The Coalition Application Versus the Common Application

College applications are no walk in the park. They demand a lot of your time and effort, especially if you plan on applying to multiple colleges. On top of the applications, you have the usual amount of school work and social life to worry about. It’s tough to manage everything together.

There are two apps that help save you a ton of time on your college applications, the Common App and the Coalition App. Forget filling out application after application- these apps allow you to apply to many colleges at once.

Not sure which application is right for you? Keep reading to figure out which app is a better fit for you.

Which Is Better, the Common Application, or the Coalition Application?

The Common Application has been around for years. It’s the most popular college application, used by more than 900 colleges both in the U.S and abroad. Through the Common App, you can apply to up to 20 colleges at once. You only need to fill out one application for all colleges, however, colleges may ask you to submit extra documents.

Because of the Common App’s popularity, your guidance counselor and high school teachers are likely familiar with it. This can be helpful when it’s time to submit letters of recommendation. Your recommenders will know how to upload the letters.

The Coalition App, on the other hand, is a much newer application that has only been around for several years. The Coalition App includes much fewer colleges, around 150.

The Coalition App is beneficial for low-income and underrepresented students. All colleges in the Coalition App offer financial aid to students. Students applying through the Coalition App can rest assured that those colleges strive to help them succeed. The Coalition App includes features like application fee waivers and a virtual ‘locker room’ where students can store documents throughout high school. 

In summary, one app is not better than the other. You should choose one based on your individual needs. Consider such things as the schools you want to apply to, as well as your financial need. If all the schools you want to apply to accept the Common App, then that might be the right option for you. If the schools you want to apply to accept both apps, then take some time to explore the features of each app. Regardless, both apps can help you apply to many colleges at once and save you a lot of time.

Can You Use Both the Common App and the Coalition App?

You can use both the Common App and Coalition App to apply to colleges.

If you are applying to the University of Maryland, for example, you can use the Coalition App to apply. But, if you plan on applying to more schools that aren’t included in the Coalition App, you can try using the Common App to apply to the rest.

To make things more confusing, there are many schools that don’t accept either app, like Georgetown and all the UC schools. In this case, you will need to apply to each school on an individual basis.

The bottom line is that if a school is that you can use both the Common App and The Coalition App to apply to schools if they are on that app. For that reason, you need to check which schools are on which app (and which schools are on neither) and apply accordingly. 

Which Schools Accept the Coalition App?

The Coalition App includes over 150 colleges. Every Ivy League school is included in the app, like Harvard and Yale. You will also find other top schools across the country like Michigan and Vanderbilt and small liberal arts schools like Vassar and Wellesley. For a complete list of all schools, visit the Coalition App website. 

Which Schools Accept the Common App?

There are over 900 schools that accept the Common App. It would be impossible to name them all here! The app accepts one or more colleges from every state. If you’re hoping to study outside of the United States, the Common App can still be a good fit. There are over 60 colleges abroad that accept the Common App.

The Common App includes an array of colleges, from private to public, and all eight Ivy leagues. For a complete list of colleges that accept that Common App, visit the Common App website.

Coalition App Essay Prompts

The following are the current Coalition Application essay prompts:

• Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
• Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.
• Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?
• What is the hardest part of being a student now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
• Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

You can click for a bunch of articles we’ve posted on how to write a scholarship essay

Can You Use the Common App Essay for Coalition?

The Common App has seven essay prompts. The first essay prompt is quite similar to the first Coalition App essay prompt:

“Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, please share your story.”

Likewise, the fifth essay prompt of the Coalition App allows students to submit an essay on a topic of their choice. So, for the first and the fifth essay prompts on the Coalition App, you can use your Common App essay.

Regardless of what essay prompt you choose, your initiative should stay the same- to show the admissions committee who you are. You can do this through the use of personal anecdotes and a lot of examples.

Keep in mind that there are different word limitations for each essay. The Coalition App recommends students stay between 500-550 words (individual schools might set their own word limits). The Common App is less restrictive, allowing students to write between 250-650 words.

How you upload your essay is also different for each app. The Coalition App allows you to upload your essay as a PDF file or Word document. With the Common App, you must cut and paste your essay directly into the application. While these are small differences, it is still important to keep them in mind.

Final Thoughts

The Common App and the Coalition App are both unique and offer different benefits. The Common App includes nearly 1,000 schools, so it can be a real time-saver if you plan on applying to up to 20 schools. The Coalition App, on the other hand, can be a great option if you are a student with financial need. Make sure that you check the schools included in each app to help you make a decision about which to use. Filling out college applications is very time consuming and these apps can make a real difference.