Starting this fall, the University of Iowa will be an option for students applying for college through the Common Application.
The University of Iowa will now provide four options for students to apply: the Common Application, the Coalition Application, the Iowa Public Universities Application Portal, and our traditional institutional application. The Office of Admissions does not prefer one method of application over another and hopes that this additional application option will facilitate an easier application process for students.
Here are a few specific details about applying to the University of Iowa via the Common Application:
- Essays and Letters of Recommendation will not be required for students applying to Iowa via the Common Application just as they are not required through our institutional application.
- Students will self-report GPA, number of core course units completed and ACT/SAT test scores within the Common Application. The Courses and Grades section will not be used to submit this information.
- The Common Application requires school officials to upload a grade report for all students applying through the application. On the traditional institutional application, the University of Iowa does not typically ask for a grade report prior to a student’s decision to enroll. Admission decisions at Iowa are made using self-reported information provided by the student at the time of application.
The Common App allows students to have access to more than 800 colleges and universities from 49 U.S. states and 19 countries. One-third of the more than one million Common App applicants are the first in their family to pursue a college degree.
By becoming a Common App member, the University of Iowa will increase college access and help simplify the financial aid process for prospective students as the Common App provides applicants the opportunity to enter financial aid information into the application, streamlining the process for need-based fee waivers.