Common App Direct Admissions includes admit offers directly in the application for low- and middle-income and first-generation students.
\n\nArlington, VA - Common App has launched its direct admissions program for the 2026–2027 application season with 234 participating member colleges and universities. Beginning in mid-September, first-generation and low- and middle-income students who are college-interested will receive proactive admissions offers from participating institutions. The program helps students discover colleges they may not have otherwise considered and provides a simpler, more direct pathway to applying and enrolling.
\n\nBuilding on the growth of the program, this year’s participating colleges and universities represent 42 states and Washington, D.C., and include institutions across a range of sectors and regions. Students who receive offers will be able to view and engage with their direct admissions opportunities directly through Common App, along with resources and support designed to help students, families, and counselors understand and act on those offers.
\n\nThe 2026–2027 program builds on strong momentum from the 2025–2026 application season, when 215 Common App member institutions participated and sent proactive admissions offers to over 820,000 first-generation and low- and middle-income students. In the previous year, 119 institutions across 35 states sent offers to more than 733,000 students.
\n\nStudents are increasingly engaging with these opportunities: 25% of students who received an offer in 2025-26 applied to at least one college they weren’t previously considering. That number is up from 17% in the year prior.
\n"}},{"__typename":"paragraph__quote_statement","field_title":null,"field_tagline":"Jenny Rickard, Chief Executive Officer of Common App","field_text":{"processed":"“Direct Admissions is helping colleges reach students who may not have otherwise seen themselves at those institutions, while giving students more opportunities to find a college that’s right for them.”
"}},{"__typename":"paragraph__plain_area_text","field_title":null,"field_text":{"processed":"“Direct Admissions is helping colleges reach students who may not have otherwise seen themselves at those institutions, while giving students more opportunities to find a college that’s right for them,” said Jenny Rickard, Chief Executive Officer of Common App. “The continued growth of this program reflects the commitment of our members to finding new ways to connect more students with postsecondary opportunities, and help give them the confidence and security that they are welcome and wanted on college campuses.”
\n\nCommon App Direct Admissions is one of the ways the organization is advancing its Next Chapter and its moonshot goal of closing the gap in access to postsecondary opportunities for students from low- and middle-income communities by 2030.
\n\n“Alfred University joining Common App Direct Admissions builds on its history and advances our mission to help more students discover their potential, find their purpose, and thrive,” said Christie Smith, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Alfred University.
\n\nThe participating Common App Direct Admissions members for 2026-27 come from 42 states as well as Washington, DC:
\n\n*Joined the Common App Direct Admissions program this season.
\n"}},{"__typename":"paragraph__plain_area_text","field_title":"About Common App","field_text":{"processed":"Common App is a not-for-profit member organization committed to the pursuit of access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. Each year, more than one million students apply to college through the Common App’s online application.
\n\nCelebrating 50 years of serving students and institutions in 2025, Common App serves over 1,200 member colleges and universities worldwide. In 2023, the organization launched its Next Chapter with the goal of closing its equity gap in low- and middle-income students applying to college by 2030. To learn more, visit commonapp.org and follow @CommonApp and #CommonApp on social media.
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