Get Started with Common App

userXello Admin Xello productXello 6-12 Time4 minutes

Applying for college is a long and difficult process for students, teachers, and counselors. To make college applications easier, Xello has teamed up with Common App.

Common App is a program that simplifies the college application process. It saves time and effort by consolidating the tasks and documents into one workflow. Nearly 900 post-secondary institutions use Common App around the world. For those colleges, students only need to create one common application to send to any of them.

While students will continue to complete the majority of their college application tasks directly in Common App, requesting counselor and teacher recommendations will now be done in Xello. With the Xello and Common App integration, counselor and teacher recommenders will no longer log in to Common App to review student requests and complete forms. Student requests will now be housed in the College Planning section of your Xello Account.

Educator account, college planning page. cursor hovering over Common App tile
Common App in Educator Tools

noteNote: Contact your Xello Success Manager to enable the Common App integration in Xello. Schools must opt-in with Xello (by end of June) prior to Common App’s annual launch of their application season.

Once integration is complete, follow these steps and share the resources to get your educators set up, support your students as they begin sending requests, and guide your recommenders to complete their requests.

  1. Add an Educator Account for teachers that are likely to be recommenders. Deactivate an Educator Account for those who are no longer working at your school. Newly added educators will receive an email and must register their accounts.
  2. Introduce students to the Common App and Xello integration with the Student Common App Guide new tab.
  3. Help counselors and teacher recommenders set up their Common App profiles in Xello:

Additional Resources

  • pdfPDF
    PDFCommon App Guide
  • pdfPDF
    PDFStudent Guide for Common App and Xello
  • live webinarWalkthrough
    WalkthroughCommon App Integration Walkthrough
  • live webinarRecorded WEbinar
    Recorded WebinarXello and Common App 101
  • short videoShort Video
    Short VideoLinking Your Common App to Xello

    A student-facing video covering how students link their Common App account with Xello (also available in Spanish).

  • short videoShort Video
    Short VideoRequesting Your Documents for Common App

    A student-facing short video that walks through how to request documents for Common App in Xello (also available in Spanish).

  • pdfShort Video
    Short VideoXello's Common App Integration for Counselors

    A short video to walk counselors through how to integrate and begin completing tasks for Common App in Xello.

  • pdfShort Video
    Short VideoCommon App Teacher Recommender Through Xello

    A quick overview of how teachers complete teacher evaluations for students applying to Common App colleges.