application transformed

The Coalition Application, an online alternative to the Common App, will be available starting July 2016. Also known as Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, its purpose is to help students create interactive college applications, while trying to be more user friendly. While the class of 2017 will be the first class to use the Coalition Application to apply to colleges, next year’s freshmen will have the opportunity to build on the application throughout their four years in high school. One of the goals of the new application is to open up more scholarship opportunities to students with limited financial resources by raising awareness of the college application process earlier in students’ high school careers.
“[The Coalition Application] gives you a place to upload any papers, documents, statements or videos until you apply in your senior year,” counselor Adam Wolven said. “[The Coalition’s] goal is [for students] to have more time in the process of figuring out who they are, what they are passionate about and what they care about.”
A key feature of the application is that students can access it as early as freshman year. They will be able to create a digital portfolio, compile records of their high school documents and even communicate with admissions offices. Thus, students will be able to give colleges a more holistic view of their high school career.
Currently, 83 colleges around the nation have adopted the Coalition Application, either in addition to the Common Application or as a substitute. These schools include all the Ivy League universities as well as other prestigious universities such as Stanford, University of Chicago and the California Institute of Technology. By adopting the Coalition Application, these colleges aim to minimize the stress of the application process by answering and clarifying misconceptions about the application process.
According to the Coalition Application website, the schools that are a part of the Coalition must have stable graduation rates of at least 70 percent throughout a six-year period. Financially, private schools must pledge to meet the demonstrated financial needs of all U.S. students who are accepted, and public schools must promise affordable tuition for in-state students and appropriate financial aid.
The Coalition discovered that many students with low-income backgrounds do not effectively participate in the application process. Students end up struggling with financial aid and often do not receive all the financial aid to which they are entitled. The Coalition’s increased clarity and free online tools, which include a college locker, a collaboration platform and an application portal, will help students apply for financial aid.
“I believe that the Coalition Application is [beneficial] because they only choose schools that have solid financial aid for students [who] come from low income families,” freshman Jocelyn Ma said.
In 2013, the Common Application encountered several technical glitches. Right before the early application deadline, the Common Application system crashed, which troubled students trying to submit applications. According to NBC News, students were also charged multiple times to fill out the application. These types of problems, in addition to the crunched time, can increase stress on the students. Due to these technical difficulties, the Coalition Application was formed as a more effective online alternative.
“[The Common App] is very formulaic and very mechanical, ” AP physics teacher Mike Spalding said. “I think it is a good idea that [the Coalition is very interactive].”
With the Coalition Application, students can now adapt to the college application process quicker and easier. The application will provide effective tools that many students now lack throughout the intense process. The Coalition Application should benefit high school students by providing increased support throughout the confusing and often frustrating college application process.