DIFFERENCES IN COLLEGE APPLICATION TYPES.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
Chances are you have already heard of things like the Common App, Coalition app, or even state or system specific apps like the UC / Cal State apps, etc. from your own research or your school counselor. Below is a brief explanation of some of the more common applications.
Most students should apply to somewhere between 15 to 18 colleges, if possible. There are no guarantees that you will be accepted to your desired school, but you should have a rough idea about your chances of admission to each school. These colleges should be a mix of target, reach, and likely schools, any of which you’d be happy to attend.
Cover your bases. Look into acceptance rates, especially if you are an out-of-state student, and have a good spread of submitted applications just in case you need them.
From a Time standpoint, it is generally recommended that students give themselves about six weeks to get everything they need for college applications. That includes two weeks to fill out any background information, and about a month for other required documents and potential essay or personal statement rewrites.
COMMON APP
The Common App was created about 50 years ago to allow students to apply to several colleges who were members of the Common App. Today, about 1,100 colleges and universities are members, including private as well as public universities, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s). If the schools to which you are applying are members of the Common App, you need to complete only one application.
NOTE: Keep in mind too though that many colleges have what they call “supplemental essays”. These are additional application sections that are unique to each school. They must be completed if a school requires it.
The app is typically composed of a personal essay, recommendation letters, extracurricular activities list, optional / mandatory supplemental questions, test scores (which may be optional), and your high school transcript.
The student selects colleges to receive the Common App (which can be edited at any time), then begins the application (which can be edited multiple times before submission). Applicants complete the "member pages" and "supplemental information" for each college on the list. Then clicks "submit" individually for each college on the list once the application for that school is ready. Once "submit" is clicked for an institution, the student is no longer able to edit that application.
OPENS
The Common App opens Aug. 1 every year. Given the differences in college application deadlines, students should pay close attention to when they need to submit their materials.
Applicants do not have to submit their applications during the summer. But, starting in August gives you the opportunity to review the requirements for schools you are considering, draft essays, and get some of the tedious background information completed before you get bogged down with high school homework, sports, and social / other activities.
DUE DATES
Application deadlines depend on whether you are applying Early Decision (typically November - December) or Regular Decision (typically will be January – February). Deadlines do also vary by school, so be sure to check dates for every college you are applying to.
APPLICATIONS AT INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONS
Many colleges and universities offer a separate application that only applies to their own institution. There are of course benefits to this for the institution, such as tailoring an application to exactly what it is that an admissions department wants, but it is not ideal for most applicants who have to submit app, after app, after app. It can become a time-consuming (and expensive) process.
Some schools though who do offer their own application will also accept the Common Application. These colleges typically do not have a preference which application a student chooses to submit, though contacting each college individually to ask if the admissions office has a preference of application type is probably recommended. If there is no preference, then the Common App is fine.
NOTE: Again, make sure you know what additional requirements or materials an institution may require. The biggest mistake families make is in thinking this can all be done in five minutes.
Be sure to check the admissions site for each of your schools of choice, for specific deadlines and information.
COALITION FOR COLLEGE APP
Coalition App – Member Schools
This is a pretty new application that began use in 2016 as a centralized "Locker" platform that allows students to store materials such as essays, videos, and projects that may be useful for the application process, to build and organize a portfolio of their work across four years of high school.
The Coalition App was largely 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.
There are currently about 135 institutions who use the app.
The philosophy behind the creation is to allow students to start thinking about their college process early on and to help students who may not have access to college guidance by removing some of the obstacles these students can face. This is the only application that requires member institutions to meet a set of characteristics in order to join. All member institutions must have a graduation rate of 70% or more in six years, and they must offer need-based financial aid.
You can apply to any of the Coalition colleges as long as you meet the admissions requirements of that institution.
OPEN
The Coalition Application does not have one specific date on which it opens, but is usually around July or August. Every member school determines its own timeline for the application cycle.
The unique thing about the Coalition Application is that you do not have to wait for the application to open to get started. You don’t even have to wait until you are a senior! With the Coalition App, you can start filling out information about yourself (that you’ll need to include on every college application) as early as your freshman year of high school.
DUE DATES
Every school you apply to will also have a different application deadline. If you are applying within a Regular Decision cycle and not early, most schools will have deadlines sometime in January.
While there is no perfect day or time to start applying to colleges with the Coalition Application, the best approach is to start as early as you can. If you start filling out your information on the Coalition Application in ninth grade, great. You’ll have less work to do senior year. If you do not start until the summer before your senior year of high school, that is okay, too.
COLLEGE SYSTEMS WITH SHARED APPS
Some state school systems share a general application that can be submitted to all colleges in the state system.
A few of the more popular examples of this are the State University of New York (SUNY), the Universities of Wisconsin (UW) system, and the Cal State / University of California systems.
These allow students to apply to multiple schools with one application, across that system. However, SUNY schools also accept the Common App. If a student is only applying to SUNY schools, the SUNY Application would be a suitable choice. But if a student is applying to SUNY schools as well as schools outside of the SUNY system, then the Common App would be a better choice.
Some of the UW’s also accept the Common App.
UNIVERSAL COLLEGE APP
This is an application that has basically disappeared over the years, but wanted to include it here because some people have heard of it. There is only one college that uses the UCA at present: University of Charleston (WV).
The Universal Application was created in 2007 and is similar to the Common App. Same as the Common App, students only need to fill out this application one time and then the same application can be submitted to all participating colleges on the student's list. Many colleges that accept the Universal App will also accept the Common App.
KNOW WHAT YOU NEED, START EARLY, AND GIVE YOURSELF TIME TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.
