Starting this fall, Columbia will join the ranks of most other schools (over 400 institutions) in the country and start exclusively using the Common App. Jessica “the Decider” Marinaccio writes that using the Common App will “make applying to Columbia more accessible to students from every background,” and reassures us that the App will still include a Columbia Supplement where you can make up books you’ve read and stuff. Our classics-oriented cousin University of Chicago created a stir when they switched from their infamous Uncommon App (aha!) to the Common App for the class of 2013; we’ll see if Columbia’s change ruffles any feathers.

Oh, and before bed, here are some admissions statistics you may enjoy:

CU has recieved 26,178 applications for the class of 2014. 2,983 applied early to CC and SEAS combined (2,495 to CC, 488 to SEAS). 23,195 starry-eyed high school seniors applied to CC and SEAS regular decision (21,474 to CC, 4,431 to SEAS). Good luck, kiddos!

Marinaccio’s full email explaining the switch to the Common App after the jump.

“Beginning this fall, Columbia will join the more than 400 member institutions accepting The Common Application for admission, using it as our exclusive application for first-year and transfer applicants.

“With our recent financial aid initiatives, we offer one of the most generous need-based financial aid programs in the country and believe The Common Application will make applying to Columbia more accessible to students from every background, thus adding to what is already one of the most ethnically and socioeconomically diverse student bodies among private universities.  In addition, we recognize the anxiety students and families feel throughout the admissions process, and hope that the standardized nature of The Common Application will make applying easier, more convenient and less stressful for students and the counselors and teachers who support them.

“In selecting a class, we utilize a holistic, committee-based admissions process, considering a variety of factors outside of grades and test scores like a student’s academic history, extracurricular interests, intellectual achievements and personal background. The Common Application will aid us in determining which students are the best match for our institution with its comprehensive, broad-based questions and flexibility to ask Columbia-specific questions in its supplement and allow us to continue to attract the best and brightest students from around the world.”