As high school seniors and graduates gravitate towards college selections and applications, almost everyone comes across two portals: the Coalition and the Common Application. Both are online platforms that enable application submissions to multiple colleges. They help students save time by streamlining and saving critical information, such as contact details, extracurricular activities, grades, and essays, in one easy-to-access portal. As a centralized college application system, the Common App and the Coalition App save students the stress of multiple individual submissions, giving back valuable time for other activities.
However, each portal has pros and cons, and determining which is better for you can be tricky. It comes down to personal choice, but knowing a little bit more about each goes a long way in helping students decide. Lets get to know more about Common App vs Coalition App in this blog:
Understanding the Common App
Fun fact: Did you know the average high school senior applies to six to seven universities? Others may apply to upwards of 10, with an ambitious few targeting 15 or more colleges. While a lot comes down to a student’s choice, subject preferences, and personal circumstances, the Common App is the more popular portal. It lists more than 1000+ universities in the US and the world. Most students also find it easier to use. Moreover, since the Common App platform has been around for longer, more people, from teachers to college counselors, are familiar with it.
With easy submission processes for transcripts, grades, references, and essays, the Common App is most student’s portal of choice. The application’s interface is easy to use, and even better, the portal sends timely reminders and prompts to keep students on track!
However, there is one caveat. Some schools, like MIT, Georgetown, and all 10 of the University of California colleges (including UCLA and UC Berkley), among a few other universities, use their private portals for student admissions. So, students may need to double up with a parallel portal. The upside is that schools with their portal are still relatively few, with most partnering with the Common App portal.
Another thing to remember is that the portal sometimes runs slow due to sheer numbers near application deadlines. However, this is not an issue for the organized student!
Understanding the Coalition App
One of the biggest plusses of the Coalition App is the portal-member schools’ capacity and willingness to provide financial support and resources to low-income students. Better still, it opens these options to kids as early as ninth grade, enabling students to track and upload academic records and wins. The depth and description of extracurricular activities are also more than what’s offered on the Common App portal. And while the number of total activities listed is less than the Common App (eight vs ten), students can write more about each extracurricular to create a more insightful and wholesome picture of their strengths. Lastly, the platform allows access to parents, mentors, counselors, and advisors, enabling more collaboration between all parties.
However, some Coalition App limitations need serious consideration. The pool of colleges accessible through the Coalition App portal is as small as 150, narrowing college selection and submission choices. Also, as a relatively newer platform, fewer people are familiar with the interface, and it can seem daunting for first-time users.
Common App vs Coalition App: Which one is better for you?
It all boils down to this question.
The Common App is a broader and more universal portal, but the Coalition App is a more financially supportive route to college admissions. And while the Coalition App has been around for a shorter period, it must be acknowledged that its list of member schools, though smaller than the Common App, is supremely impressive. It makes a compelling argument with Harvard, Columbia, Caltech, Princeton, Penn State, and Stanford, among other premium schools, making the Coalition App list. Additionally, the app’s built-in features automatically connect students with financially supported programs, opening many opportunities for first-generation applicants from low-income and under-resourced backgrounds. And that is a big deal!
A lot eventually comes down to personal choice and priorities, but planning and organization is never wasted! Getting started early, staying the course, and not stressing, see a student go the distance. If you need help figuring out which platform works best for you. So, contact Eye on Ivy’s experienced college admission editors for insightful, oriented advice to guide you in writing college applications that land your dream university.
Ambreen Noon
Ambreen is a chef, taxi driver, therapist, and (unpaid) tutor to three kids. She's also a seasoned journalist, copywriter, ghostwriter, and editor with scores of articles and corporate thought leadership pieces under her belt. Ambreen lives in Dubai, UAE, and when not reviewing admission applications, she's elbow-deep in books and literature.