Dive Brief:

• The Common Application is changing to allow in colleges that don’t use essays or other so-called holistic methods in their admissions evaluations.
• Common Application has had the holistic requirement for membership since it was founded in 1975 and emphasized holistic admissions as a distinguishing characteristic versus other applications processors.
• While the Common Application has grown to 549 schools from 15, it might have faced a tough time expanding further without lifting the holistic ban, Inside Higher Ed reported.

Dive Insight:

While Common Application’s interim chief executive officer, Paul Mott, says holistic admissions are “alive and well and thriving at the Common Application,” even schools that offer admission based purely on grades and test scores will be allowed to join, according to Inside Higher Ed. Common Application’s mission statement has dropped its reference to holistic admissions. Students using the Common Application to apply to schools without essay questions will simply skip the essay portions of the application.