What's New in the 2009-10 Common Application System for School Counselors Rob Killion, Executive Director The Common Application Chad Massie, Director Team, Hobsons EMT The Association Mission Not-for-profit membership association free to applicants and secondary schools Led by a 13 member Board of Directors, including 4 high school guidance counselors Founded nearly 35 years ago (1975) with 15 members Currently ~400 members, 1/3 of which are exclusive users Mission to promote holistic admission subjective & objective criteria as path to college access Streamline the process for students applying to holistic colleges ~800,000 registered students (~400,000 submitted) ~1,600,000 submitted Common Applications (~15% growth) ~1,300,000 submitted Supplements ~1,000,000 online epayments ~125,000 support requests (~50 minute response 24/7/365) ~1,200,000 submitted School Forms Average of 3.87 submissions per student 1
1600000 1400000 1200000 1000000 800000 Submission Totals CAO Total 1,602,990 Supplement Total 1,340,783 600000 400000 200000 0 December 31 st : 102,000 Common App Submissions 90,000 Supplement Submissions 2.5 submissions per second 3,550 technical support requests with an average response time of 21 minutes 45% Male / 55% Female 24% first generation college 91% in US / 9% outside the US 80% provided information about their race/ethnicity 70% Public School / 30% Private School 1.9% answered the School Discipline question yes.24 % answered the Criminal Discipline question yes 40% first heard about the from their college guidance counselor Top States: New York, 16% California, 10.5% Massachusetts, 10.3% New Jersey, 8.9% No State, 8.2% Connecticut, 4.4% Pennsylvania, 4.2% Illinois, 3.5% Texas, 3.2% Ohio, 2.7% Top Countries: USA, 91% China, 1.7% South Korea Canada India Singapore United Kingdom Hong Kong Pakistan Turkey 2
Race/Ethnicity Background Secondary School Type 8/13/2009 70% 60.30% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 8.65% 10% 0% 6.86% 7.58% 7.17% 4.75% 1.59% 0.28% 0.22% 0.76% 1.84% 68.83% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 12.95% 16.72% 10% 0.40% 1.10% 0% Home School Charter Religious Independent Public 2008-09 Improvements No duplicate supplement questions Twice the space to detail extracurricular activities & honors Ability to answer some questions differently for different colleges on the Common App itself: academic interest entry term decision plan need-based aid intent merit-based aid intent housing intent degree intent 3
2009-10 Improvements Online School form submissions via School Forms interface, Naviance, and Docufide Online Support for ED II process Online School Forms systems enhancements based on feedback from the counseling community Both applicants and counselors can view the downloaded status of online forms Support for multiple transcript uploads Sorting students based upon submission status Instructional flash videos describing the online school form submission process Updates to the Common Application Form New ethnicity question to meet Department of Education reporting requirements Other option for With whom do you make your permanent home? question Question about affiliation with a community-based organization If you received college counseling or assistance with your application process from a community-based organization (such as Upward Bound, Questbridge, HEOP, etc.), please specify: Clarifying instructional text for test score reporting and disciplinary history explanation Additional space for courses on the Secondary School Report and a place to indicate the total number of AP courses offered at your high school 4
School Forms Support Center Searchable knowledgebase of frequently asked questions (FAQ). If a response to your question is not found, a support ticket can be submitted. The school forms support center is staffed Monday through Saturday between 8am and 8pm ET. A request for assistance can also be emailed directly to school_forms_help@commonapp.net. Phone support is not available. Please do not submit a ticket on behalf of an applicant. The applicant should submit his/her own ticket as important information about the applicant s browser, platform, and account is automatically transmitted with the request. Questions? 5