Establish integration credentials with Common App through the institutional integration partner program and configure the data exchange agreement
Use the Common App-provided SFTP or API endpoint to authenticate and initiate a pull of application data for your institution's applicant pool
Retrieve the applicant XML or JSON data feed containing submitted application components: personal information, academic history, essays, recommender data, and self-reported test scores
Parse and validate the data against Common App's published data dictionary for the current cycle (fields and schema evolve each application year)
Load applicant records into the institution's admissions CRM or SIS, matching on Common App applicant ID to avoid duplicate records
For admitted students, send the admission decision notification back via the Common App decision API or SFTP response file per the integration specification
Known gotchas
Common App data schemas are updated each application cycle (typically August); integrations must be re-validated against the new data dictionary annually before the August launch date
Application materials arrive incrementally as students submit components — an application record may appear in the feed before all required documents are attached; check completeness flags before routing to review
FERPA governs applicant data handling even for prospects not yet enrolled; ensure all applicant data received via Common App integration is stored and accessed in compliance with institutional FERPA policies and Common App data use agreements
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp