Common App colleges attract more out-of-state, international students

Colleges see an increase in out-of-state and international students after joining the Common Application, according to a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Students using the Common Application apply to more colleges and consider attending institutions farther away from home. That increases the number of applications member colleges receive but reduces their yields, resulting in them offering admission to a larger number of students. The researchers also found the Common Application may contribute to stratification in higher education because member colleges tend to be more selective. The Common Application has grown from just 15 liberal arts colleges in 1975 to more than 700 private and public institutions today. That has fundamentally changed college admissions in the U.S. For one, the ability to apply to multiple institutions at once has made the market for higher education more national, Brian Knight, co-author of the report and an economics professor at Brown University, told Education Dive in an interview.