The first thing to keep in mind is that the Coalition Application—an initiative of approximately 80 universities aiming to “to make applications more reflective and in tune with how students organize and express themselves” — is still a project in-progress. We’re here for you with extra resources and online services: Click here » Set your student up for success this semester with "T.E.A.M. Some examples are Virginia Tech, James Madison, Rutgers, University of Alabama and MIT. I'm seeing a huge improvement in my test scores, and I'm feeling really confident about retaking the SATs in October. Many Coalition applications for first-year students open in July and August, but the date may vary from school to school. We work via Zoom with students and families throughout the USA. Tutoring! There are 140+ colleges that participate in the Coalition Application, many of which also participate in the Common App. It is just easier to use. Success (often just referred to as the Coalition for College Access When does it become available? This can be done any time after you create your Coalition account. Read more. With that in mind: even amidst the changes, both the ethos behind the Coalition Application and the two main components of the App have remained fairly consistent. While the application itself does not differ significantly from the better-known Common Application, the Coalition Application offers several extra pre-application features and tools. That’s a question we often hear, so if you’re wondering, you’re not alone!Each Coalition member school sets its own timeline for opening its applications. Well, when do applications open for Fall of 2020 so you can get started? There are some schools that use the Coalition exclusively (Example: University of Maryland – You will need to complete the Coalition Application if you are applying there) or just use the Coalition and their own Proprietary Application (More to follow on Proprietary Applications). My philosophy, don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. What do I mean by “Proprietary”? There are 140+ colleges that participate in the Coalition Application, many of which also participate in the Common App. Many Coalition applications for first-year students open in July and August, but the date may vary from school to school. Read our Privacy Policy. To check whether a school has begun accepting applications, just log into your MyCoalition account and navigate to your college list under “Colleges.” The Coalition Application is a college application platform that is currently accepted by over 130 schools. Tutoring! These are applications that are specific to a single school and can only be used to apply to that school. Seniors Hearing Back on Early Apps: Last-Minute Tips, “Alissa has been great so far! It was developed and rolled out about five years ago. My advice to you is, if a college you want to apply to is on the Common App and the Coalition Application, use the Common Application. The Coalition App is similar to the Common App. It will be sent to all of the schools that you designate. The idea is that if students are building a portfolio of work and logging involvement in activities over the course of their high school journey, they’ll be less inclined to scramble come senior year to gather information, or to find a starting point for essays. The Coalition Application is open to you starting in ninth grade! It was developed and rolled out about five years ago. The Coalition is open about the fact that it is doing its best to respond to comments and suggestions from admissions officers and college counselors, and therefore, even though the current timeline aims for free planning tools to be available this coming spring/summer and a new Application for the Class of 2021, these dates may change. The Virtual College Locker, for instance—helping you keep your records of work and involvement organized, and assisting in the college search process—may be very useful even if you don’t apply with the Coalition App. They become available sooner, which means you can work on them sooner. These two elements feed each other: the Virtual College Locker, which is something that students can access starting in 9th grade, will help students organize and save items from their progress through high school to reference and, if applicable, eventually add to their college application within the Coalition system. In short, the Common App, which is currently used by almost 700 post-secondary institutions is being phased out and gradually replaced by the Coalition App at many but not all top-tier schools. So, what exactly does this mean? ©2020 Signet Education, LLCAll rights reserved. Be aware of the Coalition app and what it might offer, but don’t add more work to your plate if it’s not going to ease the process for you. CONTACT US, © Copyright Signature College Counseling • Website Design: DevineDesign.com, Summer Before Senior Year of High School Checklist, How to Connect Naviance to the Common App. When do proprietary applications open? Again, just like the Common App, we begin to work with our students on completing the general part of their Coalition Application May – end of July prior to their senior year. To this second point: the App is built from two main components—the Application and the Virtual College Locker. Voila! The first important thing to note: there will NOT be a preference for the Coalition App among member institutions. However, regardless of how the Coalition App eventually situates itself in the Admissions process at large, it will almost certainly contain elements that will benefit you, whether or not your eventual school choices prefer, or even accept, the Coalition App by 2021 and beyond. My advice to you when it comes to colleges that have a proprietary application as well as participate in the Common App or Coalition, use the general format application vs. the proprietary application. Open Date for the Coalition Application. What to Look For When Searching For Colleges. How To Remove A College From The Common App? With a BA in History and Religion and a BS in Psychology from Baldwin Wallace University (2011), an MTS in Religion and the Social Sciences/Religion, Literature, and Culture from Harvard University (2014), and a current appointment at the University of St Andrews as a doctoral candidate in Interdisciplinary Theology, Literature, and... Signet Education is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and subscribes to the Statement of Principles of Good Practice. As such, the tools the new App provides may or may not offer relevant features; using it might complicate your application process. The Coalition App won’t go live until next fall, so if you’re looking to enter university this coming autumn, you can glance at this for your own edification, but then move on.