The Common App and college competition: effects on admissions and tuition

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of joining the Common Application, a centralized college admissions platform, on admissions, enrollment, and tuition using institution-level panel data and a staggered difference-in-differences approach. I also explore potential spillover effects of Common App presence on other colleges within the same market. The results suggest that Common App adoption contributes to market stratification as students increasingly apply to and attend Common App member schools relative to non-member schools. Additionally, I find evidence that Common App membership is associated with increased competitive pressure on tuition pricing. These findings have important implications for the evaluation of higher education policies amid growing concern about enrollment declines.