Common App vs. Coalition App: Which Should You Use?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2.1 million U.S. high school students who graduated between January and October in 2019 enrolled in college immediately after graduation. To get into college, aspiring students often need to apply to multiple schools, which requires submitting college essays, letters of recommendation, and standardized test scores.

The Common App and the Coalition App allow students to fill out one standardized application to apply to multiple universities.

In the following sections, we’ll go over the Coalition vs. the Common App and provide you with tips to help you determine which application you should use when applying for college.

The Common Application, or Common App, and the Coalition Application, or Coalition App, both give students a way to track, fill, and submit applications to multiple schools. The platforms are free to use, though applicants may still need to pay application fees for the colleges they apply to.

Both platforms ask applicants to write an essay in response to a predetermined prompt for schools that require it. Individual universities may require additional essays or short answers that students must complete alongside the main Coalition App essay and Common App essay.

While the Common App and Coalition App share several similarities, the two platforms also feature key differences that applicants should consider before deciding which to use.

Over 900 colleges in the U.S. use the Common App, which was created in 1975. The Coalition App, which was founded in 2015, partners with more than 150 colleges — a significantly smaller number than the Common App. That said, more schools are accepting the Coalition App as time goes on.

With the Common App’s rollover feature, students can save information from year to year, giving themselves more time to apply if needed. Meanwhile, the Coalition App features a tool called “Locker” through which students can store materials such as essays, videos, and projects that may be useful for the application process.

Teachers and guidance counselors who help students with college applications generally have a better understanding of the Common App than they do the Coalition App. This is simply because counselors have had more time to familiarize themselves with the Common App, which has been around far longer than its competitor.

However, as the Coalition App gains popularity, more teachers and counselors will likely learn how to use it.

The Coalition App was created to make it easier for students from underrepresented groups to apply for college. Specifically, the platform only partners with schools that offer generous financial aid or low-cost tuition and graduate students with little to no debt.

Additionally, the Coalition App’s “collaboration space” allows students to invite teachers, counselors, and family members to read and review their application materials and provide support and encouragement. Students can also apply for application fee waivers.

With more than 3 million users each year, the Common App tends to get busy around deadlines. This means technical support may not be readily available when students need it most. The Coalition App has fewer users, so it may have more tech support available to answer requests as they come in.

In any case, to avoid potential bottlenecks, students should try to start the college application process sooner rather than later.

Colleges that accept both applications do not prefer one over the other. When possible, students should choose the application platform that works best for them. Colleges often offer more than one way to apply to cater to the unique needs of applicants.

Many colleges only accept the Common App because the platform has existed for longer and works with their application system. More teachers and counselors also know the Common App, which could make it easier for students to receive help should they need it.

Students typically apply to more than one college. If all colleges on a student’s application list appear on the Common App but not on the Coalition App, then choosing the Common App likely makes more sense — and vice versa. Students should strongly consider choosing the app that gives them the best access to their target schools.

Nevertheless, certain application features may play a role in determining which platform you use. The Coalition App caters more to students from underrepresented groups, meaning the platform may offer features that make it easier and/or more appealing for students to use.

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