Tulane, WVU and 66 other colleges join the Common Application

West Virginia University

Making good on the promise to cross the 600-member mark starting August 1, the Common Application announced this week the addition of 68 new member institutions for the 2015-16 admission year.

“Our new Members represent 25 states, 5 countries outside the United States, and include 18 public institutions, 10 international institutions, and 3 HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities],” explained a press statement from the Common Application.

Among the new members are:

• Becker College, MA
• Clark Atlanta University, GA
• Framingham State University, MA
• Johnson and Wales University (4 locations)
• Marymount California University, CA
• Mitchell College, CT
• Nova Southeastern University, FL
• Ohio Northern University, OH
• Queens University, NC
• St. John’s University, NY
• Truman Stat University, MO
• Tulane University, LA
• Wayne State University, MI
• West Virginia University, WV

 Locally, Coppin State University and the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore and Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia, will also be joining the Common App on August 1.

During an information session at West Virginia University (WVU) last week, staff announced that the university would be using the most basic version of the Common App, to “replicate” what is already available through the in-house application which goes online July 15, 2015.  Neither a personal statement nor a recommendation will be required, as per new membership conditions for next year.

The hope, however, is that the Common App will reach a wider audience and bring in more applications for West Virginia’s flagship institution.

In other news, the Common App won an important legal victory last week over CollegeNET, which brought an antitrust action against the membership organization last year.

CollegeNET, which won the right to design a new application platform for a group of loosely-affiliated highly selective institutions some time in the future (it appears the 2015-16 launch date may be impossible to meet), has two weeks to show why the Common App’s motion to dismiss the suit should not be granted.

And who says the ‘business’ of college admissions can’t be exciting?

The complete list of new Common Application member colleges and universities may be found here.