What Is The Coalition Application? | College Coach Blog
The Coalition Application is a new college application platform currently described by the popular media as a direct competitor to the Common Application. The group behind its creation is the “Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success.” According to their website, the Coalition is a group of schools “that share a commitment to providing students with the best possible college experience, beginning with the college application process.”
The Coalition states they came together because:
A growing amount of research has shown that students from disadvantaged backgrounds often do not participate effectively in the college application process, struggle with applying for financial aid, and often do not get awarded all the financial aid for which they qualify. As a result, even some of the most highly qualified students do not attend college, attend colleges that do not engage their full potential, or do not complete their degrees. The Coalition is developing a platform of tools to help reduce these barriers and make progress in leveling the playing field for students from all backgrounds.
In essence, the Coalition’s aim is to increase transparency and ease throughout the college application process. Of note, the Coalition states they will provide “a seamless experience whether [a student uses] a notebook computer, tablet, or even a mobile device.”
At this time, the Coalition is planning to offer three major tools for students to use as early as 9th grade:
- Virtual Locker
- Used by the student only
- Functions similarly to Dropbox or Google Drive to store various items related to the application process, like:
- Academic Documents
- Letters of recommendation
- Supplemental Essays
- Extracurricular activity information
- Meant for early engagement and organization
- Collaboration Platform
- Used by the student and any “collaborators” he or she chooses to invite/grant access
- Meant to be a place for a student to request feedback on documents from the Virtual Locker
- The Coalition expects that collaborators may include:
- Guidance/College Counselors
- Teachers
- Mentors
- Community Based Organization staff
- The Collaboration Platform might also be a place for students to connect directly with admission counselors at Coalition Schools to ask questions
- Application Portal
- Used by the student and colleges/universities
- Basic biographical data from the Virtual Locker will feed automatically into the application
- Students choose documents to upload to the Application – not all documents in the Locker will be seen by colleges/universities
- Have a stable 70 percent six-year graduation rate.
- Meet specific affordability guidelines. According to the Coalition website:
- Public universities “must have affordable in-state tuition for residents of their state.”
- Private schools “must have a commitment to meet the full, demonstrated financial need of admitted domestic students.”