<p>I have a simple question. The common app almost always results in an increase in applications(and so a lower acceptance rate which translate to more prestige, higher ranking, possibly more donations, application fee dollars and recognition etc.)</p>
<p>Why don't we see all or most of the major universities on this list? Several flagships aren't listed. UGA, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Penn State, Indiana, Auburn, Alabama, University of Florida, UT-Austin, Texas A&M, U Missouri, South Carolina, University of Washington, the UC schools</p>
<p>What is the reasoning against joining the common app? Most of these schools will probably see an increase in applications if they joined the common app, especially the more selective ones that would be able to draw a more national application pool.</p>
<p>I’m not sure why they would want to join the Common App. I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about this since my son didn’t apply to any schools last year with the common app but it appears to me as if joining may simply increase the number of students applying to your school - not necessarily the quality of students. Off the cuff that sounds like a lot more work for the Ad Comms on applicants who likely may not attend even if offered admission where a school specific application is selected and completed by the student directly for that school by choice which would lead me to believe there would be a better likelyhood of the applicant attending if accepted. </p>
<p>This sounds like it’s only good for the ‘selectivity factor’ which affects school ranking and which I have come to believe means very little in selecting the best school for a student.</p>
<p>not sure but i guess they don’t have to deal with people who just ‘checked a box’ to apply. So better yield rates and less apps for the adcoms.</p>
<p>also, the UC app has to be done by Nov. 30th for RD and they like to ask different questions from the commonapp. also, UCLA got 104k applications this year, so i dont think they want anymore from joining commonapp.</p>
<p>Well joining the common app will only increase the quantity of applications. </p>
<p>Higher ed scholars have pointed out that the more applications a school gets, the more selective it seems(leaving out the qualitative measures like SAT score, rigor and GPA) which results in attracting the more able student. Put simply, the smarties like other smarties. The cuties like other cuties. Birds of a feather flock together. Joining the common app probably wouldn’t decrease quality because the same students will apply regardless of common app or ___ U app.</p>
<p>It’s common theme among colleges that are trying to climb the ladder and actually doing it to use acceptance rate to reel in the better prospects. </p>
<p>They would want MORE applications if anything. Plus, it’s good for fundraising. If your acceptance rate increases your ranking, it’s a lot easier to make the case for your university to alumni and donors. </p>
<p>Yield is a good point, but it wouldn’t really matter. That would depend on who they accept, not who applies. They want to yield all the accepted students because it reflects the university being a school of choice and not a safety. </p>
<p>I’d like to ask an institutional research person or admissions director about this.</p>
<p>It’s a pretty puzzling question, no? Hmmm… I wonder if it’s pricy for the college, maybe the common app asks for too high of a royalty which cuts revenue the admissions department gets from application fees. It can’t be cheap to run an admissions office at a top ranked school…</p>
<p>Joining CommonApp would increase the number of applicants but decrease the yield rate. It may increase the admission stat but not the enrollment stat. It may help the school to boast their lower acceptance rate and make it look more prestigious. Nevertheless, there is always issues with CommonApp every year particularly this year with the new format.
My D applied to 4 schools on CommonApp and 3 others individually. Not being on CommonApp would not discourage applicants that are really interested in applying to that school. After all, the personal data part is easy to fill up. The only part that takes more time would be the essay. Many schools on CommonApp have their own supplemental essays anyway. On the other hand, most of the essays can be recycled for other schools after minor revision.</p>
<p>I think a school that is underperforming in getting applications compared to other schools of the same quality gets a boost. U of Chicago comes to mind. While I think there is a lot of debate overall about the impact of going to the Common App there, it does appear that the average SAT scores have risen with the change, and it has helped their rankings. I can’t see how a school like U of MN benefits much, unless it possibly brings in more full-pay apps from out of state.</p>