When it comes to applying for college, one question is becoming almost as difficult to make as the decision of which college to attend: which college application should you use? In recent years, the Common Application has been used by many college-bound students who want to apply to multiple colleges with ease. Over the last few years, however, a number of similar applications have started to creep up. In fact, today’s college applicant can now choose from the Universal College Application, which has a similar format as the Common Application, or they can even visit one of several different application portals. Embark, Xap and ConnectEdu are just a few of these portals, which make it easier for applicants to fill out the college’s actual application.

“The Common Application is common only among those participating institutions that use it,” said J. Michael Thompson, who is the chief executive of Xap, in a recent New York Times article.

Regardless of the system a college applicant chooses to use, it is certain to help save time by allowing the applicant to fill in certain pieces of information just once. In most cases, the software imports the data to all of the colleges that are on the student’s list. Then, the student only needs to fill out the questions or supplements that are specific to the various schools he or she is applying to.
Considering the fact that approximately one-third of all freshman college applicants applied to six or more colleges in the fall, the automation of the process is certainly a time saver. At the same time, by allowing students to use this format, colleges are helping to significantly reduce the amount of paper that is wasted in the process.

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, nearly 80% of college applicants applied online in 2009. This is a significant increase when compared to 2006, at which time 58% of students used the online method. This increased use of online applications doesn’t just make things easier on students, however, as it also helps colleges reach a greater variety of students so they can diversify their classes even further. In addition, they can actually be more selective regarding who they admit to their schools since online applications allow them to draw from a larger pool of applicants.

“It’s never a good idea to completely depend on one supplier,” said Christoph Guttentag, who is the dean of admissions at Duke. Currently, Duke uses the Common Application as well as the Universal College Application and Xap.

Of course, the students and colleges aren’t the only ones who win by the increased number of students who are turning to online resources when applying to school. In fact, the for-profit application providers receive an average of $5 for each application that is completed. Nonetheless, with so many different vendors offering online application options, students can become a bit confused regarding which application to use.

The best way to determine which of the applications to use is to check with the colleges you are interested in applying to find out which online applications they accept. If you have multiple options, it is really just a matter of personal preference. Here is a brief overview of what each application has to offer:

• The Common Application – a nonprofit coalition consisting of 414 member colleges and universities. The schools associated with the Common Application have made a pledge to consider more than just test scores and grades when making admissions decisions. The application is available online, but a hard copy can also be obtained from any high school guidance counselor office. In both cases, the application includes a short personal statement of jobs and extracurricular activities as well as a longer essay of the applicant’s choosing. Applicants are discouraged from customizing their application when using the Common Application, though some member schools do ask applicants to complete supplemental materials as well.
• The Universal Application – since it was introduced in 2007, 77 institutions have contracted with the for-profit Universal Application. Unlike the Common Application, the Universal Application does not adhere to a common philosophy. Yet, over 50 of the schools that use the Universal Application also use the Common Application. Since some colleges do not require an essay, the Universal Application only displays the essay to those that do. Universal recommends writing no more than 500 words when creating an essay, while the Common Application requires at least 250. As such, those who have a lot to say can technically write a whole lot more on the Common Application than they can with the Universal Application. With the Universal Application, on the other hand, you can link social media pages, Web portfolios, musical compositions, online newspapers and other online media to your application.
• The Common Black College Application – for a $35 fee, students can apply to 35 historically black colleges and universities all at one time. Depending on the schools the applicant is interested in, this could represent a significant savings considering Howard University alone charges a $45 application fee.
• Xap – students can apply to approximately 900 colleges and universities for which Xap has customized its online applications. As such, the system processed more than four million applications last year alone. One section of the portal allows students to apply electronically to all public and private institutions within a specific state by simply importing the student’s information to various applications. For those states that participate in this program, the pages are actually run by the state rather than the colleges. As such, not all college Websites will actually list Xap as an option.
• Embark – while less than 20 undergraduate institutions accept electronic applications from Embark, the site does provide an “auto fill” option that completes basic information for each application. A PDF file can then be downloaded, printed off and mailed.
• SuperApp – available through approximately 2,500 high schools and districts, the SuperApp system allows students to apply to about 1,500 different colleges and universities. When the system is accessed from school, data such as student test scores and GPA are imported from the school’s information system into the SuperApp system. As a result, approximately 80 percent of the application is automatically filled out with little assistance from the guidance counselor. The system is free to high schools, but colleges pay anywhere from $5 to $20 per application according to the number of documents sent. SuperApp also recently became available to individual students, but they must fill in their information manually rather than having it automatically filled in my the school’s system.