Ah, October. The changing of the leaves, the onset of autumn allergies...and the knowledge for high school seniors that, slowly but surely, college application deadlines are drawing ever nearer.
If you're applying to schools in the U.S., you've probably heard of the Common App before, but you may not know about the Coalition Application.
The Coalition Application works pretty much the same way as the Common App—it's an online application that you only have to fill out once (aside from supplements for certain schools). This centralized application system is a big time saver if you're applying to multiple Coalition Application schools.
To help you figure out if you can use the Coalition Application for the schools on your college wishlist, we've listed all the current Coalition Application schools in this article, broken down by state.
What Is the Coalition Application?
The Coalition Application is a centralized college application, first pioneered in 2016 by the Coalition for College Access, Affordability, and Success (often just referred to as the Coalition for College Access).
For colleges to use the Coalition Application, they must meet the following criteria:
- Be open to students of different cultural, socio-economic, and geographic backgrounds
- Have low or no-debt financial aid, meet full demonstrated need, or offer in-state tuition
- Have high graduation rates (for low-income and under-represented students as well as overall)
What this means for you as an applicant is that instead of having to fill out separate applications for each school, you can instead fill out one central application (the Coalition Application) and submit it to whatever Coalition schools you want to apply to.
In addition, because of the eligibility criteria schools have to meet to use the Coalition App, you can be at least somewhat assured that you're likely to graduate and that when you do, you won't be carting along a boatload full of student loan debt.
However, just because schools accept the Coalition Application doesn't mean that you can apply to dozens of schools with just one click.
Many of the Coalition schools have application supplements you have to submit, which can be anything from a couple of informational questions answered with a drop-down menu to multiple additional essays. Plus, each school has its own application fee (although the Coalition Application does allow eligible low-income students and U.S. armed forces vets or active members to waive this fee).
When you stare into the eyes of the piggy bank, the piggy bank stares back also. Luckily, the Coalition app makes it easy to waive fees if you're eligible—no need to trouble Mr. Waddles.
Who Uses the Coalition Application?
More than 150 schools use the Coalition Application, including colleges in 35 states and Washington, DC.
Because of the Coalition for College Access's commitment to affordability, there is a mix of both public and private schools who use the Coalition Application, including schools in the University of Washington (WA), Rutgers (NJ), and SUNY (NY) systems.
Public schools on the list tend to offer free or low-cost in-state tuition, while private schools offer loan-free (or no-loan) financial aid or aid that fully meets demonstrated need.
The requirement that students at Coalition colleges have high graduation rates (for low income and under-represented students in particular) means that schools that accept the Coalition Application tend both to be strong academically and offer a good support system for their students. Being able to apply to these public schools through a centralized application system like the Coalition Application is a huge boon to students who aren't exclusively applying to schools in the same university system.
Finally, the Coalition Application is accepted by the following highly selective colleges and universities:
- Three of the eight Ivy League schools (Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale).
- Many other highly selective universities, including Stanford, UChicago, Caltech, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins.
- Top liberal arts colleges, including Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, and Middlebury.
- Highly-ranked public schools like the College of William and Mary, University of Florida, and UMich (Ann Arbor).
Complete List of Coalition Application Schools
And now, for the moment you've been waiting for: a list of all the schools that accept the Coalition Application.
Currently, over 100 schools (all in the United States) accept the Coalition Application, but we'll be sure to keep this blog post updated with any changes.
The following list is organized alphabetically by state. If you want to find out if a specific school uses the coalition app, you can search this page for it using ctrl + F.
Alabama
NONE
Alaska
NONE
Arizona
- Arizona State University
- University of Arizona
Arkansas
NONE
California
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
- Claremont McKenna College
- Dominican University of California
- Harvey Mudd College
- Loyola Marymount University
- Occidental College
- Pomona College
- Stanford University
- University of La Verne
- University of San Francisco
- University of Southern California
Colorado
- Colorado College
Connecticut
- Eastern Connecticut State University
- Quinnipiac University
- University of Connecticut
- Wesleyan University
- Yale University
Delaware
- University of Delaware
Washington, DC
- American University
Florida
- Florida Southern College
- Palm Beach Atlantic University
- University of Florida
- University of Tampa
When I look at this picture of the Rollins College campus, I don't at all regret going to college in New England. Not one bit. Especially not in December-March. Katy Warner/Flickr.
Georgia
- Emory University
- Oglethorpe University
Hawaii
- Chaminade University of Honolulu
Idaho
- University of Idaho
Illinois
- Elmhurst University
- Illinois College
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Knox College
- Northwestern University
- University of Chicago
- University of Illinois Springfield
Indiana
- DePauw University
- Hanover College
- Indiana University—Bloomington
- Trine University
- University of Notre Dame
Iowa
NONE
Kansas
NONE
Kentucky
- Berea College
- Centre College
- University of Kentucky
Louisiana
NONE
Maine
- Bates College
- Bowdoin College
- Colby College
- University of New England
The Bowdoin Bear not only serves as a memorial to Bowdoin alum and North Pole discoverer Admiral Peary—it also serves as a warning to prospective students of what Maine winters are like. Seth Glickman/Flickr.
Maryland
- Johns Hopkins University
- Maryland Institute College of Art
- St. John's College
- St. Mary's College of Maryland
- University of Maryland
Massachusetts
- Amherst College
- Babson College
- Bentley University
- Boston University
- Brandeis University
- Clark University
- College of the Holy Cross
- Harvard University
- Mount Holyoke College
- Northeastern University
- Olin College Of Engineering
- Smith College
- Tufts University
- University of Massachusetts--Lowell
- Wellesley College
- Wheaton College
- Williams College
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Michigan
- Hope College
- Michigan State University
- University of Michigan
Minnesota
- Carleton College
- St. Olaf College
Mississippi
NONE
Missouri
- Washington University in St. Louis
Montana
NONE
Nebraska
NONE
Nevada
NONE
New Hampshire
NONE
New Jersey
- Drew University
- Princeton University
- Rowan University
- Rutgers University—New Brunswick
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- The College of New Jersey
New Mexico
- St. John's College
New York
- Bard College
- Barnard College
- Binghamton University
- Colgate University
- Columbia University
- Hamilton College
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Ithaca College
- Le Moyne College
- Manhattanville University
- Pace University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Skidmore College
- SUNY Stony Brook (Stony Brook University)
- Syracuse University
- Union College
- University at Buffalo
- University of Rochester
- Vassar College
North Carolina
- Davidson College
- Duke University
- High Point University
- North Carolina State University
- UNC Chapel Hill
- UNC Charlotte
- Wake Forest University
- Western Carolina University
UNC Libraries Commons/Flickr
North Dakota
NONE
Ohio
- Case Western Reserve University
- College of Wooster
- Denison University
- John Carroll University
- Kenyon College
- Miami University
- Oberlin College
- Ohio Northern University
Oklahoma
- University of Oklahoma
Oregon
- Portland State University
- Reed College
- Willamette University
Pennsylvania
- Allegheny College
- Arcadia University
- Bucknell University
- Chatham University
- Drexel University
- Duquesne University
- Franklin & Marshall College
- Haverford College
- Lehigh University
- Lycoming College
- Mercyhurst University
- Robert Morris University
- Swarthmore College
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Pittsburgh
- Ursinus College
- Washington and Jefferson College
- Westminster College
- York College of Pennsylvania
Riepe College, University of Pennsylvania. Chris Potako/Flickr.
Rhode Island
NONE
South Carolina
- Clemson University
- Furman University
- University of South Carolina
South Dakota
- Mount Marty University
Tennessee
- Belmont University
- Vanderbilt University
Texas
- Rice University
- Southern Methodist University
- St. Mary's University
- Texas Christian University
- Trinity University
- University of the Incarnate Word
Utah
NONE
Vermont
- Middlebury College
- Saint Michael's College
- University of Vermont
Virginia
- University of Richmond
- Washington and Lee University
Washington
- University of Washington—Bothell
- University of Washington—Seattle
- Whitman College
West Virginia
NONE
Wisconsin
- Beloit College
- Lawrence University
Wyoming
NONE
Buh-loyt? Bell-wah? Below-it? Only one way to find out: visit Wisconsin! (NB: not actually the only way.)
(Robin Zebrowski/Flickr)
What's Next?
The Coalition App isn't the only centralized application system in town. Find out which schools use the Common Application and which schools use the Universal College Application.
Should you use the Common App or the Coalition App to apply to college? Our expert guide breaks down the pros and cons of each system.
What about schools that aren't on either the Coalition or Common Application? We have specialized guides to popular schools that fit into that category, including Georgetown, most ApplyTexas schools, and the University of California system.
Application systems aside, how do you figure out what colleges belong on your wishlist to begin with? Learn more about how to figure out what colleges you should apply to here.
