Don't Ask College Applicants About Juvenile Records. Teens Grow Up and Need Opportunity.

For young people with justice system involvement, records of their past can be a major barrier to future success. One such barrier was lifted last week.

Since 2006, the Common Application, used by over 750 colleges and universities to standardize the online application process, required prospective students to respond to a question about their juvenile and criminal history. Although research shows that many schools don’t necessarily deny admission based on this information, the majority of youth with records who see this check box do not complete the application. The Common App Office decided to remove this question for the upcoming application cycle.