What the Common App's CBO question means

The CBO questions sit inside the Education section of the My Common Application tab. They come after the questions about your high school and your counselor, near the part of the application where you describe your schooling. Common App calls this a group of questions, because it asks a few things in a row: whether any organization helped you, which ones, and who your contact there is.

The section asks you to share up to three organizations that helped you with the application process. For each one you pick a name from a dropdown list. If your organization is not in the list, you choose other and type the name yourself. For each organization you may also add the name, email address and phone number of a counselor, advisor or mentor there. That contact detail is optional.

If you are applying as a transfer student, the Common App for transfer has its own version of the question. It asks you to indicate the number of community programs or organizations that have provided you with free assistance, and then to name them. The idea is the same: colleges want to know who helped you for free.

Common App gives a short definition. A CBO is a nonprofit or government funded organization or program that helps students become college ready. It does not charge for its services, and it often serves students from historically marginalized communities. Three tests come out of that sentence: the program is outside your school, it is free to you, and its purpose is getting you ready for college.

That rules in a wide range of programs. After school college access programs, scholarship funds that also advise students, federal programs such as Upward Bound, mentoring programs with a college focus, and summer bridge programs can all count. You can search for programs near you in our directory of community-based organizations.

When a program is hard to place, ask two questions. Did it help you plan for college or apply? Did you pay for it? If the answers are yes and no, it is very likely a CBO in the sense Common App means. If you still are not sure, ask the program. Many programs know whether they appear on the Common App list, and some tell their students exactly how to enter the name.

Common App says colleges use this information to better understand your story and your community. They may also use it to connect you with more college advising resources. In plain words, the answer tells an admissions reader that someone outside your school has been walking with you, and gives the college a way to reach that person.

Many admissions offices work with CBOs directly. The University of Chicago, for example, says it partners with hundreds of community-based organizations each year to connect students with its admissions counselors and current students, and it names a CBO of the Year. Colleges that run outreach like this use the CBO answer to see which partners their applicants come from. We explain the college side in more depth for admissions teams.

There is also a practical reason. School counselors carry large caseloads. The American School Counselor Association reports a national ratio of 372 students per school counselor in 2024 to 2025, against a recommended 250. High schools do better, at an estimated 195 to 224 students per counselor, but many students still get most of their college help from a program outside school. The CBO question makes that help visible.

1. Open the My Common Application tab and go to the Education section.
2. Find the questions about community-based organizations and say whether any organization helped you.
3. Choose the number of organizations, up to three.
4. For each one, search the dropdown list for its name. Try the full name and any short name it uses.
5. If you cannot find it, choose other and type the name exactly as the program writes it.
6. Add your advisor's name, email and phone number if you want colleges to be able to reach them.
7. Tell your advisor which colleges you are applying to, so they are ready if a college gets in touch.

Before you type a contact, ask your advisor which email they want colleges to use. Some programs prefer a shared inbox, and some advisors change jobs during the year. A correct contact is worth more than a long list.

List every program that gave you real, free help with college, up to the limit of three. More is not better for its own sake. A college reader learns more from one program where an advisor knows you well than from three names you barely remember.

Put the program that knew you best first, and give a contact for it. If a program helped you for a short time, you can still list it, but there is no need to add a contact. If you joined many programs, choose the ones that worked with you on the college process itself, such as your college list, your essays or financial aid.

No public data shows that listing a CBO raises your chance of admission, and no college we checked says it does. What Common App does say is that colleges use the answer to understand your story and may use it to connect you with advising. That is a good reason to answer it honestly, not a reason to add programs you barely used.

Some colleges also run programs only for students from partner organizations, such as visit days or application workshops. Being linked to a CBO can bring those offers your way. Ask your program which colleges it works with, and check our guide to what CBOs offer students and families.

• Listing your school counselor here. Your counselor belongs in the school section of the application.
• Listing a paid service. Common App's definition is limited to programs that do not charge for their help.
• Typing a nickname when the program is in the list. Search the dropdown under the full name and the short name before you choose other.
• Giving an advisor's email without asking. Check which address the program wants colleges to use.
• Skipping the section because you are unsure. If a free program helped you plan or apply for college, it very likely counts.
• Adding programs you barely used to make the list look longer. One program that knows you well is worth more.

Each of these takes a minute to fix before you submit. After you submit, changes depend on what the application allows for each college, so check the section once more on the day you plan to send your first application.

Yes. The Common App fee waiver lists several ways to qualify. One of them is a supporting statement from a school official, a college access counselor, a financial aid officer or a community leader. An advisor at your CBO can be that college access counselor or community leader.

Other criteria include taking part in the federal free or reduced price lunch program, receiving public assistance, receiving or being eligible for a Pell Grant, and being enrolled in a federal, state or local program for students from low income families, such as GEAR UP or a TRIO program like Upward Bound. Colleges set their own rules on which waivers they accept, so check each college's page.

Choose other and type the name. That still tells the college about the program. Then tell the program that it was missing. Common App lets an organization ask to be added or updated through a request form, after it checks the published CBO list. A member of Common App's education and training team follows up on each request.

Timing matters. Common App says a request to add or update a CBO must arrive by May 20 to show in the coming application season. Requests after May 20 are reviewed for the following year. If you run a program, put that date on your calendar every spring.

Programs can also join the Coalition for College registry, which gives each nonprofit that offers free, direct advising a permanent ID number called a CCID. The Coalition shares the registry with its member colleges and lists registered programs on its own application. Programs that run on a shared platform with their students can learn how we handle records on our security page.

If you advise students, give them the exact name your organization uses on the Common App list, the contact email you want colleges to use, and a one line reminder that the section is optional. Many students skip it because they are not sure their program counts. A short note in your fall workshop saves that confusion.

Keep a list of which students listed you and where they applied. When a college reaches out, you will know who it is about. Counselors who work across schools and programs can see how a shared workspace supports this on our pages for high school counselors and independent counselors.