The Common Application, credited in large part for Penn's record high number of applicants last year, is getting some competition.
Baltimore-based company ApplicationsOnline unveiled the Universal College Application late last month. The application is designed to be more inclusive according to its Web site. It already boasts an impressive array of 17 schools, among them Harvard, Duke and Drexel universities.
ApplicationsOnline had provided the technology for the online Common Application since 1998, until the organization lost its contract last year.
After losing the contract, many schools asked the company to create their own application, said Joshua Reiter, president of ApplicationsOnline. Reiter said that schools liked the technology and customer service provided by his company.
Wanting to avoid simply making a Common Application clone, Reiter said that they asked schools what kind of changes they would like to see.
"They all said, 'You need to be more inclusive,'" said Reiter.
Because the Common Application requires its schools to use subjective information, such as personal essays or letters from counselors, in addition to objective data, many public schools that rely only on GPAs and test scores are unable to join the Common Application.
Though schools can still request subjective information on the UCA, they are no longer required to do so. Reiter therefore expects more public schools to join. In turn, the hope is that students who typically would only consider public schools will look at applying to private schools on the same application, and vice versa.
And though the University of Maine at Farmington is the only public school signed up so far, admissions officers at private schools seem hopeful that the UCA will help draw a new group of students to private schools.
"The Universal Application has the potential to broaden the horizons of students as they look for colleges," said Christoph Guttentag, Duke's director of undergraduate admissions, in an interview with Inside Higher Education.
In response to criticism that overly convenient applications may attract applicants who are not serious about attending college, Reiter says the UCA isn't intended to make applying for college easy.
"I don't think any consortium is looking to make it easy to apply for college," Reiter said. "We're just making it easier."
Although Penn joined the Common Application last year, it remains to be seen whether or not the UCA will be added as an option for applicants.
Multiple requests for comment from Penn Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson were not returned.
