The Common App Just Released New Data. Here Are 3 Things College Applicants Need To Know
By Christopher Rim | Aug 27, 2026, 06:48am EDT
Every fall, the Common App releases a report outlining the latest trends in college admissions and enrollment. As the largest single platform facilitating college applications to over 1,000 across the U.S., the Common App’s data provides critical insights about the evolving admissions landscape that can meaningfully inform future applicants’ strategies.
This year’s report comes at a critical juncture in higher education, as evolving immigration enforcement threatens international enrollment, an affordability crisis raises concerns about the costs of college, and admissions offices undergo shifting priorities in the ongoing fallout of the affirmative action ban. Key insights from across the Common App’s overview offer data-backed insights about how these disruptions are impacting applicants beyond the headlines and speculative assessments. Below are three of the most important takeaways from this year’s report, and what they mean for the applicants navigating this landscape now:
1. The Admissions Pool is Growing
Despite fears of an impending enrollment cliff, the Common App report showed that both applicants and applications increased in the 2025–26 cycle. The number of applicants climbed to 1,527,328 from 1,495,475 the year prior, marking a 2% increase, while the volume of applications reached 10,786,782, up 6% from 10,157,068 in 2024–25. Notably, the populations that saw the most growth came from underrepresented backgrounds: students from below-median income zip codes increased by 8% over the prior year, and first-generation students by 6%. The growth in applicants was slowest amongst those from metropolitan areas. These fluctuations are occurring as top schools are actively incentivizing socioeconomic diversity in incoming classes through income-based free tuition initiatives and outreach to more rural areas.
While the growing number of applicants is noteworthy, even if the margin is thin, the gap between growth in applications and applicants is perhaps more telling. These numbers indicate that while there is a modest increase in applicants, there is also an increase in the number of schools each student is applying to. The average number of institutions students apply to has now reached 7.06. Students should keep this in mind when evaluating admissions data coming from top schools: a surge in applications year-over-year doesn’t necessarily indicate greater selectivity or competitiveness; it may reflect that students are casting wider nets than they used to. In turn, while the number of applicants at a given school is increasing, the number of qualified applicants may remain roughly the same.
2. International Student Applications Decreased
Predictably, the most significant shift in this year’s report is the drop in international applicants, which fell 10% year over year. This decline was most pronounced amongst applicants from Asia and Africa, two regions that have historically sent large numbers of students to U.S. campuses. Visa processing disruptions and a more uncertain political climate around studying in the U.S. appear to be pushing students toward other destinations, as countries like Canada, the U.K., and Australia compete more aggressively for the same pool of students.
This disruption poses a significant threat to tuition revenue across a range of U.S. institutions at a time in which the cost of college has become prohibitive for many middle-class families. International students typically pay full tuition at most U.S. institutions, and many colleges, particularly smaller private schools and regional publics without large endowments, have come to rely on that revenue to help balance their budgets and relieve tuition costs for domestic students. If this drop in international students persists, it could not only change the reputation of American colleges on the global stage, but also strain the budgets at tuition-dependent institutions already contending with enrollment decreases.
3. Standardized Testing is Back
Over the last year, it has become clear that standardized testing has regained its place as a critical application component, after disruptions from Covid ushered in a period of widespread test-optional policies. The Common App data shows that this is not only true at the institutional level, but also amongst individual applicants. The report details a whopping 11% increase in students reporting their test scores over the 2024–25 cycle, as well as a 5% decrease in those who chose not to submit scores. As senior data analyst Rodney Hughes has noted, this number is not intrinsically tied to changes in institutional policies, but counselor and private consultant recommendations. Counselors and students alike have taken note of data indicating that students who submit test scores tend to fare better in the admissions process than those who don’t, even at test-optional schools.
Other important insights from the report include a rise in applications at public institutions (8%) over elite private institutions, which may indicate growing competition, particularly for out-of-state applicants at flagship state universities, and an increase in applicants from the Southwestern United States (perhaps tied to institutional initiatives for geographic diversity).
Taken together, these findings speak to a transitional era in college admissions. While the admissions landscape is ever-changing, evolving questions around international student enrollment, affordability, and shifting metrics for gauging applicants’ academic preparedness make this a particularly disruptive time for admissions. As students and families look forward to another application cycle on the horizon, staying current on data like this, rather than relying on assumptions carried over from prior admissions cycles, remains one of the most reliable ways to develop a competitive strategy as the landscape continues to shift.
Originally published on Forbes on Aug 27, 2026
