Competition for the Common App

There is a new way to apply to some colleges called the Universal College Application. The people behind the Universal College Application are the people that created the Common Application. While this may not sound significant, particularly since only 13 colleges are currently using this type of application, its importance can be better shown by looking at some of the colleges accepting this type of application: Harvard, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Washington University in St. Louis.
The Universal College Application is seeking a bigger market than the Common Application which limits its members to those who use essays and recommendations in the admission process. Because many public colleges don’t consider such factors, they have not become members of the Common Application group. The Universal College Application does not have such requirements and hopes to provide students applying to public colleges many of the same benefits as students applying to the Common App colleges. Keep an eye on the Universal College Application as it may just become the best way for future students to apply to a wider array of colleges.