The Common Application has come out with some interesting statistics for this past year (2011-12)

Total Number of Applications

• 2.75 million (up 16% from the previous year)

Who’s Using the Common Application?

• 56% female
• 52% white
• 8% international students
• 32% are the first generation to apply to college
• 71% of applicants go to public school
• Less than 1% are home schooled

Member Schools

• 490 schools accept the Common Application. The schools are from 46 states, plus Washington D.C. and 5 countries outside the U.S.
• Two new public flagships now accept the Common App: The Ohio State University and The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
• Five new international universities accept the Common App: Hult International School of Business, Keele University, Richmond: The American International University in London, University of Stirling, Yale-NUS College.
• A total of 11 international universities now use the Common Application.

Change is Coming

• Next year (2013-2014) the Common Application will introduce Common App 4.0. 
• College essay topics will change annually, although students will still be able to write on a topic of their choice.
• Essay topics will be announced each March instead of August, which will give students the opportunity to begin writing earlier.
• The Common App is also talking about putting a firm limit on the number of words that can be uploaded for the personal essay, although whether that means the current Common Application essay 500 word limit will remain at 500 words is still undecided.
• Common App 4.0 will launch August 1, 2013.

related articles:
Peterson’s: Using the Common Application as Your College Application
U.S. News: Should I Use the Common Application?

..Sharon Epstein is owner of First Impressions College Consulting
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