

8. 2011-12 Averages
• 4.2 online applications per applicant (4.17 in 2010-11, ~4 over last decade)
• Without transfers and singleton ED apps: 4.6 (4.3 in 2010-11)
SCHOOL
NE INTL MID-AT WEST SW MW SOUTH AVG
IND 6.4 5.8 6.5 6.2 5.6 5.5 4.8 5.8
CHART 6.4 4.5 5.1 4.3 4.4 5.2 3.9 4.8
REL 6.0 5.3 5.3 4.6 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.7
PUBLIC 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.0 3.6 3.9 3.8 4.2
HOME 4.1 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.1 3.7
REGION
AVG 5.6 5 5.2 4.5 4.2 4.3 3.9
RED: Above average BLACK: Below average

9. 2011-12 Averages
• 4.2 online applications per applicant (4.17 in 2010-11, ~4 over last decade)
• Without transfers and singleton ED apps: 4.6 (4.3 in 2010-11)
SCHOOL
NE INTL MID-AT WEST SW MW SOUTH AVG
IND 6.4 5.8 6.5 6.2 5.6 5.5 4.8 5.8
CHART 6.4 4.5 5.1 4.3 4.4 5.2 3.9 4.8
REL 6.0 5.3 5.3 4.6 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.7
PUBLIC 5.1 5.0 4.9 4.0 3.6 3.9 3.8 4.2
HOME 4.1 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.1 3.1 3.7
REGION
AVG 5.6 5 5.2 4.5 4.2 4.3 3.9
Public schools account for 70% of all applicants.

10. 2012-13 Membership
 37 new members (490 total, 1/3 exclusive users)
• 9 new public institutions (69 total)
• 46 states plus DC
• 5 countries outside the US
 2 new public flagships (14 total)
• The Ohio State University, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• University of Illinois at Chicago
 5 new international universities (11 total)
• Hult International School of Business, Keele University,
Richmond: The American International University in London,
University of Stirling, Yale-NUS College
 2 new HBCUs (7 total)
• Dillard University, Lincoln University (PA)

11. 2012-13 Enhancements
Application
 Minor text changes
School Forms
 Optional Grade Report: reason for submitting
 Email utility for communicating with colleges
 New SR prompt to enable submission without letter upload
I cannot provide a written evaluation because (check one or both):
[ ] I do not have sufficient personal knowledge of this student.
[ ] The demands of my counseling load do not afford me sufficient time.

12. Common App 4.0 (CA4)
 $7M - $8M investment to accommodate anticipated volume
• Redesign of user interface is important but secondary
 Features under consideration
• New application format, elimination of print application
• Constant progress updates within the application itself
• Essay topics to change annually, announced each March
• Essay length enforcement
• Plagiarism detection
• Linking application and fee submission
• Simplified supplement process
• Redesign of commonapp.org and support resources
 Timeline
• Final feature-set unveiled at NACAC conference in October
• Training materials released during Winter 2013
• Launch August 1, 2013

13. For More Information
commonapp.org