Common App

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule ocommon app's mission to advance access, equity, and integrity in the college admissions process has never been more important than it is today. We have several initiatives underway to help more students access, afford, and attain postsecondary opportunities.while 1.5 million students use common app each year to apply for postsecondary opportunities, there is more work to do. Our data show that low-income applicants are still significantly underrepresented in common app's applicant pool, and throughout fy25, we continued to work toward our moonshot of closing the gap in students from low- and middle-income communities accessing postsecondary opportunities.common app strives to be a trusted resource for our member colleges, students, families, and the people who support students navigating the application process. Together, we can help all students access, afford, and attain opportunity, especially those from low- and middle-income communities. We have several initiatives in flight that will help us reach our moonshot, including:- reimagining college admissions to be more simple, logical, and joyful - connecting students to financial aid resources, information, and opportunities- delivering tailored insights to expand outreachthroughout fy25, we continued several initiatives to work toward that moonshot goal. Reimagining college admissions to be more simple, logical, and joyfuldirect admissionsdirect admissions is designed to bridge the gap between high school and higher education by proactively admitting students into college. Common app's program identifies first-generation and middle- and low-income students who meet the admissions requirements of participating institutions, and informs those students that they have been conditionally accepted to a given institution based on their qualifications. In its second year as a full-scale program, common app direct admissions partnered with 119 member institutions across 35 states to serve more than 700,000+ first-generation and low-income students. Our results show:- 22% of students who received offers added at least 1 college they weren't already considering - 3 in 4 students who chose to add a college that sent them an offer ended up actually applying - 32% higher application rates among students who received a direct admissions offer compared to those who did not - students with the greatest barriers (fee waiver eligible, first-generation) are twice as likely to engageat the state level, common app partnered again with the state of Connecticut through the Connecticut state colleges and universities (cscu) to offer tens of thousands of students in the state direct admissions to both public and private institutions through their Connecticut automatic admissions program (caap). Common app also launched a partnership with the state of Illinois through its "one click college admit" program to offer thousands of high school seniors in the state direct admissions.student context pilotwe also continued our student context inventory, which gives students the option to tell us more about their circumstances and responsibilities in a checklist-style section of the application. This checklist allows students to think more broadly about the valuable experience they bring to the table, while also providing common app members the ability to evaluate a student's academic record in a broader context. This signals to students that their lived experiences matter. Our findings indicate that most students are willing to engage with the optional student context inventory question, and the question response options are strongly related to common indicators of low-income and first-generation status.connecting students to financial aid resources, information, and opportunitieswe know affordability is one of the biggest barriers to college, especially for those who come from low- and middle-income families. To help more students from low- and middle-income communities reach their postseconda

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 70.1%; rating input score 70
• Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
• Fundraising efficiency: $0.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 19.4%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.87; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 10.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings