EIU Media Relations

Gov. Pritzker paves way for Illinois public university Common App

Common Application will help EIU serve larger and more diverse population pool

(Charleston, IL) – Illinois’ Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Board of Higher Education today announced beginning this fall, all 12 of the State’s public universities will begin using the Common Application (Common App) for admissions, making it easier for interested students to apply to multiple universities at once. Three public universities in Illinois currently use the Common App and the remaining institutions will be available on the system by August 2021. 

“Making college possible for those students who assume it’s not an option for them isn’t just about affordability. It’s also about making it easier to navigate a process that has too often left those from under-resourced communities tangled up in the fine print,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I’m proud to announce that when the Common Application opens this fall for the 2021-2022 application cycle, Illinois will be one of only two states in the nation to have all of its public universities join the one-stop-shop national application portal, making it that much easier for our students to apply to an in-state campus."

“We want to encourage Illinoisans to stay the course on their post-secondary dreams, and this step is instrumental in making the application process simpler and more affordable,” said Illinois Board of Higher Education Executive Director Ginger Ostro. “The use of the Common App will help students and it will help our public universities as we can showcase the terrific opportunities for high school graduates to attend college in Illinois.”

Illinois is one of the top five states in the nation for Common App submissions, with approximately 54,500 applicants, or 5 percent of the total, coming from Illinois.

“At Eastern Illinois University, we are looking forward to the opportunity to serve a larger and more diverse prospective student pool through the Common Application,” said Josh Norman, EIU’s associate vice president for Enrollment Management. “Implementing the Common App aligns with our university's mission to continue making the superior undergraduate education EIU has to offer more accessible than ever.”

Due to the ease of applying to multiple universities simultaneously through the Common App, educational institutions expect to see an increase in applications beginning this fall. As potential students apply through the Common App, they will have the opportunity to choose from a list of colleges and universities registered with the system.

Prospective students interested in learning more about the Common Application can visit https://www.commonapp.org/.

For more information about EIU, or to learn more about its growing assortment of programs and services, visit the university’s website at www.eiu.edu, or call EIU’s public information office at (217) 581-7400.