Common App Updates: New Features for the 2025-2026 College Application Season

Common App Revamp for 2025-2026

• 🚀 The nonprofit behind the Common App is launching significant updates for the 2025-2026 application season, impacting over 1000 colleges worldwide.
• 💡 Key changes include design updates, modifications to optional questions, and the introduction of a direct admissions program.

Expanded Student Self-Disclosure

• 🧩 A major update is the responsibilities and circumstances question, allowing students to provide a more complete picture of themselves.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 This question enables students, particularly those from low and middle-income backgrounds, to disclose significant responsibilities such as caring for siblings or supporting family members, offering a fuller story beyond academic and extracurricular achievements.

New Direct Admissions Program

• 🎯 A new direct admissions program is being rolled out with 144 participating colleges.
• ✅ By completing key sections of the Common App, such as GPA and family educational background, students can receive an offer of admission early in the process, with some offers expected as early as September.

Evolving Standardized Testing Requirements

• 📊 College requirements for standardized testing have shifted post-pandemic, with many schools reinstating test requirements after a period of being test-optional.
• ✍️ Students are encouraged to prepare for and take standardized tests, practicing them like a sport to gauge their performance and align with the requirements of their target colleges.