The Common App launched its direct admissions program for the 2024–25 application cycle yesterday with 116 partner institutions in 34 states, up from 71 institutions in 28 states last year, according to a press release from the organization. This is the second year of the Common App’s full-scale direct admissions effort, which it began piloting in 2021.
Direct admissions, once a fairly fringe practice in which colleges send students proactive admission offers before they’ve applied, has expanded over the past few years, taken up by several state university systems in addition to a growing list of private colleges—despite tenuous evidence that it actually boosts enrollment.
The Common App direct admission program is one of many options for colleges looking to adopt the method; they can also use services offered by companies like Concourse and Niche, and some state systems, like the University of Georgia, have set up their own direct admissions programs. But Common App is by far the most wide-reaching application service available for the tactic, and its commitment to direct admissions could herald further expansion.
