The Common Application was first created with the goal to simplify the college admissions process by allowing students to submit one application to multiple institutions. However, as Olasunkanmi mentioned, it takes significant time to complete, an estimated six to eight weeks, according to admissions counselors. During the last pre-pandemic college application cycle, 2018-19, nearly 1.2 million students accessed the Common App. But a quarter of those students, almost 300,000, did not end up submitting any application through Common App. “Non-submitters” were more likely than students who submitted applications to have lower educational-occupational aspirations, be racial minorities, have parents who completed lower levels of education and live in communities with lower socioeconomic status — but they were not less academically qualified.
