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College Essays

If you're submitting a college application through the Coalition Application, you likely already know that you'll have to write a personal essay. The purpose of the Coalition Application essay is for you to showcase a side of yourself that colleges don't get to see through your transcripts and test scores alone. T here are six Coalition essay prompts to choose from. So which one should you pick?

In this article, we go over what the Coalition Application essay is and take a look at all six Coalition essay prompts. For each prompt, we give you potential topics you can write about and key tips for answering it effectively.

Keep reading to learn which Coalition essay prompt might be the best fit for you!

What Is the Coalition Application Essay?

The Coalition App is a centralized college application system (meaning you can use it to apply to multiple colleges at once) and a competitor of the Common App . (For a more in-depth look at how the Coalition App differs from the Common App, check out our expert guide to the Coalition vs Common App .)

Like the Common App, the Coalition App has a section for which applicants must write and submit a personal essay. Most schools that accept the Coalition App require applicants to submit an essay. Some schools might also require applicants to submit other writing samples in the form of short answers or a "why this college" essay . Look at your schools' application requirements pages to learn more about what kinds of materials they require for admission.

With the Coalition App (and all other centralized application systems), you get to write one single essay and use it for all the schools you're applying to.

But what's the point of the Coalition essay—of any college essay, really?

For one, the essay gives colleges a better sense of what's important to you by drawing a more well-rounded picture of who you are. For example, maybe you're passionate about volunteering at homeless shelters. Although you could just list your volunteer experience in the extracurriculars section of your application, with the essay, you can add far more color to this aspect of yourself by explaining why you volunteer, what made you interested in assisting those who are less fortunate, and how this experience has shaped you as a person.

Secondly, the personal essay reveals things about yourself that can't be found on other parts of your application. In other words, the essay lets you be more than just a series of letter grades and test scores. Think about it: would you rather be remembered as the applicant who simply got good grades—or the one who worked with a technology startup to create a new app, causing her to develop an interest in business and entrepreneurship? Ultimately, in order to stand apart from other applicants, you need to showcase what makes you unique.

Finally, the Coalition essay is important because it showcases your writing ability. If your essay is riddled with typos, grammatical errors, and other mistakes, schools might question whether you're really ready to study at the undergraduate level.

Now that we've covered what the Coalition Application essay is and why it's such a critical part of your college application, let's take a look at the Coalition Application essay prompts.

What Are the Coalition Essay Prompts?

The Coalition App currently offers six prompts to choose from . You can choose whichever prompt you want for your essay. (Later, we'll go over how to determine which prompt is best for you.)

Here are the prompts:

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

• What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future? 

Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?

Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?

What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?

Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

While there's no official word limit for the Coalition Application essay, you should aim to write about 500-550 words. This is a pretty standard college essay length.

How to Answer Each of the 6 Coalition Essay Prompts

The Coalition essay is a hugely important part of your application. In this section, we go over each of the five Coalition Application essay prompts, and give you tips to help you come up with a great topic and produce an overall fantastic essay.

Coalition Essay Prompt 1

This essay prompt is pretty broad; it allows you to focus on any significant experience in your life. To answer it effectively, you'll want to relate a specific anecdote or event that had a strong impact on you as a person and how you define yourself today.

Tips for Answering This Prompt

• Pick a truly significant experience. It doesn't have to be super rare, but it should hold deep meaning for you. Ask yourself: what defines you? What is important to you? Can you connect the development of a personality trait or goal you have to a specific event or moment in your life?
• Focus on one experience. Don't try to cram in as many stories as possible—concentrate on the one incident that's most important and use this essay as a chance to really delve into the specifics of it. How did it make you feel at the time? Why did it have such an impact on you?
• If writing about a negative experience, try to put a positive spin on it. You don't need to stick with a happy-go-lucky story—maybe you lost a friend because of a heated argument, or forgot to pick up your little brother from school one day. Regardless of the incident, keep the focus on how this situation ultimately taught you something important about life, such as the value of responsibility or the meaning of maturity.

Brainstorming Ideas

• A time you helped someone in need, such as a friend, a classmate, or a sibling, and how your assistance revealed to you the value of cooperation or compassion. For example, did you tutor a peer in math? Help your sibling recover from a bullying incident?
• A time you made a mistake or acted against your true character and what this taught you about morality and being true to yourself. Perhaps you lied about a grade you got to your parents or said something out of anger to a friend and later regretted it.
• An incident that emphasizes a particular skill or ability you have. For example, you could write about the time you organized a winter holiday food drive at your high school and how it highlights your leadership skills and passion for social work.
• A time you faced a challenge and how you ultimately overcame it. Maybe you struggled severely with geometry and were about to fail your math class, but because of a great friend who encouraged you to keep trying, you eventually raised your grade from a D- to a B.

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Pretending something is more important or unique than it actually is. Don't tell a story the admissions committee has likely heard hundreds of times. Choose an event that speaks to your life and has had a large impact on how you see yourself. Basically, don't write about what you think the admissions committee wants to read. For example, instead of discussing how you've been in Honor Society since 9th grade, it'll be a lot more interesting if you wrote about somebody you met through Honor Society or why you decided to drop out of it.
• Focusing too much on the negative. While it's OK to write about a time when you made a mistake, did something wrong, or faced a challenge, try to avoid writing only about the bad parts. Your story should overall be optimistic and reveal something positive about yourself.
• Telling instead of showing. Don't just describe what happened—relate the experience as if the reader were there with you. Using some literary techniques adds color to your writing.

Coalition Essay Prompt 2

What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?

As a high school student, there's probably a  lot  that interests you. The trick with this essay prompt is to choose one topic that you can tie into your future goals while still sharing your passion. Remember: your goal with writing college essays is to show admissions counselors that you're a good fit for their school. That includes showcasing why you'd be a great student! 

• Pick a unique interest, and make it specific.  Many students will be excited about things like "medicine" or "technology." To make your essay stand out, you need to be specific about your interest and share why it's unique. For example, instead of saying, "I'm excited about medicine," you could say, "After my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, I became passionate about advancements with CRISPR and how they might be able to treat or cure cancer in the future." 
• Share your excitement. This prompt is giving you the chance to showcase one of your passions. Lean into it! Don't be afraid to convey how excited you are about this topic, or why you're interested in learning more about it.  
• Focus on personal growth. Along with picking something that interests you and explaining it, the prompt  also  asks you to explain how that interest shapes you as a person. To do this, you'll need to look at yourself now, and then imagine how your passion will affect you in the future as well. For example, if you're passionate about CRISPR and cancer research, you can talk about how it's driven you to pursue an internship with your local hospital, and how you hope to work with a research lab to develop medical technology that saves lives in the future. 
• A club you've joined, like a language club or service organization, that relates to your passion. For example, has volunteering as part of the National Honor Society inspired your passion for helping refugees, which is why you want to work for the government and advocate for immigration policies? 
• A hobby you have, like building drones from scratch or working in a community garden, that you love to pursue. Perhaps your love for drones has made you excited about how drones could be used in rescue situations, which is why you want to become a mechanical engineer! 
• An experience you had that sparked your passion. For example, maybe you were in a car accident because one of your city's intersections is pretty dangerous. That experience sparked your passion for city planning, which is why you want to become an urban developer!
• Faking a passion. Don't fabricate a passion or interest because it's what you think admissions committees want to hear. Choose something you're  really  passionate about, even if it's a little different. Readers will be able to tell if you're being honest or not! 
• Being too vague. Choosing a general interest, like "animals" or "science," is too wide-ranging for an essay like this. Admissions counselors want to really get to know what drives you, so be specific! For example, maybe you're passionate about improving animal welfare on farms. That's more specific than just "animals," and it gives you a chance to talk about how your passions shape your future goals. 
• Forgetting to talk about your personal growth. If you're excited about a topic, it's easy to get carried away talking about it! But remember: this prompt has two sections you have to answer. To correctly answer this prompt, you'll also need to write about how your passions shape you as a person now and will continue to do so in the future. For instance, perhaps your passion for animal welfare has inspired your goal for creating a non-profit that educates farmers about new technologies that can improve animals' health and quality of life. 

Coalition Essay Prompt 3

This second essay prompt is more specific than the one above and asks you to discuss a time in your life when you made a difference for other people. This can be on a small scale, like helping a friend or family member. But you can also think big as well. Maybe you made a positive impact on a whole community or organization! 

This prompt is also asking you to address any challenges or struggles you faced while making this positive contribution, and the benefits or rewards you received from the situation.  

• Focus on something meaningful to you. If you aren't sincere, the admissions committee will be able to detect this, so write about something that affected you on a deep level. And definitely don't make a situation up! 
• Avoid clichés and overly general experiences. Lots of students volunteer at shelters and tutor other students, so you'll need to ensure that whatever you write about is specific and unique to you. Get specific about the positive impact you made. How did you help others, and how did that impact them? That will let you dig into the challenges--and the rewards--with more authenticity. 
• A specific incident from a volunteering experience you've had. For example, say you used to tutor underprivileged middle school students. You could talk about the time you struggled to help a student read a book due to his dyslexia, and what this taught you about people, life, and privilege.
• A specific person or group of people you helped in some way. If you volunteered with an outreach program or at a hospital, for instance, you could talk about a particular person you helped, what was difficult about helping them, and how the experience ultimately influenced your goals or interests.
• Not being humble or honest about your experience. Admissions committees don't want to read about how awesome you are for helping out at a retirement center—many students do similar things, and volunteering doesn't automatically make you the "perfect" applicant. Don't brag about your experience, or you might come across rude and self-centered.
• Sounding like a "voluntourist." If you volunteered with an organization abroad, be careful not to sound as though you were just there for vacation and didn't care about the people or area you helped. You don't want to be viewed as the privileged student who simply traveled to an underdeveloped area and then left without a second thought. Rather, emphasize your ongoing connection to this experience, the area, and (ideally) the people there.
• Focusing on  actual  rewards. This goes back to being humble. Admissions counselors aren't interested in the certificate or medal you earned from helping others. They want to know about the intangible takeaways. How did this experience change you or shape the way you think about the world? Focus on the intangible rewards in your response. 

Coalition Essay Prompt 4

It can be difficult to respond to someone who rationally challenges an idea or belief you have. This Coalition essay prompt is all about open-mindedness and how you respond to counterarguments.  The goal is to share what you learned from this tough experience. 

Being able to change your opinion about something or even just acknowledge shortcomings in your beliefs indicates that you can objectively consider others' opinions and recognize when a different stance is more logical, moral, or preferable than your own.

• Focus on something meaningful to you. You don't need to write about a super political or controversial topic, but it should be something that holds some sort of value for you. At the same time, avoid anything too trivial. The admissions committee won't care all that much if you changed your mind on what shampoo you use, for example.
• While you don't need to have completely changed your mind, you should've gained new insight from the challenge to your belief. Don't feel as though you have to explain how you suddenly jumped from one side of an issue to another in the course of a single conversation. Still, you should definitely discuss how this challenge to your belief made you consider other perspectives, even if not right away.
• A political topic or social issue, such as immigration laws, abortion rights, etc. You don't need to write about something as serious or as controversial as these examples, but if you're particularly passionate about something or underwent a major change in terms of what you support or oppose, this is a good topic to pick.
• A religious or spiritual belief. Perhaps you grew up Catholic but began to stray from the religion as a teenager. This could be a good time to explain how a particular challenge to your religious beliefs affected your convictions, and what this suggests about your approach to other religions in the world and people with beliefs different from yours.
• Sounding too closed minded. The purpose of this essay is to illustrate how a challenge to a belief you held affected you (ideally in a positive way!). However, if the point of your essay is that you didn't change your mind at all or consider another perspective after hearing a valid criticism, this probably isn't the best prompt for you to pick. Remember that the admissions committee wants to see that you're open to new ideas and gaining new insight.
• Acting as if it's your way or the highway. Even if you didn't change your belief in the end, remember that not everyone reading your essay will agree with your opinion. Don't write as though you are absolutely, 100% correct—be humble and open to what others might think. Doing this will leave a much better impression on the admissions committee!
• Ignoring the takeaways . This prompt specifically asks you about what you learned from the experience. Managing challenging situations can be a great way to grow as a person...and that's what admissions committees want to hear about in this essay! 

Coalition Essay Prompt 5

The second part of the prompt asks you to give advice to a peer based on what you learned from the situation . In this section, admissions counselors want to see how you can help other people who are going through situations that you've experienced yourself. 

• Choose a unique situation to you. Many students have dealt with obstacles like a bad test grade or successes like winning a sports match. To make this prompt work, you'll need to think of a specific, unique situation and explain it to the reader. 
• Tell a story. To really answer this prompt, you'll need to explain the success or obstacle you faced. Show, don't tell, in this situation. Walk the reader through your experience and the steps you took to succeed--or overcome--in that situation. 
• Don't skip on the advice. Admissions counselors want to see that you have the leadership skills to walk someone through navigating a similar situation. Specifically, you should be aware that other people may not have the same experiences or privileges you have. That means you'll need to spend some time crafting thoughtful, empathetic advice that another person can use.
• Consider unusual situations you've navigated. For instance, maybe you're an avid hiker, and you found yourself lost in the woods one day without a cell phone. That's definitely an obstacle that admissions counselors wouldn't read about every day! The same is true for successes. Maybe you finally succeeded in making your grandmother's complicated apple pie recipe. The point is that you want your success or obstacle to be unique to you so that it stands out from the crowd. 
• Think about the advice only you could give.  All of us can tell someone else to "try hard and focus." However, admissions counselors want to see how you can translate your unique life experiences to help another person. For instance, maybe you have a sibling with a disability that you've helped support over the years. Someone in that situation could use advice from another person who's been-there-done-that. Additionally, this gives you the opportunity to show admissions counselors the diverse experiences and perspectives you'll bring to their campus. 
• Not giving "life advice." When you choose a specific situation, it's easy to get bogged down in explaining the exact steps you took to overcome it. However, the goal here is for you to give advice that people from other walks of life can  actually  use. So for instance, if you're writing about succeeding in making your grandmother's pie recipe, make sure you write about more than just figuring out how to make a pie crust. Focus on the bigger picture, like working on each part of the recipe one at a time until you get it right. 
• Forgetting empathy. Obstacles can be hard to overcome. As you give your advice, be sure to be kind and empathetic as you craft your response. Remember that others may not have the privileges you do. So for instance, if your solution to getting lost in the woods was going out and buying a $500 GPS so it wouldn't happen again...that's not advice everyone could follow. Instead, think about the mental resilience or skills people from all walks of life could learn to overcome that situation. 

Coalition Essay Prompt 6

This topic is by far the broadest and most open ended of the five Coalition Application essay prompts. For this prompt, you can write about virtually anything you want to, so long as it reveals something unique about yourself that'll make the admissions committee want to admit you.

• Be yourself. This prompt is your best chance to shine since it's so open. If you feel as though the other Coalition Application essay prompts are restricting your personality and voice, take this as an opportunity to really showcase who you are.
• Write about something that's important to you. No matter what kind of approach you use or topic you write about, try to focus on something that holds significance to you. Perhaps it's a particular person, an activity, an event, an interest, or an ambition.
• It's OK to reuse another essay you've written. If you already wrote a personal essay for the Common App, for example, it's perfectly fine to use it again for the Coalition App. Just be sure to tweak any words or phrases that are specific to a school (in other words, you don't want to submit an essay that mentions how amazing Stanford is if you're applying to UT Austin!).

You can write about pretty much anything for this prompt, so the choice is yours!

• Not having a clear direction. The biggest con with a "choose your own topic" prompt is that you don't get clear instructions for how to structure your essay. Make sure to use an easy-to-follow organization that clearly expresses the main point of your essay, whether that's how passionate you are about football or how your experience living in eight different states has influenced your professional goals.
• Restating your resume. The admissions committee already has access to your resume, so they don't need a rehash of the extracurriculars you've participated in or the part-time jobs you've held. Focus on something that hasn't been mentioned in your application or that you feel you haven't given enough attention to.

Coalition Essay Prompts: Which One Should You Choose?

Now that we've covered the five Coalition Application essay prompts, how can you figure out which prompt is best suited for you?

Your answers to the following five questions should help give you a sense of which Coalition essay prompts might work better for you based on your experiences and interests:

• Can you easily think of a specific incident in your life that had a major (and positive) effect on you? If so, Prompt 1 or Prompt 3 would be a good fit for you.
• Are you committed to volunteering or helping others? If so, Prompt 3 sounds like a good choice.
• Did you recently change your mind about something, or are you currently questioning something you always used to believe? If so, Prompt 4 would work great for you.
• Do you have a unique obstacle in your life that you've overcome?  If so, Prompt 5 could be a great choice. 
• Do you hate feeling confined to specific prompts or already have an essay or topic idea you want to use for the Coalition App? If so, go with Prompt 6.

These questions are just a quick way to help you decide which of the five Coalition essay prompts might work well for you.

If you're still struggling to decide, though, ask yourself: what do you want to write about most? What topic is calling to you? Is there something you just can't seem to get out of your head? If so, write about this.

You can then determine whether this topic you have in mind fits one of the prompts above. If not, you can just put it under Prompt 5 and make it an essay of your choice!

Crafting a Great Coalition Application Essay: 4 General Tips

To wrap up, here are four general tips to help you write a great Coalition Application essay, no matter which prompt you choose.

#1: Use Specific Details

In any college essay you write, whether it's for the Coalition App or another application system, you want to ensure you're being as specific as possible.

Specificity is what will make an admissions committee remember you. It's what'll make you stand apart from other applicants, and it's what'll allow your essay to become a compelling story versus a boring, trite description.

As you write your essay, try to include details that lend a sense of realism to your story. Don't shy away from imagery and metaphors. Go ahead and mention that tiny dimple that always forms by your little sister's mouth when she's excited about something. Write about the smell of the lake where you used to spend your summers as a kid. Give detail wherever it'll enhance your story.

Your goal is for your essay to be memorable. If it's overly general with very few details the reader can pinpoint, it won't leave a lasting impression—and that's not a good thing!

#2: Be Yourself

The point of the Coalition Application essay is to show the admissions committee a side of yourself that you feel isn't represented (either enough or at all) in the rest of your application.

Take this essay as an opportunity to really channel your inner self. Don't feel as though you need to write in a stiff, formal, scholarly voice. Write how you want to write. Perhaps you're a fan of flowery metaphors. Or maybe you prefer short, choppy sentences.

Do what comes most natural to you. Remember that you're not writing an academic essay but a personal essay after all! It's OK to throw in a joke or two, or to write about something that you find really interesting or important but that others might not think the same way of.

Don't be afraid to be honest about what you want and who you are. Nevertheless, you should always be both humble and polite in your essay, too.

#3: Focus On Significance

Regardless of the topic you choose for your Coalition Application essay, make sure you're writing about something important to you.

It doesn't need to be something that holds significance for everyone—maybe you love playing the cello or you can't stop coming up with ideas for new toys—but it should be something that means a lot to you specifically.

This will give the admissions committee a much better sense of what kind of person you are, what motivates and inspires you, and how this particular thing has affected you as a person.

#4: Proofread!

Our final tip is to spend a lot of time editing and proofreading your Coalition Application essay!

Once you've completed a rough draft of your essay, put it away for a few days. Don't look at during this time. When you take it out again, read it through and note any typos, technical errors, and awkward or irrelevant areas.

After you've done this a few times and tweaked your essay as needed, give the draft to someone you trust, such as a parent, a guidance counselor, a teacher, or an older sibling. Have that person offer you comments on anything that's unclear or that could be improved in your essay.

What's Next?

How does the Coalition Application essay differ from the Common App essay? Our guide will give you the rundown of the major differences between the Coalition and Common App .

What schools accept the Coalition App? It might be more than you think! Check out the full list in our expert guide .

Also writing the Common App essay? Then you'll need to learn how to approach the different essay prompts as well as how to find the best prompt for you .

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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Comparing the Coalition and Common App Essay Prompts

As part of your college application process, many colleges will require an admissions essay. This is your opportunity to highlight your strengths, academic achievements, and overall personality. Your personal statement will help admission officers (yes–real people read your essay!) to make their final decisions. 

In this post, we'll cover:

The Importance of College Essays

Understanding the kinds of college essays.

• Essay Strategy
• Coalition Essay Prompts 2023-24
• Common App Essay Prompts 2023-24
• A Visual Comparison of Prompts
• The Point of Essays
• When to Start Writing Your Essays

Your GPA, transcript, test scores, college interview , and other concrete items are undeniably important parts of your college application; but, your essay is a critical component because it gives you the opportunity to reveal a part of you that won’t shine through anywhere else.

Simply put, it's your chance to stand out. So, let’s dive in and talk about essay prompts.

Both the Coalition for College and the Common App provide you with essay prompts to choose from. Typically, you'll select one prompt to respond to, but depending on the school(s) you're applying to, you might need to submit additional essays ( supplemental essays ) or short answers in addition to your main essay.

Let's Talk About College Essay Strategy

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let's take a step back. The first thing you should do before you begin your essay is to complete a nearly finalized list of schools you'll be applying to in the fall. Take some time to browse the website of each institution to which you are applying. That way, you'll have a better understanding of application and essay requirements.

As noted in the last section, some schools may ask you to respond to just one prompt, while others ask for a supplemental essay. Still other schools might have word count limits that vary slightly. 

Depending on the schools you're applying to, you might have choices to make in terms of how you apply, and therefore, the essays you submit. By the end of this article, we hope you'll feel confident in creating an application strategy of your own backed up by some stellar essays.    

The Coalition for College Essay Prompts

You can apply to Coalition colleges with Scoir ! The following essay prompts will be reflected in Scoir as you complete the application process. Coalition's website details that there’s no perfect length, but you should aim for your essay to be between 500-650 words.

What is the Coalition for College, you ask? One of the distinguishing characteristics of Coalition member schools is their mission. The Coalition is made up of more than 150 top colleges and universities committed to making college more affordable and ensuring you graduate on time. 

Coalition essay prompts 2023-2024

• Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
• What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?
• Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?
• Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?
• What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?
• Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

The Common App Essay Prompts

If you apply using Common App , you'll use one of the following essay prompts. The 2023-2024 Common App essay prompts remain the same as the year prior. Similarly to Coalition, you have a maximum limit of 650 words and a minimum of 250 words.

The Common App essay prompts 2023-2024

• Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
• The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
• Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

We encourage students to choose whichever application method best serves them. If you decide to apply via Common App, instead of Scoir, you'll complete your application in Common App and manually update your college list in Scoir. Here's how .

Need a visual summary of the essay prompts?

We get it! Sometimes it helps to see all of the prompts together, so you can get a broader sense of what these prompts are trying to bring out of you. We created this visual, which includes the Coalition and Common App essay prompts, with you in mind. 

The Point of Essay Prompts

As you read through these prompts, you might’ve noticed that they’re pretty similar in nature. In fact, some of them line up nearly perfectly! The big thing to take away from this article is that essay prompts are meant to invite reflective writing .

Decide on the story you want to tell first. Then, pick an essay prompt that aligns with your story, instead of the other way around!

A Note on College Essay Length

It's important to remember that your space is limited. Stay focused, and don't take too long to make your point. Remember, Coalition essays should be 500-650 words long, and Common App essays should be no more than 650, and no less than 250. 

Timeline Tips (AKA: When to Start)

May is a great time to begin outlining your essay. Nothing super formal is needed–maybe open a note on your phone!

By the end of June , you should aim to have a full first draft prepared of at least one essay (depending on how many you might need). Put that draft aside for now and consider starting on a draft of a second, entirely different essay topic. 

Use July to finalize the first draft of your second essay. Now is also the time to decide whether you'll be applying early. This will help you understand how much work you have to finish before those early deadlines. 

Use August to gain feedback on your essay drafts from people you trust. Decide which one you'd like to move forward with, make those final edits, and consider your personal statement complete as you head into your senior year! This leaves you with plenty of time to write those supplemental essays if you need them. 

Looking for more resources to support your college essay writing? Our partner College Essay Guy holds an incredible video course on How to Write the College Application + Supplemental Essays that may help.

This article was originally published on May 11, 2022. It was updated on July 13, 2023 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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Guide to the 2023-24 Coalition Application Essay Prompts

What do the 2023-24 Coalition Application essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA's Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to break it all down.

Stacey Brook, Founder and Chief Advisor

Eight years ago, applicants around the world became the first to experiment with a brand new college application platform. Intended to be a full-service competitor to the Common App, the Coalition Application provided students with a fresh, new interface and, of course, a new set of essay prompts to grapple with. It remains to be seen whether or not the Coalition App—whose participating schools include the University of Chicago, University of Maryland, and most of the Ivy League—will truly challenge the Common App’s long-term dominance in the admissions space, but what we do know is that the prompts the Coalition presented to previous applicants were quite similar in nature to those from the Common App each year .

We here at CEA believe that a worthy subject for a personal essay can be backed into just about any prompt for the Coalition App ( just as with the Common App ). Still, we thought it would be valuable to break down each one, highlighting what these questions are really asking and how to use them as inspiration for an effective and memorable college essay that really hits home with admissions. So take a peek at the advice below. It’s never too early to begin mining for those stories that will show admissions what you’re made of.

Prompt #1: Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

As a launch point for an application essay, Prompt #1 leaves your options wide open. It should be a good fit for any tale you have to tell that “demonstrates your character,” which should be a base requirement of any personal statement you submit, regardless of the prompt you’re responding to. How do you define yourself? What characteristics form the foundation of your personality? Are you generous and thoughtful? Are you gutsy? Resilient? Funny? Think about some of the most memorable moments in your life—the stories that come up over and over again, the moments that make you feel most proud. Maybe your talkative approach to a science fair, and the warm reaction it elicited from the judges and even your competitors, made you realize the value of being unabashedly gregarious. Perhaps a particularly boring summer in your childhood inspired you to create a role-playing game that involved all the kids in the neighborhood. What do these stories say about you and the lens through which you see the world? One last thing to note in choosing this prompt is that, while it is broad in its overall inquiry, it does specifically ask you to describe an experience, so if the idea you have in your head is character-related but not tied to a specific event or occurrence, you might want to save it for a different prompt. (Don’t worry—more great options are coming.)

Prompt #2: What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?

What floats your boat? You could argue that college is largely about the pursuit of knowledge, so you can imagine why it would be quite appealing for an admissions officer to better understand what makes you tick. This prompt is an invitation to offer admissions a peek into your brain: what you find compelling, how your interests fit into your identity, and how your curiosity might impact your future. The answer to this prompt should also reveal something to admissions about the breadth or depth of your interests. For example, if you’re interested in studying astrophysics, you might choose to discuss a concept that shows how far your exploration of the sciences truly reaches. How consumed are you by this passion you are choosing to pursue academically? What lengths have you gone to in order to acquire new information about or experiences related to that topic? And how does this passion spill into your daily life or long-term goals? What about the process of learning is rewarding to you? Whether you are devouring the classics on your Kindle or nerding out over the perfect cheese for calzone-making, your attachment to a subject may inspire admissions to want to learn more about it…and you.

Prompt #3: Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?

We all love making a positive difference in the lives of others, no matter how big or small, and admissions wants to hear about a time when you went out of your way to make an impact. Your thoughts may immediately head in the direction of community service and volunteer work, and while a story about those experiences could make for a wonderful essay, it can be hard to stand out with a straightforward description of a service effort. Instead, we recommend isolating a specific element/moment of your service to focus on or reflecting on a time when you felt proud, accomplished, or humbled by extending yourself. Maybe you took the newest hire under your wing at the diner where you work. How did you balance your own responsibilities with supervising the apprentice? Did you struggle to articulate your method at first? How did you set them up for success and how did the experience make you feel? Maybe you auditioned for the school musical, despite having two left feet, and inspired your peers to take risks and get outside their comfort zones. How did they express their gratitude? How did it feel to be on stage in front of your peers? Why did that feel important to you? Remember that authenticity is key, and a strong essay in response to this prompt will demonstrate humility, generosity, and leadership skills.

Prompt #4: Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?

While the Common Application’s prompt #3 asks applicants to address a time when they questioned a belief or idea, your readers are interested in learning about a time when you were the one to have your beliefs questioned. This prompt sets the stage for applicants to thoughtfully reflect on their worldview and demonstrate an openness to the ideas and perspectives of others. If you choose to respond to this prompt, you’ll want to be sure that you’re not presenting something so polarizing you’re likely to alienate your reader. That being said, a strong response to this prompt could make for a distinct, memorable essay that is revelatory and deeply personal. For example, maybe you were raised with traditional beliefs in your faith community—how did attending a summer program in a big city expose you to new perspectives and worldviews? If you can clearly articulate your ability to reflect, hear different points of view, and grow and develop as you live and learn, you’ll likely stand out from the pack.

Prompt #5: What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?

The Coalition Application is really giving you a long leash in regards to what you’d like to address here. If you decide to go the accomplishment route, be careful to avoid telling a self-aggrandizing story. Instead, you might want to focus on the hard work it took to earn the award or achievement or the tenacity and perseverance it required of you to see it through. The most important things to keep in mind when searching for these moments are the elements of growth, understanding, and transformation. The accomplishment you discuss should be something that helped you understand the world around you through a different, more mature lens.

If you opt to write about an obstacle you’ve faced, your essay should be predominantly filled with your response, outlook, and demeanor when presented with one of life’s many hurdles, rather than a detailed account of the hurdle itself. Applicants should aim to showcase qualities like resilience, determination, and humility. The obstacles you choose to explore can vary widely in nature; they can be as serious as being tormented by bullies or as ingrained as growing up in a single-parent household. While the possibilities are endless, students should be careful not to choose challenges that may seem trite (the inability to achieve an A on an exam and/or secure tickets to that Billie Eilish concert) or that illustrate a lapse in good judgment (that time a TikTok trend resulted in a trip to the ER). 

Finally, regardless of whether you write about an obstacle or achievement, admissions wants to know what advice you’d give to a sibling or friend going through a similar experience. In other words, they want to see you reflect and reveal what you learned from dealing with struggles or triumphs. Your reflection on what you have learned and how you have grown will be a source of great insight for admissions, and you’ll want to make sure your essay highlights the intangible qualities that don’t show up anywhere else on an application.

Prompt #6: Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

For many students, this catch-all prompt is a gift. Obviously, any essay you write will meet the requirement of this prompt, so if you have already begun brainstorming with the Common App topics in mind, fear not; this Coalition prompt has you covered. That said, if you are approaching the personal statement for the first time, trying to find a place to begin, the topic of your choice may not be the place you want to start. Having a wide-open runway for topic selection can be debilitating for some, so if your creativity flourishes under stricter parameters, by all means, use one of the other awesome prompts to guide your inspiration. No matter what, the thing that matters most is not the prompt you respond to, but instead the story you are trying to tell and what it will communicate to admissions.

Whichever Coalition prompt you decide to respond to, and whatever you discuss, your essay should reveal qualities and experiences that cannot be gleaned from your test scores, activity résumé, or any other element of your existing application. This is where an admissions officer gets to know what it would be like to have a conversation with you. It is, at least as far as we know, still one of the only opportunities the Coalition offers you to speak to admissions in your own voice. Take that opportunity and make the most of it.

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Coalition App Essay Prompts

Mark montgomery.

• March 30, 2020

The Coalition App Essay Prompts

As you prepare to write your essay, it helps to go through each Coalition App essay prompt carefully. You need to ensure that you understand the meaning of the prompt, and that you consider the sorts of stories and reflections that you might use to respond.

Prompt #1: Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

The central focus of this Coalition App essay is a character trait you possess or are trying to develop. Perhaps the best way to start this essay is to identify those traits. For example, are you compassionate? amiable? gregarious, sympathetic, or witty? How would you describe your character? Clearly, you cannot describe every aspect of your character in about 500 words. So you may want to settle on a single aspect of your character that can serve as the pivot for this essay. But remember, you don’t just need the character trait, you need the story to go with it.

As with all the personal essay prompts, this one is very clear that you must tell a story. The story does not have to be heroic or superhuman. The story can be relatively mundane, but it must be told in an interesting way. Like every story, it must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Details in the narrative will help it come alive (although the 550-word limit will prevent you from going into too much detail). The story must also illustrate the character trait you are trying to describe. The story is the example, the illustration, the proof that you possess this trait.

Demonstrate vs. Shape

Our character traits are inconstant. Sometimes we exemplify them well. Sometimes we are actually trying to improve some character traits, such as our empathy, our diligence, or our human courtesy. So perhaps you may focus on a trait that you find to be quite solid—a “rock” at the center of your personality. On the other hand, you may choose to focus on a trait that you are working to improve. The story for this Coalition App essay, then, is one that demonstrates either the “rock” or the ways in which you are developing and improving your character.

Coalition App Essay Prompt #2: 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.

Meaningful contribution to others.

The story you must tell in this Coalition App essay is one in which you did something that made life better for someone else. You took action to give something to someone else. That something might be material or immaterial: it could be an actual object, or it could be more like a feeling. However, this contribution must be significant—to you or to the recipient or both. Your story here is a discrete anecdote in which you improved the life of someone else.

Greater Good Was Your Focus

Community service is now considered an essential element of preparation for college admission. College admissions officers love stories in which teens perform selfless acts. But one of the paradoxes of modern secondary school life is that many teens are motivated to do service only because of a perceived “requirement,” whether explicit or implied, to add this service to your resume.

This prompt specifically wants you to tell a story in which your primary motivation was the “greater good.” Admissions officers would like to see this dedication to service for the sake of service—not as a check box to tick on the way to college.

One of the most common and often least effective topics for this essay is service you rendered as part of a school trip, mission trip, or international experience organized by others to make it easy for you to do community service. In order for these experiences to work well, you must demonstrate your own motivations. Why was this organized trip the best way for you to improve the lives of others. And how can you prove that the “greater good” was the impetus for your participation in this experience?

Challenges and Rewards

Not every attempt to improve the lives of others actually works out as intended. Sometimes the contributor encounters stumbling blocks. Sometimes they even fail miserably. This prompt invites you to evaluate your actions and to reflect upon how well you actually were able to serve the “greater good.” Keep in mind that sometimes we gain the most through our mistakes.

So there is no harm (and sometimes great benefit) in assessing your actions honestly and forthrightly. But if your contributions clearly and unequivocally improved the lives of others, by all means take credit for your successes.

Prompt #3: 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?

Belief or idea.

This Coalition App essay prompt hinges on some belief or value that you hold dear. At the core of the story, you must be able to identify this closely-held belief and explain why it is important to you.

At various times in our lives, we are called upon to defend our ideals or our principles. Either because others don’t share these beliefs, or because you may hold a view that is unpopular or out of the ordinary. Your story in this essay revolves around a time when you were called upon to defend your belief against some countervailing force. This force could come from a particular person, a small group of people, or maybe even a very large group of people. What animates this essay, then, is the tension or conflict between your belief and the beliefs of others.

Your Response

The “story” at the heart of this essay is the genesis of the tension, how you came to realize it. And how you came to a decision to do or say something in response (or not). Given that your values were under fire, did you do or say something to defend those values? Why or why not? You want to make the effort to explain your thought processes that eventually led to some sort of decision, action, or realization.

Affect Your Beliefs

The decision, action, or realization you made is the outcome of the story for this Coalition App essay prompt. You want to be sure to describe the outcome. Don’t stop there, however: explain and analyze that outcome. Was the decision the right one? Did you act to defend your values, and if so, what was the result?

Perhaps you acted in a way that did not defend those values, and you later regretted your inability to stand up for your beliefs. Either way, you are asked in this prompt to reflect upon what you did (or did not do) to defend your beliefs or ideas. And to determine whether you would approach a similar conflict of beliefs or ideas in the same way in the future.

Coalition App Essay Prompt #4: What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?

Being a teenager.

This Coalition App essay prompt wants you to evaluate your life experiences—your life as you are living it. Socrates once said something to the effect that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” The Coalition Application is asking you to examine your life, to evaluate it, and to share your observations. But at the heart of the essay, you need a story.

Hardest Part/Best Part

From my perspective, it seems difficult to identify both the best and the worst parts of teen life in only 550 words. Therefore, you may decide to focus on either the best or the worst. However, if you want to be sneaky—and perhaps successful in your presentation. You might consider an aspect of teen life that one might consider both the best and the worst. Most parts of our lives have both positive and negative aspects.

Can you identify something about your experience as a teenager that can be examined from both angles? Here, again, it is helpful to focus on the story that shows how teenage life can be difficult or great—or both. As with all the other prompts, be sure that whatever you write about is made very personal to you and your own experience. Don’t write an observational treatise on the good and the bad of teenage life as you seen it. Put yourself in the middle of your observation.

Again, this prompt seems very broad for the word limit. One might develop a prompt that revolves completely around this idea of “advice” that is not at all connected to the experience of being a teenager. However, to stay focused on your experience as a teen today, and to stick with your evaluation of what is “hardest” and what is “best,” you may want to identify the single most important recommendation you might make to a sibling or friend so that they could minimize the hard bits and maximize the best bits.

Don’t try to be exhaustive with this prompt: the word limit simply will not allow you to be. Instead, give a single, straightforward directive to this sibling or friend. Finally, make sure that this advice emanates from your story: something in that narrative should illustrate how following your guidance would make their lives better.

Prompt #5: Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

Your choice.

The nice thing about this Coalition App essay prompt is that the admissions folks leave the choice of topic entirely to you. And therein lies some of the danger of deviating from the other prompts. You are free—and encouraged—to go beyond the limitations of these other prompts. But at the same time, you want to consider the fundamental commonalities found in the above prompts.

Ideas and Concepts

Your college essay should represent you as a student and as a learner. Not every topic has to be entirely serious. But you should consider whether your chosen topic has any intellectual or academic depth.

Transitions

The heart of many of these prompts is some sort of change in your mindset, perspective, or understanding. Admissions folks are looking for young people who have made some sort of transition that demonstrates their maturity, depth of thought, or evolving view of the world.

You must have some sort of anecdote animating your essay that helps your reader to see your point. This is where you will “show” your reader your fundamental point. You are the main character of this essay in which you can demonstrate aspects of your personality, your values, and your point of view.

Analysis and Reflection

Every other prompt requires you to dig underneath the surface, to go beyond superficialities and to uncover the important truths at the center of your story. It is not enough to tell your reader the story: you must demonstrate the fundamental importance of the story to you. The story is the vehicle to convey a deeper understanding of you as a person.

Coalition App Essay: A Summary

The Coalition App essay is a vital opportunity for you to paint a three-dimensional portrait of yourself. Of course, you can’t paint every facet of yourself. You cannot paint your entire life story in just a few hundred words. But you can focus in on a very discrete anecdote about your life that helps give your reader a window onto your priorities, your motivations, your intentions, and your values.

While it seems corny, those anonymous readers in the admissions office really do want to get to know you. They do pay attention to the essay, and they want to get a sense of who you are. So don’t be afraid to bare your soul a little bit. Of course, at first it will seem a little weird to get so personal with a perfect stranger. But once you get going–once you decide upon a strong topic that is rooted in one of these prompts–you’ll be on your way to a winning essay.

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The Coalition App: Everything You Need to Know

More than 140 colleges and universities use the Coalition Application. Its popularity is growing with each admissions cycle, as more schools plan to use the Coalition Application in upcoming years.

While not as established as the Common App, the Coalition App offers major perks when it comes to financial aid. Here’s what you need to know if you plan on using the Coalition App and tips to make your application as strong as possible.

What is the Coalition App?

The Coalition App is administered by the Coalition for College Access , which was founded recently in 2015 by leaders of college administrations and admissions. It was designed specifically to make the college application process accessible for first-generation, lower-income, or under-resourced students across the nation.

It accomplishes this by streamlining the application fee waiver process for low-income students, making it easier for them to apply without causing financial strain on their household. The Coalition also has set high standards with their partner schools to help admitted students graduate with little to no debt by offering generous financial aid packages. Partner schools are also required to help students identify and apply for financial aid that they may qualify for.

The format of the Coalition App is similar to many other college applications, including the Common App and school-specific application systems. It includes standard things like personal information, essay prompts, and extracurricular involvement. Like the Common App, you have the benefit of filling out this information once and copying it to multiple schools.

Unique to the Coalition App is an extracurricular section for “family commitment.” As part of their commitment to making college more accessible, students who had to forego more traditional extracurricular activities to support their families are allowed to describe those commitments in this section. It also includes a Locker tool, where students can collect and store important information starting in 9th grade, so you don’t forget to include them on your college application.

Who Should Use the Coalition App?

The Coalition App is geared towards students who are traditionally underrepresented in colleges or face significant financial challenges. If you feel that this describes your situation, you may want to consider using the Coalition App.

That said, the Coalition App is not limited to students who are lower-income and first-generation. You should make a list of the schools you’re interested in beyond which application they use, and then note how many use the Coalition App, the Common App, or a school-specific application portal. After doing this research, you may want to alter your list based on which application is used to minimize the amount of applications you need to fill out.

For more information about how to decide whether you should use the Coalition App or not, check out our post Common App vs. Coalition App: Which to Use?

Which Schools Use the Coalition App?

As more schools offer the Coalition App, you may wonder why they are making the switch from offering only the Common App or their school-specific portal. A practical reason schools may offer multiple application portals is to minimize technology failures, especially around application deadlines, by spreading out applicants over multiple application portals.

However, many schools use the Coalition App to attract a greater number of qualified applicants, especially from diverse backgrounds, by offering an application that suits students’ needs. Lynn Barnes, the Director of Admissions at Texas A&M, had this to say: “We saw the Coalition as an opportunity to reach students who might not have considered our institution as an option. It has allowed us to expand the Texas A&M brand and to increase access for students across the country.”

At least 1 public institution in every state uses the Coalition App, and many top schools use it. Here’s a list of some of the top schools that use the Coalition App to give you an idea of its popularity:

• Columbia University
• Dartmouth College
• Duke University
• Emory University
• Harvard University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Princeton University
• Stanford University
• University of Chicago
• University of Michigan
• University of Virginia
• Yale University

Tips for Completing the Coalition App

Here are some of our top recommendations to make sure that your Coalition Application is as strong as possible.

Brainstorm essay responses. The Coalition publishes their essay prompts online , so you can begin thinking about your essay before your senior year. Make sure that you highlight your unique strengths, experiences, and insight in your essay, and have someone who can help you craft a strong essay. This could be a community leader or mentor, a work supervisor, a guidance counselor, or a trusted teacher (especially English teachers).

Take advantage of the Locker tool. Especially if you are an underclassmen, you should register for a MyCoalition account (it’s free!) and begin filling up your Locker with awards, recognition, and your current involvement. Make sure to add to it throughout your high school years so you don’t accidentally omit anything on your application. Plus, you can include this information on any college application, even if the school doesn’t use a Coalition App.

Research school-specific admissions requirements. You’ll want to make sure that you take a look at the admission requirements directly from the individual school’s website. Although the Coalition App will auto-populate any additional essays or evaluation forms required by the college, it’s a good idea to know what the average GPA and test scores of last year’s class were. Some schools include specific insight into the type of student they’re looking for, or you can connect with current students and alumni to increase your chances of admission. We’ve created a guide on How to Write the Coalition Application Essays .

Team up with your school counselor. Your school counselor will be responsible for providing school reports, transcripts, and often a recommendation to each of the schools you apply to. By connecting with your school counselor as early as possible, you increase the chance that the recommendation they write will be strong and unique.

For more information on college applications and financing college, check out these posts:

A User’s Guide to the Common Application

What is ApplyTexas? What Colleges Use It?

15 College Scholarships for High School Juniors

50 Colleges with Full-Ride Scholarships

Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!

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2023-24 Coalition Application Guide

How can applicants choose between the Common Application and the Coalition Application? Before you decide which format is best for you, it’s important to understand exactly how each application works. Although many students are familiar with the Common Application, far less have the Coalition Application on their radar. Keep reading to learn more about this application process and the considerations students should prioritize when choosing how they will submit their applications.

What is the Coalition Application?

The Coalition Application is much like the  Common App  in that it’s a central college application where students can submit one main application to a number of different colleges that utilize the platform. Colleges can also create school-specific supplements that ask for materials, essays, and more outside of the main Coalition App.

The  Coalition Application  platform also has a number of tools, including the locker, where students can store essays, projects, and other materials for review by counselors and admissions officers, the application itself, and resources for students who may have limited access to college prep materials and guidance.

History of the Coalition Application

In September of 2015,  it was announced that over 80 colleges, including all the Ivy Leagues and Stanford, would be  forming the Coalition for Access , Affordability, and Success (CAAS) in an effort to “increase college access and revamp the way that students apply to college.” Rumors that elite colleges were searching for a Common App alternative had been swirling for a while, and the announcement of the CAAS was the culmination of many months of speculation. The Coalition Application was first released for the 2016-17 application cycle and has gone through several adjustments since then. The number of member colleges has expanded since then, and most member institutions that use the Coalition Application also accept the Common App.

Coalition Application Essay Prompts

Similar to the Common Application, the Coalition Application includes both the main essay as well as additional, school-specific writing prompts which institutions can choose to add.

Here 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.
• What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?
• Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?
• Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?
• What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?
• Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

Here are the  2023-24 Common Application essay prompts  for comparison.

Colleges Using the Coalition Application

While the Common Application has  over 900 member colleges , the Coalition App has a smaller member number — slightly over 150 — and each member college must meet criteria like affordable tuition, need-based aid, and a six-year graduation rate of 70% or higher.

Over recent years, the Coalition App’s member schools have changed significantly. Back in 2019, several colleges that were previously affiliated with the Coalition App chose to drop it for the upcoming cycle, including Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia. While neither of these schools has renewed their affiliation with the application process, several new additions were added during the same year, including Barnard College and Lehigh University. Member schools that have joined more recently include DePauw University, Occidental College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Quinnipiac University, and Wheaton College.  

For a full list of Coalition member colleges, click  here .

Coalition Exclusive Colleges

While most Coalition member colleges still utilize the Common Application or their own application platform in addition to the Coalition Application, a few colleges initially stated they would be “Coalition-exclusive,” meaning they would only utilize the Coalition Application for admissions. For a long time, the University of Washington-Seattle was the only Coalition-exclusive college remaining; however, the institution announced that it would not be accepting Coalition Applications for students applying for admission in the fall of 2023. There are no remaining Coalition-exclusive schools.

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

Given some of the similarities between the Common App and the Coalition Application, students might have a hard time determining which format they should use to submit their applications. Others might wonder if there is one application that colleges will prefer, or if there’s a format that can help them stand out amongst other applicants.

The truth is that there’s no one platform that colleges will prefer over the other. Just like the SAT and ACT are both accepted equally as standardized tests, there’s no advantage or disadvantage to selecting the Common Application over the Coalition Application (or vice versa).

Instead of choosing based on what you think the admissions office is looking for, students should consult the list of application requirements for every school on their  best-fit list  to make an informed decision. Since the Common Application has more than 900 member schools versus the Coalition Application’s approximately 150, there’s a chance that some of the schools that you’re interested in might not accept this application. If that’s the case, it might be more efficient to prioritize the Common Application so that you can do all of your work under one application portal.

Whether you choose the Coalition Application or the Common Application, it’s important to start your applications early so that you can avoid the stress that comes with working down to the wire. At IvyWise, we recommend that students begin their applications during the summer before their senior year so that they can feel confident and prepared throughout. If you’re interested in getting a jump start on your applications, our  team  of college admissions experts can guide you through every step of the process.

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Home » IvyWise College Admissions Blog » College Admission Advice » Coalition Application » 2023-24 Coalition Application Guide

Coalition Application Guide

Coalition application: the ultimate guide.

Are you beginning your college application journey?  If so, you’ve likely heard of the Coalition Application, one of the nation’s most popular college application platforms. While not the only way to apply to college, the Coalition Application is unique in its mission. The Coalition Application hopes to make college more affordable and accessible to underrepresented populations, which it does by streamlining the college application process . 

In this article, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the Coalition Application and how to apply to Coalition Application schools.

Our Coalition Application Guide will cover topics that include:

• A general overview of the college admissions process
• What the Coalition Application is and why it exists
• The Coalition Application vs Common Application
• How to approach your Coalition Application essays
• How to acquire transcripts, letters of recommendation, and other key documents in the college admissions process
• Tips to successfully complete your Coalition Application

While the college admissions process can be complex, the Coalition Application is one platform dedicated to making it simpler. Similarly, CollegeAdvisor is here to help you navigate the process so that you can enroll in a college where you can thrive. Now, let’s kick off our discussion by exploring general information about applying to college.

Applying to College

If you want to attend college, your first question might be: how do I apply? One of the first steps will be to decide which college application platforms you will use. Here are some of the different online platforms you may encounter:

Online Application Platforms

The common application.

This is the most common platform in the U.S., in part because 1,000+ colleges accept it. The Common Application makes applying easier because you can fill in certain information only once (such as contact information, courses you are taking, and activities). This information is sent to every school you apply to.

The Coalition Application

Accepted by over 170 institutions , the Coalition Application is run by a collective of schools committed to making the college process more affordable. Later, we will share the qualifications to be a member of the Coalition Application. Similar to the Common Application, you can add information that can be used for multiple schools, making applying quick and easy.

School-Specific Applications

Some schools have their own specific platform. They may or may not also accept the Common Application or Coalition Application.

State-Based Applications

Some states have their own state-based application platform, such as the University of California application or the ApplyTexas application . These applications allow you to apply to several public schools within one state at once.

Determining which application platforms you use depends on which schools you wish to apply to. We recommend making a list of your schools and then researching which platforms they accept.

If a school accepts multiple platforms (such as the Common Application and Coalition Application), only complete one for that school. There is no preference given in terms of application platforms–so choose the one that makes the most sense according to your college list. Hopefully, your list will only entail using one or two platforms at most, so you can streamline your application process and save yourself time and stress.

Up next, we will explore the Coalition Application more in depth.

What is the Coalition Application?

The Coalition Application is a college application platform created by the Coalition for College . The Coalition for College, founded in 2015, is a group of 170+ public and private colleges dedicated to making college accessible and affordable, particularly for lower-income and under-resourced students. 

However, anyone can use the Coalition Application–you do not need to have a specific background. When you create a Coalition Application login, you will have free access to the platform. There, you can upload demographic information, activities, test scores, essays, transcripts, and letters of recommendation as well as submit this information to multiple schools.

You will also be provided with the supplemental essays that individual Coalition Application schools require. Upon submission, you will be charged an application fee if the school requires one. However, the Coalition Application fee waiver is an easy way to override this charge if you qualify.

As of today, the Coalition Application is offered in partnership with Scoir. Up next, we will explore what Scoir is and the role it plays in the college application process. 

What is Scoir?

In 2022, the Coalition for College partnered with Scoir to make the college application process even simpler. Scoir is an online platform that high schools use to track student progress, facilitate communication between counselors and students, and streamline document sharing. 

With this partnership, students who have Scoir accounts through their high school can link directly into their Coalition account. And, they benefit from already being familiar with Scoir’s tools and interface.

If your high school uses Scoir, you can use the same Scoir login information for your Coalition Application login. However, if your high school is a non-Scoir school, you will have to create a free Scoir account that will also serve as your Coalition Application login. 

Who Can Apply Coalition?

As noted above, the Coalition Application is available to all students, regardless of their background. While the application was designed for lower-income and under-resourced students, any student can create a Coalition Application login and apply to colleges via the platform. 

Additionally, it doesn’t matter whether your school uses Scoir or not: anyone can use the Coalition Application. However, the process of receiving letters of recommendation is slightly easier if your school uses Scoir. Later, we will discuss the distinction between applying from a Scoir and non-Scoir high school in greater detail.

Coming up, we will explore why you might want to apply to colleges using the Coalition Application over other application platforms.

Why Apply Coalition?

While there are many options for applying to college, including the very popular Common Application, there are some reasons why you might choose to use the Coalition Application over other platforms. Here are a few reasons students choose to apply Coalition:

Reasons for Choosing Coalition

1. inclusivity.

The Coalition Application is geared towards students from low-income and under-resourced backgrounds. If you identify as one of those students, you’ll find that the Coalition Application may be easier to use and is more geared toward your need to find affordable schools. As we shared above, the Coalition for College designed the Coalition Application as part of its vision and mission to dismantle barriers to college.

2. Fee Waivers

The Coalition Application fee waiver is easy to claim. To claim fee waivers, simply check off which criteria make you eligible for a fee waiver in your profile, such as qualifying for free lunch or receiving a College Board fee waiver for the SAT. Checking off any of these criteria will automatically bypass the application fee page. Additional criteria can also make you eligible for a fee waiver at specific schools, which we’ll discuss more in-depth later on.

3. Start Early

The Coalition Application platform is designed to help you start collecting the information you need to apply to college as early as 9 th grade. You can add schools to your list, save college-related documents in your Locker, and check out free resources such as screenshots of Coalition Application samples. If English isn’t your first language, some resources are offered in Spanish as well!

Using the Coalition Application is one way to expedite your college process, as you can apply to multiple schools at once. If the schools you are interested in accept the Coalition Application, consider using the platform, especially if you come from a low-income or under-represented background. 

Next, we will look at which schools accept the Coalition Application and what makes these schools special.

Coalition Application Schools

There are over 170 Coalition Application schools, including both public and private universities and colleges. To become a member of the Coalition for College and be listed on the Coalition Application, schools must meet certain eligibility criteria. These eligibility criteria align with the Coalition for College’s values of equity and inclusivity within college access and outcomes.

The Coalition is eager to promote colleges that are affordable and have positive outcomes for students. In addition to being a four-year, accredited, degree-granting institution, here are the eligibility criteria to become a member school on the Coalition Application:

Coalition Application Eligibility Criteria

Ten percent or more of enrolling students must be pell-eligible.

This means they come from lower-income or underrepresented backgrounds. This criterion is an indicator of the school’s commitment to recruiting students from these types of diverse backgrounds.

Meet enough financial needs or have low enough tuition costs

This means that students graduate with less than $30,000 in Title IV debt, which is a type of debt resulting from federal loans that have lower interest rates. Schools must also have a 10% or lower loan default rate, indicating that most students graduate with the means to pay back their loans. This criterion indicates that a school is generous with its financial aid and prepares students with the skills to find jobs that allow them to pay back their loans. 

Have an overall graduation rate of 60% or higher

That figure must be 50% or higher for students from low-income or underrepresented backgrounds. Additionally, 33% of the student body must be from these backgrounds. Again, this criterion emphasizes the school’s commitment to accessibility as well as economic and racial diversity.

While many Common App colleges also meet these criteria, not all do. By applying via the Coalition Application, you can ensure that all the schools you apply to meet demonstrated financial need and have a solid graduation rate. In doing so, you can feel confident you’re applying to inclusive, effective institutions.

Exploring member schools

Included in the list of 170 schools on the Coalition Application are some familiar names, such as Yale , Notre Dame , and Vanderbilt . However, many more schools are also members of the Coalition, such as Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, and Union College in Schenectady, NY. 

You can search the member list alphabetically, by state, and by public vs private institution. Use all the search options to get a strong sense of which schools are Coalition Application members. This can help you decide if using the platform is right for you. If any member schools interest you, then the Coalition Application could be the perfect platform to use when applying to those schools.

Coming up, we will explore the cost of using the Coalition Application to apply to college.

How much is the Coalition Application?

You have probably heard that applying to college is expensive. While this is generally true, with the Coalition Application, you have the potential to save a lot of money. Firstly, using the Coalition Application is free. This means you can create an account, research schools, upload documents, and look at applications at no cost. 

When you are ready to submit your applications, you may find some schools require their own application fees. These fees are typically between $30 to $90, with the average around $50 per school. If you are applying to multiple schools, this can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars. 

For some families, paying the application fee alone is a barrier to applying to college. The Coalition Application recognizes that barrier and has made it much easier for students to claim a fee waiver. This fee waiver allows qualifying students to apply to college for free. 

Whereas other platforms do offer fee waivers, some require additional documentation to prove you qualify. The Coalition Application automatically issues fee waivers for several reasons. In the next section, we will discuss who is eligible for and how to get a Coalition Application fee waiver.

Coalition Application Fee Waiver

The process for getting a Coalition Application fee waiver is very easy. To claim one, simply go to the fee waiver section of your profile and indicate which criteria make you eligible for a fee waiver. Any of the following criteria make you automatically eligible to apply for free to any of the Coalition Application member schools:

Criteria for Automatic Fee Waiver at Any Coalition App Schools

• Your family income falls within the Income Eligibility Guidelines for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. For a family of 4 in 2024, this means that your family’s annual income is $57,720 or less.
• You have received a College Board , ACT , or a National Association for College Admissions Counseling ( NACAC ) fee waiver. These refer to waivers that are given for testing fees or college applications.
• You are eligible for a Pell Grant . Pell Grants are forms of federal aid for college that are calculated by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
• You have participated (or are participating) in TRIO programs (such as Upward Bound). TRIO programs are federally funded programs geared towards increasing educational access for lower-income students.

Additionally, there are several criteria that will make you eligible for a fee waiver at some, but not all, of the Coalitional Application member schools. You may qualify for a fee waiver if you:

Criteria for Fee Waiver at Some Coalition App Schools

• Are a veteran or an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Self-identify as the first in your family to attend college.
• Receive public assistance such as food stamps or disability benefits.
• Are enrolled in a federal, state, or local program that aids students from low-income families. 
• Live in federally subsidized public housing, a foster home, or are homeless.
• Are a ward of the state or an orphan. 
• Receive need-based scholarships elsewhere.
• Are being assisted by any college or university access program.

If you select any of these options on your Coalition Application, you will be presented with a list of schools that offer fee waivers for students with that particular experience or background. 

Additionally, there are some schools that have no application fees at all, such as Smith College and Grinnell College . While these schools are certainly still selective, no student will find the application fee to be a barrier. 

Coalition Application vs Common Application

If you’re not using the Coalition Application, you’re more than likely using the Common Application. So, let’s talk about how these two application platforms compare to one another!

While they share some important similarities, there are also key differences when it comes to the Coalition Application vs Common Application. We’ll review some of these similarities and differences so you can decide which platform is best for you.

Similarities Between the Coalition Application and the Common Application

Here are some core similarities between the Coalition Application and Common Application:

Overlap Between Coalition App and Common App

Apply to multiple schools at once.

Both platforms can help you save a lot of time by allowing you to only enter some information once. Once you’ve entered your contact information, courses, test scores, activities, and college admissions essay, they will be loaded onto all your applications.  

College Admissions Essays

For most schools, you will have to submit a personal statement, referred to as a Coalition Application essay or a Common App essay depending on which platform you use. Supplemental essay requirements will differ by school, but they’re generally the same on both the Common Application and the Coalition Application. Read more about how to write a great essay by checking out some Coalition Application essay examples here .

Generate a PDF

Both platforms allow you to view a PDF of your applications as you work on them. This is useful if you want to send your Coalition Application sample to a counselor or other mentor for review before submitting. Simply download your Coalition Application sample and attach it as a PDF to an email. 

Both platforms are free to use, though most colleges will still charge application fees before you hit submit.

Regardless of which platform you use, the deadlines for each school will be the same. You can check application deadlines on the platforms or each school’s admissions page. 

As you can see, the core functions of both the Coalition Application and the Common Application are the same. Now, let’s look at some of the differences that exist between the two application platforms.

Differences Between Coalition Application vs Common Application

The differences between the Coalition Application and the Common Application may seem insignificant or meaningful depending on your priorities when applying. Here are some of the key differences between the two platforms:

Coalition App vs Common App

Type of participating colleges.

As mentioned above, not just any college can be a part of the Coalition Application. The Coalition for College has strict criteria that focuses on highlighting colleges that meet full financial needs or have low tuition costs. Therefore, Coalition Application schools have automatically been vetted for their financial practices and are more likely to be sound financial decisions for students and families. 

Number of Participating Colleges

The strict membership guidelines of the Coalition Application mean that 170 schools are on the platform, as opposed to over 1,000 Common App colleges. If several schools that you hope to apply to are not part of the Coalition Application, then the Common Application might be a better fit for you. Otherwise, you will have to fill out applications on both platforms, which creates additional work in an already lengthy application process. 

Coalition Application Essay Topics

College admissions essays are an important part of your application, no matter which platform you use. Your college admissions essays will include a personal statement as well as school-specific supplemental essays. While the supplemental essay prompts will not vary by platform, the personal statement prompts do differ. Indeed, if you look up Coalition Application essay examples, they will vary slightly in content because the prompts are different from those of the Common App.

Still, the prompts are usually general enough that Coalition Application essay examples could also work for the Common Application, especially because both platforms have a “choose your own topic” prompt. Later, we will discuss the differences in college admissions essay topics on both platforms in more depth.

Coalition App vs Common App: Essays

Activities section.

On the Coalition Application, you can list up to 8 activities. Meanwhile, Common App colleges let you list 10. However, the Coalition Application provides more characters to describe your activity. Additionally, the Coalition Application actively encourages students to describe less traditional activities such as babysitting, art projects, or hobbies. While you can list such activities on both platforms, the Coalition Application highlights this option more heavily to recognize that many students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds do not have the means or time to devote to clubs and teams.

The Coalition Application provides a digital space, called a “Locker.” This is a space where you can start compiling documents as early as 9 th grade that might be useful for developing your personal brand in the college process. You can upload videos and documents, which might include awards, videos of performances, and papers you are proud of. Schools won’t see your Locker–it is merely a tool to help keep you organized so you’re ready to craft your most competitive and cohesive applications come senior year.

Fee Waiver Accessibility

While both platforms offer fee waivers to students, the Coalition Application’s process is streamlined and does not require additional paperwork. If you request a fee waiver on the Common Application, your high school counselor may be asked to verify that you qualify for this waiver. Additionally, in rare cases, Common App colleges may decline to honor your fee waiver unless you submit additional documentation. In a process that is already so complex, additional documentation can be a real burden.

Deciding which platform to use might seem daunting–but it doesn’t have to be. Start by prioritizing what is important to you in the application process. If your priority is getting fee waivers and applying to affordable schools, then the Coalition Application may be best for you. If a top priority is having access to as many schools as possible in one platform, then the Common Application might be a better fit. 

Regardless of which platform you choose, remember that when applying to schools that accept both platforms, there is no benefit to applying with one over the other. Both applications are weighed the same. Most importantly, do not apply to any school on more than one platform. Only submit one application per school.

In the following sections, we will share detailed steps for how to apply to college using the Coalition Application.

How to Apply to College through the Coalition Application

To apply to college with the Coalition Application, you’ll need to understand the process a little bit better. The first thing to know is that the Coalition Application is broken down into two parts.

The first part of the Coalition Application is the basic application information. This includes information about yourself, your family, your education, and your essay. The second part of the Coalition Application will be specific to each school. The Coalition Application works with over 150 Coalition Application schools, to which you can use the Coalition Application to apply. Part Two includes things like supplemental essays and any other school-specific information. 

Now that you know a bit more about the Coalition Application, let’s walk through the application process. The first step is creating your login. 

How to create your Coalition Application login

In order to create your Coalition Application login, you’ll need to first create a Scoir account. Your Coalition Application login and your Scoir login are the same, but the Scoir login comes first. Scoir is a platform where you can search for different colleges and universities and manage your applications in one place. 

Previously, the Coalition Application used a platform called MyCoalition. If you previously had an account there, you can still access it through their new platform called StandOut Admissions Network. However, if you are just starting to apply to schools through the Coalition Application, you will only be able to apply with the Coalition Application through Scoir.

To create your Scoir account, you must provide an email address, verify that email address, and then provide your name, high school graduation year, date of birth, and create a password. Once you’ve done this on Scoir, you will use that same login for your Coalition Application login. 

If you’ve attended a Scoir high school , you should link your Scoir account and your Coalition Application login to your high school. If you have no idea what a Scoir high school is, don’t worry: you should just follow the regular process of creating a Scoir login, and then use that same information to create a Coalition Application login. 

Coalition Application: Part One

Once you’ve made your Coalition Application login and have gained access to the platform , take a look around. Familiarize yourself with the Coalition Application’s components, especially Part One and Part Two of the application. 

Here’s what you can expect from Part One of the Coalition Application. 

Personal Information

The first section of Part One of the Coalition Application is the “Personal” section. Here, you provide all your demographic information to the Coalition Application. This includes things like how old you are, your ethnicity, your sex and gender, the languages you speak, and your address. This is all basic demographic information, the kind that you would submit when applying for a job or a university. Here, you’ll also specify if you intend to apply for financial aid.

Family Information

The next section of the Coalition Application asks questions about your family. You’ll provide information like who regularly lives in your household, the addresses of your parents or guardians, their contact information, and their education level. This all helps the Coalition Application better understand who you are and how they can best communicate with you. 

The “Family” section of the Coalition Application also offers a space for you to share whether you have been impacted by a disaster. If your life has been affected by a natural disaster, or by COVID-19, you can share this with the Coalition Application here.

Education Information

After the “Family” section of the Coalition Application comes the “Education” section. In this section, you’ll write about a pretty significant part of your college application: your high school experiences! This is where you share things like your grades, your GPA, AP courses, SAT and ACT scores, and extracurricular activities. 

When you’re comparing the Coalition Application vs Common Application, the way the two applications handle extracurriculars is fairly different. On the Common Application, you have the opportunity to describe and rank your extracurriculars, and this disclosure tells a lot about you to the colleges you apply to. However, on the Coalition Application, there is less space to document multiple extracurricular activities. So, if you have specific experiences you’d like to highlight, you’ll have to emphasize them in other sections of the Coalition Application. 

Essay and More

One place on the Coalition Application where you could go deeper on your extracurricular activities is the next section: “Essay and More.” This section of the Coalition Application is largely taken up by the Coalition Application essay.

To again compare the Coalition Application vs Common Application, both provide unique prompts for a personal statement. Certain Coalition Application schools require the Coalition Application essay, just like Common App schools might require the Common App essay. Both the Coalition Application essay and the Common App essay are around the same length, and both ask questions that encourage you to reflect on your experiences. 

In this final section of the Coalition Application, you can also supply additional information about yourself if you feel like it hasn’t been included elsewhere. You’ll also provide the Coalition Application with your school guidance counselor’s name and email so that the college has a point of contact with you.

Coalition Application Essay

The Coalition Application essay is for schools to learn more about your life and your values, in your own words. When comparing the Coalition Application vs Common Application, the Coalition Application essay and the Common App essay are pretty similar. Each should be around 500-650 words, and both the Coalition Application essay and the Common App essay ask students to reflect and tell a story about themselves.

While some Coalition Application schools don’t require the Coalition Application essay, this is the exception rather than the norm. It’s more than likely that at least one of the Coalition Application schools that you’re applying to will require the essay. So, you’ll want to start your applications feeling confident and ready to write one! 

Like the Common App essay, the Coalition essay is a pretty standard college admissions essay—sometimes called a “personal statement.” While the Coalition essay prompts are similar to the Common App prompts, they’re not identical.

Coalition essay prompts

There are 6 Coalition Application essay prompts :

1. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

2. what interests or excites you how does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future, 3. describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. what were the challenges what were the rewards, 4. has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned how did you respond what did you learn, 5. what success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced what advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience, 6. submit an essay on a topic of your choice..

Many students feel overwhelmed by the idea of writing an essay about themselves–and that’s okay! If you start working on your Coalition Application early, you can take your time and give yourself the best chance of writing a great essay.

The first step to writing your college admissions essay is to pick your prompt. The Coalition Application website offers some tips for getting started:

• Talk about your ideas with a friend
• Write a list of phrases that describe you and stories about yourself where you demonstrate those qualities
• Write all associated words that come to mind when you read a prompt.

Try brainstorming for all of the questions, then pick the one that stuck out the most to you or felt the easiest to write or talk about.

The Coalition Application also provides the option to submit an essay on the topic of your choice. Here, if you were applying to schools using the Common Application, you could simply submit that essay to the Coalition Application as well. 

Essay writing tips

For each question, you want to tell a story: there should be a clear beginning, middle, and end. The best college admissions essays describe some kind of change or development. Was there a moment when something changed your perspective, or when you learned something? When you faced a challenge and overcame it? All of these college admissions essay questions are encouraging you to reflect on what you value and how your values have developed over time. 

Keep in mind that your college admissions essay is meant to add your voice into your college application so that it’s not just grades and demographics and awards. Whichever question you pick, make sure to tell a story about yourself that would convey something about you to the admissions committee. 

Here are three tips on how to write a great Coalition Application essay from us at CollegeAdvisor:

• Start with an engaging hook, like an anecdote or a quote that pulls your readers in.
• Use specific details, both to make your writing more vivid and to emphasize your uniqueness.
• Revise, revise, revise. 

Another way to prepare to write your Coalition Application essay is to read Coalition Application essay examples. These Coalition Application essay examples will help show you what makes a great Coalition Application essay, and how to tell a personal anecdote in the appropriate word range.

By looking at Coalition Application samples and example essays, you can gain inspiration for how to go about your own application—just make sure that regardless of what Coalition Application samples you read, you’re always using your own work when you write your essays.

If you’re looking for more advice , check out CollegeAdvisor’s Coalition Application essay examples and explore our college admissions essay-writing resources . However, if you’re ready for Part Two, let’s look at what’s expected in the next section of the Coalition Application. 

Coalition Application: Part Two

Part Two of the Coalition Application is where you’ll start to encounter school-specific questions. Part One of the Coalition Application is submitted to every school that you apply to, whereas Part Two is only submitted to the specific school that you’re answering questions about.

Looking at the Coalition Application vs Common Application, they both follow a similar structure. Another similarity between the two applications is that the supplemental questions are often the same. Below, we’ll take a closer look at supplemental questions from a partner school: Yale.

Yale is one of the Coalition Application schools because it provides need-based financial aid or low-cost in-state tuition, which is the main requirement to be part of the Coalition. Unlike the Common App colleges, which have nothing in common besides using the Common App, Coalition Application schools also need to satisfy requirements around tuition and graduation rate.

The Coalition Application prioritizes access and affordability, so it makes sense the Coalition Application also incorporates a Coalition Application fee waiver for those who need it. With that background in mind, let’s turn our attention to Yale’s supplemental questions.

Yale supplemental questions

For Yale, the Coalition Application essay topics will be the same regardless of how you choose to apply. Yale is also one of the Common App colleges—you can apply using the Coalition Application or the Common App—so, the supplemental essays they request from their students are the same. 

If you’re applying to Yale through the Coalition Application, you’ll need to answer an additional 8 questions. This might seem like a lot. Not all schools require this many questions, but this is why it’s important to explore the application requirements early in the college admissions process so nothing catches you by surprise when you’re close to the deadline. 

Yale’s supplemental questions consist of 7 short answer questions—some very short, only 35 words—and one short essay of 400 words. For the 400-word essay, Yale provides a choice of three prompts: one on conversing about opposing views, one about community, and one is about part of your personal experience that you would bring to the college. 

How to approach supplemental questions/essays

These essays and questions are similar to many others you’ll encounter in the college admissions process. Generally, supplemental essay topics fall into a few categories :

• Why School / Why Major
• Community essays
• Extracurricular activities essays
• Personal challenge essays
• Cultural diversity essays
• More unique essays

So, by reflecting on and completing supplemental prompts for the Coalition Application, you will better prepare yourself for the entire college process. 

Even though many schools use similar prompts, that doesn’t mean that you should be submitting the exact same essay for multiple applications. The school-specific portion of the Coalition Application should be exactly that: school-specific. When you write why you want to attend Yale, or other Coalition Application schools like Vanderbilt or Notre Dame , make sure to include specific mentions to the school. This could be a professor you’d like to study under, research being done at the school that interests you, a club you would join, or something you noticed while touring the campus. 

Whatever details you choose, make sure to connect them to yourself. These supplemental essays aren’t about why just anyone would want to go to this school, but why it’s a perfect fit for you. If you’re still confused about what this might entail, look at some Coalition Application sample or Common Application sample essays .

Requesting Important Documents

When filling out your Coalition Application, you’ll need to request certain documents to submit to colleges. As part of your college application, regardless of what platform you use, you’ll need to both request and submit transcripts and letters of recommendation through the application portal.

Since Scoir works with some high schools, the process is a bit different for Scoir vs Non-Scoir high schools. When used in high schools, Scoir is a place where students can plan their college process outside of just their application. Because of this, some schools’ guidance counselors are already connected on Scoir and don’t require as many steps to reach. 

Scoir has resources on how to navigate this process for each student. If you already attend a Scoir-connected school, check out these resources for how to request letters of recommendation and transcripts . 

Alternatively, non-connected students can look at this article for guidelines and advice. While the process is a little more intensive, it’s still straightforward. Again, always make sure that you understand your college application before you start it so you don’t get confused too close to the deadline. 

When Should I Start My Coalition Application?

So when should you start your Coalition Application? For context, let’s look at some deadlines . 

Exploring application deadlines

Early Decision or Early Action deadlines happen in the Fall, usually around November 1. With Early Decision, you are bound to attend that college if you get in. If you’re applying ED to a college, that means that it is your first choice, your dream school, and nothing would sway you from going—even if you don’t get the most optimal financial package.

Early Action is another early deadline, but you’re not obligated to attend the school if you get in. This means that you can apply to multiple colleges and weigh your options once you’ve received your admissions decisions.

You can also submit your application Regular Decision, which is generally around January 1. You can apply Regular Decision to as many schools as you would like. Some schools also offer Rolling Admission, which means that they accept students as they receive applications. Even if a school is Rolling Admission, you should still apply as soon as you can. 

Some schools offer a Priority Deadline, also around the same time as Early Decision and Early Action. If a school offers a Priority Deadline, it’s a good idea to get your application in by then if you can. The school likely accepts most of its students by that deadline and will also be giving out scholarship funds with these applicants at the top of the list. 

When to start exploring Coalition

Each student will be different when it comes to their ideal application timeline. In general, you’ll want to start thinking about your applications July/August of your senior year. However, you may start thinking about certain aspects of your application, like SAT/ACT, extracurriculars, potential recommenders, and AP classes, much earlier.

If you want to get a head start on your college applications, you don’t need to wait until your senior year to look at the Coalition Application. You can create a Coalition Application login and start building your college list as early as 9th grade. There’s no pressure to know where you want to go to college that early, but know that the platform is open for you to explore! 

5 Tips for Submitting the Coalition Application

Now that we’ve covered the general process of completing the Coalition Application, here are 5 tips to keep in mind as you work towards your deadlines: 

Tips for the Coalition Application

1. use the platform to research schools and build your college list.

The Coalition Application isn’t just an application, but it’s a way to explore colleges. You can take the Find your College Match Quiz to get matched up with schools that would be a good fit for you. Additionally, you can use the discover feature to look at different college profiles and find admission events like information sessions and tours. You can also follow colleges on Scoir to receive outreach and materials from these colleges during your high school years. 

2. Keep track of important application documents

You can use the Coalition Application to keep all of your important application documents in one place. These are documents like your letters of recommendation, your transcripts/school reports, Early Decision Contracts, and Coalition Application fee waivers. 

3. Connect with your supporters

These are people like your high school counselors, your parents/guardians, and your teachers—people who you may want to seek letters of recommendation from in the future.  If your high school is on Scoir, it gives you the opportunity to keep all of your communications with these people in one place. 

4. Budget time for all of your application essays

Using the Coalition application, you can and should spend enough time to brainstorm, draft, and revise all of your essays: both the Coalition essay and your school-specific supplemental essays. With the supplemental essays, make sure you research them early so that you can plan your time accordingly. You don’t want to get caught off guard with 8 extra questions like Yale’s the day before your application is due.

5. Thoroughly review part one of your application before moving on to part two

This is important: unlike with Common App colleges, the Coalition Application requires you to submit Part One separately from Part Two. Once you submit Part One of your application, you cannot go back to edit any of the information you provided. So start early and make sure that all of your information is correct before submitting.

Coalition Application Guide – Final Thoughts

The Coalition Application is a type of college application platform that aims to make the college admissions process more accessible for all students, especially lower-income students. Unlike Common App colleges, the schools you apply to via the Coalition Application have been vetted in line with the Coalition Application’s mission. These schools all have significant need-based financial aid or low in-state tuition fees, and have strong graduation rates.

Make a Scoir account to get started

In order to apply using the Coalition Application, you first make an account on Scoir. Scoir is a platform for centralizing college preparations, and some high schools use it to put everything from guidance counselor communications to college research in one place. Even if your high school doesn’t use Scoir, that doesn’t mean you can’t apply using the Coalition Application—you just have to go through a couple extra steps to make sure all of your transcripts and other important documents are getting sent to the right places. 

Once you’re in the Coalition Application, it’s pretty standard. The Coalition Application has Part One, with all of that personal data and your Coalition essay, and then Part Two, which is specific to each school and contains the supplemental materials. Overall, the Coalition Application makes the college application process centralized and straightforward. And the platform provides Coalition Application fee waivers for students for whom submitting multiple college applications poses a financial burden. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with any part of the college application process, remember, you’re not in it alone. At CollegeAdvisor, our expert team is dedicated to guiding you through every step of the Coalition Application. Through one-on-one advising, we’ll help you organize essential documents, build your personal brand , and revise your application and essays to make them the best they can be.

This article was written by senior advisor Courtney Ng and advisor Rachel Kahn . Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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Coalition App Essay Length Answered

Hi there! I'm just a little confused as to how long the main Coalition Essay is supposed to be. I've seen a couple sources that say 500-550, some that say you can go up to 650 and some (college vine, I think) that say only 300-400). Can anyone clarify which lengths are acceptable and why? Currently my essay is 564 words, is that okay?

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From Coalition Application prompt (copied)

Please enter your Coalition Essay below.

While there is no perfect length for an essay, we recommend that you aim for 500 to 650 words.

Therefore, since you are at 564 you are less than the middle word count which would be 575. I should think you are on the money for this one.

When you continue to edit it and find that you might need to add or subtract one or two sentences, I think you will be perfectly conforming to their suggestions.

Good luck with your essay!

Just seconding this answer :) Best of luck with your essay!

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The Common App vs. The Coalition Application: Key Similarities and Differences

May 2, 2019

Along with the corresponding increases in total application numbers and applications submitted per student, there comes an increase in application-oriented anxiety. The sheer coordination of competing logistics -- different essays, different testing requirements, different deadlines, different forms -- can feel dizzying. It’s no surprise that a huge supply of digital resources has emerged to help navigate these complexities.

The centralized application portals like the Common Application and the Coalition Application have impacted the overall admissions landscape for the better, expanding access and streamlining a notoriously intimidating process. Which brings me to a question that many students have: What is the difference between the Common App and the Coalition App? Why would you, a college applicant, choose to use one as opposed to the other? From a Former Admission Officer’s perspective, does one application methodology offer advantages to its users?

I hope that this blog provides some practical, helpful insight into the pros, cons, and differences between the two dominant application systems. I’ll begin by describing each system separately, accounting for their particular histories and mission statements. In conclusion, I’ll try to make sense of their contrasting features and purposes, and hopefully you’ll get a better idea of the Common App vs. the Coalition Application .

The Common Application

Mission statement.

The Common App was founded in 1975, over forty years ago, long before the promise of digital interconnectedness. As an educational non-profit, the Common App describes itself as “committed to the pursuit of access, equity, and integrity in the college admissions process,” boasting that over a million students use its free online application each year to apply to any number of its 800+ member institutions. Chances are, most schools on your college list are members of the Common App. Undoubtedly, the Common App is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive application portal available.

The Different Sections

The Common App is divided into different sections so that admissions officers can learn more about you in an organized way. The different portions of the Common App are:

• Additional Information

Activities List

Apart from requiring you to fill out basic information regarding your demographics, family, and educational background, the Common App provides the opportunity to list and rank a maximum of ten activities that you’ve been involved with in high school. For the title of the activity, you’re allowed 50 characters (not words); for the description of the activity, you’re allowed 150 characters. 150 characters will quickly disappear as you start writing! You need to be strategic and thoughtful when crafting each one of these descriptions, focusing on leadership, sustained involvement, and tangible achievements.

Personal Statement

You’ll also be asked to write a personal statement of no more than 650 words. The personal statement gives admissions officers a chance to get to know you better! This essay should be true to you and elaborate on a formative experience that you believe makes you unique. The Common App personal statement prompts for this year are:

• Some students have a background, identity, interest , or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
• The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure . How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea . What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
• Share an essay on any topic of your choice . It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Website Logistics

Beyond these fundamentals, the Common App also helps with two other logistical pieces. First, the website will facilitate the request and submission of recommendation letters from your high school teachers; this feature is integrated into the Common App itself. Second, the website is also a first-rate research tool, helping you find relevant, helpful, and accurate information about its member institutions, such as deadlines, requirements, and supplemental essay prompts. In my opinion, this is one of the most underutilized and underrated aspects of the Common App, and I highly recommend it to students and parents alike.

For a complete guide to filling out the Common Application check out this virtual walkthrough of the application:

The Coalition Application

The Coalition App was founded in 2015 to “make college a reality for all high school students through its set of free, online college planning tools that help them learn about, prepare for, and apply to college.” The website does not make clear how many students rely upon its services, but the Coalition notes that it has partnered with 140 colleges and universities, including all eight Ivy League schools, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, University of Chicago, and many of the top liberal arts colleges. While the Coalition is gaining popularity, you may be able to go through the application process without having to use this platform.

Unlike the Common App, the Coalition’s ethical motivations shine through with relatively strict eligibility criteria for its member institutions. In particular, member institutions must demonstrate that they are committed to access (especially regarding “under-served and under-resourced populations”), affordability (especially regarding financial aid, meeting demonstrated financial need, and reducing debt loads), and success (especially regarding graduation rates for at-risk students). See specific details here .

Both the Common App and the Coalition App are divided into different sections. A lot of information which is asked in separate sections of the Coalition App is asked within larger umbrella sections of the Common App. For example, the Coalition App has an entire section dedicated to Demographic Information, whereas those questions are included within the Profile section of the Common App.

Note that not all portions of the Coalition App are required. The required sections of the Coalition App are:

• Personal Information
• Contact Information
• Demographic Information
• Citizenship Information
• Family Information
• High School Information

The optional sections are:

• 12th Grade Coursework
• College Information
• 9th-11th Grade Coursework
• College Coursework
• Subject Tests
• Additional Tests
• Honors and Distinctions
• Academic Interests
• Activities/Experiences

When comparing the Common App vs. Coalition Application , it’s important to note that the Common App does allow students to fill out honors, academic interests, and future plans. They are simply included within the education section instead of separately.

The Coalition App requires the same basic information about your background and high school experiences. There are no major differences between the Common App vs. the Coalition Application to note in this regard. But there are changes to be aware of within the activities section. The Coalition App allows space to include only eight distinct activities, with 64 characters allotted for each title and 255 characters allotted for each description. If you wish to add distinct prizes and awards, you can add up to five honors. While there are fewer slots for your extracurriculars, you do gain more characters to elaborate on what you accomplished. Take advantage of these precious characters!

The essay requirement is also similar, requiring that you complete a piece of writing between 500 and 550 words, though no formal maximum is instituted. Students are allowed to upload PDF files for select colleges, therefore not enforcing a strict word cutoff. That being said, colleges are also allowed to set their own limits. Based on the school’s limit and the general Coalition recommendation of 550 words, I’d recommend that you don’t cross the limit. Trimming 100 words from your 650-word Common App personal statement can be tough. But you might have to be brutal and cut off entire paragraphs, even if you are attached to every word!

Just like with the Common App, make sure your Coalition essay is true to you and conveys a story only you can tell. Be sure to proofread and edit as much as possible. The prompts for the Coalition App essay are:

• 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 teenager 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.

The research functions of the Coalition App are somewhat more limited than the Common App, as the Coalition has fewer member colleges to look-up. That being said, the Coalition does have extensive tools for connecting with your college counselor and other supervising adults through the website itself, and for keeping track of and sharing important files through its cloud-based drive, the “locker.”

Something many students don’t know is that you can start using the locker as early as ninth grade to keep track of your portfolios, certificates, essay drafts, etc. You can share the materials on the locker with your teachers and collaborate. This system is similar to other cloud-based storage spaces such as Google Drive.

The locker makes organization much easier, as you can attach information directly from the locker to Coalition applications. If you take advantage of this portal starting early in your high school career, you won’t have to look all around for your different materials from over the years or scan them separately. Although the maximum size per file is 50 MB, storage space is unlimited!

I’d like to assure you that -- from an admissions perspective -- there’s no real or relevant advantage to using one of these websites as opposed to another when thinking about the Common App vs. the Coalition Application . They are essentially identical, and their apparent differences are not demonstrably meaningful. Depending on what you’ve participated in throughout high school, I think there’s an argument to be made that the additional two activity slots on the Common App can be somewhat advantageous. This is particularly useful for students with significant and interesting extracurricular involvement. In the vast majority of circumstances, however, there’s no real strategic advantage to be gained.

There may be compelling practical reasons when deciding between the Common App vs. the Coalition Application . I would recommend that any college applicant simplify their process as much as possible. If you can avoid having to use both application portals, avoid it! The redundant data entry can be time consuming, and can feel especially burdensome (“ why am I doing this again?”) . Check out the lists of member institutions for the Common App and for the Coalition App , and see if one or the other more completely captures the list of schools you’re interested in.

Of course, there are a number of schools that accept the Coalition App but do not accept the Common App. These are:

These are largely -- but not exclusively -- state institutions. If you want to apply to your Coalition-approved in-state university, and the other schools you plan on applying to are also available through Coalition, then roll ahead with this platform! Simplification is key.

While the Coalition App boasts the cloud-like storing drive the “locker,” you can use the locker even if you decide not to apply to college using the Coalition Application. Moreover, the Common App has significantly stronger research capacities.

On the whole, when comparing the Common App vs. the Coalition Application for most circumstances, I think the Common App is ultimately a more helpful and pertinent application system, and it is what I officially recommend. As the most widely used application platform, it’s an essential piece of the admissions process. If you don’t need the Coalition, I think you’re better off with a Common App-centric approach.

When deciding between the Common App vs. the Coalition Application , remember that both systems are at the core of the college application process. These platforms ultimately deliver all of your hard work to admissions offices! Don’t underestimate their importance. Start getting familiar with the systems that you’ll need today.

Tags : college application tips , applying to college , common application , coalition application , the common app vs. the coalition application , common app vs coalition app

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College Reality Check

Coalition Application vs. Common App: Which One is Easier to Complete

Submitting applications to different colleges can be stressful and exhausting. Fortunately, many US schools use centralized application systems, and two very popular ones are a Common Application (or Common App) and the Coalition Application (or Coalition App).

But since it takes a lot of time to fill either one, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could reuse them? And which one is easier to fill out.

Both the Coalition Application and Common App require students to meet all application requirements from their colleges of choice. But Common App may be easier to complete since it allows only listing more recent coursework, while the Coalition requires students to list all grades throughout high school.

Still, many students cannot decide which of the two application systems they should go for if the schools on their list accept both — many of them wonder which app can maximize their chance of getting accepted.

Read on if you are having a difficult time choosing between the two. Below, you will come across some of the most critical matters you need to know about the Common App and Coalition App.

Key Differences Between Common and Coalition Apps

It’s a good idea to know some of the main differences between the Common App and the Coalition app before choosing which of them you should go for, provided that the schools you are applying to use any of them.

Check out this table that compares the characteristics of the two application systems:

Before we proceed to the next topic, let’s make two things clear:

• It’s true that creating a Common App and Coalition App is free of charge. However, you will still have to pay the application fee the school you apply to will ask, although you may apply for a fee waiver.
• The application deadline for both the Common App and Coalition App may vary, depending on the school. So, in other words, these application systems follow the application deadlines of the schools using them.

Just because the Common App and the Coalition App are some of the most popular application systems in the US doesn’t mean that they are the perfect application systems on the face of the planet. Each has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, and knowing them can help you make an informed decision.

Common App Pros:

• Many schools use it. One of the biggest advantages of the Common App is that it’s being used by more than 900 schools. As a matter of fact, there are learning institutions outside the US that use the application system, too. More and more schools are being added to the list.
• More counselors and teachers use it, too. Because the Common App has been around for nearly five decades now, it isn’t surprising why more people are familiar with it. This can come in handy when students with Common App accounts need to ask for letters of recommendation from their counselors and teachers.
• Easier personal essays. There are a couple of reasons why many students might find it easier to write personal essays using the Common App. First, a total of seven essay prompts are available for them to choose from. Second, the minimum word count is set at 250.

Common App Cons:

• Slow technical response. Even though it’s been around since 1975, the Common App isn’t free of technical problems. It can be difficult to get technical support, especially when deadlines are fast approaching, as there are more than one million students that use the application system a year.
• Sluggish interface. Whether you are using the desktop site or mobile app, you may experience a slow-running user interface. The sluggishness is more noticeable before January 1 and November 1 when many students are rushing to beat the application deadline.

Coalition App Pros:

• Ideal for students on a tight budget. The full name of the Coalition App is “Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success”. Needless to say, schools that use the application system are willing to provide assistance to low-income, under-resourced and first-generation applicants.
• Has a locker feature. Students in the 9th grade can start having their Coalition App accounts. That’s because it allows them to save and organize videos, essays and other materials that can come in handy when it’s time for them to apply to their preferred colleges or universities.
• Collaboration with others is possible. It’s possible for students with Coalition App accounts to add people who can provide guidance or advice to improve their chance of getting accepted. Some of those that they may collaborate with include parents, teachers and counselors.

Coalition App Cons:

• Not all schools use it. Earlier, it was mentioned that there are only around 140 schools that use the Coalition App. The majority of them are prominent schools known for their steep tuition fees, such as the Ivy Leagues — all eight Ivy League schools use the Coalition app.
• Less user-friendly. Because the Coalition App has been around for only a few years now, it doesn’t come as a surprise why there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Many students who have already tried using the Coalition App say that the interface is not that intuitive and navigable.

Before we proceed with the next topic, let’s answer this question:

Using Common App essay as Coalition

If you have already written a Common App essay, you might be wondering if you can also use it for the Coalition application.

The answer is you can, but with some caveats.

Here are some tips on how to adapt your Common App essay for the Coalition prompts.

• Make sure your essay fits the word limit. The Common App essay has a maximum of 650 words, while the Coalition essay has a maximum of 550 words. You might need to trim some parts of your essay or rewrite some sentences to make it more concise.
• Make sure your essay aligns with the prompt. The Common App and the Coalition have different sets of essay prompts, although some of them overlap. You should choose a Coalition prompt that matches your Common App essay’s main theme or message. You might need to tweak your introduction or conclusion to make it more relevant to the prompt.
• Make sure your essay showcases your personality and values. The Coalition application emphasizes your involvement in your community and your commitment to social good. You should highlight these aspects of yourself in your essay, if possible. You might need to add some examples or anecdotes that demonstrate your character and goals.

Schools That Use Common App and Coalition App

To date, there are more than 900 colleges and universities that use the Common App. Some of these schools are even situated outside the US. If you would like to check out the list of schools that use the application system, click here . You can choose between map view and grid view, and arrange the names from A to Z or Z to A.

On the other hand, only around 140 schools use the Coalition App. You can click here to check out the complete list alphabetically or by categories such as public schools and private schools.

While they are very popular application systems, the Common App and the Coalition App are not being used by all US schools. So, in other words, these learning institutions have their own application systems.

Let’s take a look at some of these colleges and universities:

• Georgetown University
• Loyola University Chicago
• Brigham Young University
• United States Naval Academy
• United States Military Academy
• California State University system (CSU Bakersfield, Cal Maritime Academy, Sonoma State University, etc.)
• University of California system ( UC Berkeley , UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, UCLA, etc.)

Common App vs. Coalition: System Should You Use

Ultimately, the best way to decide which application platform to use is to consider your individual needs and preferences.

If you are looking for a platform that is widely accepted by colleges and universities, free to use, and offers a variety of essay prompts, then the Common App is a good option. If you are looking for a more personalized platform that encourages students to reflect on their experiences, then the Coalition App is a good option.

Here are some additional things to consider when making your decision:

• Which colleges and universities do you want to apply to?  Make sure the platform you choose is accepted by the schools on your list.
• How much time do you have to apply?  The Common App can be more time-consuming to complete than the Coalition App.
• What are your personal preferences?  Do you prefer a platform that is more traditional or more innovative?

Once you have considered all of these factors, you can decide which application platform to use.

Host of the "College Reality Check" podcast. Accepted to Northeastern, UMD, U of Illinois Urbana Champaign, UPitt, Drexel, Virginia Tech, and UMBC.

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Common App vs. Coalition App: Which One Should I Use to Apply for College?

You’ve probably heard about the Coalition Application and the Common Application, also known as the Common App. These two resources provide options to apply to and plan for college. But which one is right for your goals?

I’ve heard of both, but what are they? And which schools are on the Coalition App vs. Common App?

Coalition vs. common app: side-by-side comparison table, what’s the process like, what if i need help, do i have to pay a fee, do i need to write an essay, are both applications required for me to apply to colleges, which one should i use, wish you could apply for scholarships using a single application, too.

The Common Application, also referred to as the Common App, is a non-profit organization that connects student applicants with a variety of public and private colleges and universities throughout the U.S. (all 50 states) and 20 countries. Founded in 1975, the Common App is a resource for students to apply to college, look for financial aid assistance, and connect to resources for college counseling. The membership organization represents nearly 900 higher education institutions.

The Coalition for College was founded more recently, in 2015, and it represents more than 150 higher education institutions across the U.S. The Coalition is intended to improve the application process for high school students who come from historically underrepresented groups. It was designed to make the college application process more accessible with free counseling. Students are encouraged to prepare early, and Coalition assists them with planning for college and teaching them about the application process.

Both the Coalition and the Common App provide resources for high school students to apply for college and research financial aid options.

Here’s a quick run-down of how they compare. Or read on for more details.

With the Common Application, Students may apply to up to 20 colleges. As we’ve recommended, we think students should keep their college application list to 10 colleges at the max! So 20 colleges should be plenty. Students may see a preview of their application before they submit it.

The Coalition Application, on the other hand, does not have a college application limit, and shows the full application page, once it’s completed.

The Common App is known to have quick technical support, providing answers within the same day, and sometimes even the same hour of asking a question, through email, phone, and chat. They now support 24/7/365 email support. The Coalition Application may take longer to respond, as they do not offer phone or live chat support.

Both the Common App and the Coalition Application are free to use. If a college requires an application fee, then students will need to pay the application fee to the school when they submit their college applications. If you’d like to apply for an application fee waiver (often available for low-income students), we recommend contacting the college’s financial aid office for more information.

Yes. Each application contains an essay prompt asking students to describe an experience or story that shaped who they are . The Common App offers seven essay prompts (you choose one), and essays have a word limit of 650 words. 

The Coalition Application essay prompts are very similar, but may require different word limits, depending on what the college set as its preference.

Another item to note about the essay process is that the Common App requires students to enter their essay into a text box with minimal customization. Bold, italic, and underline font are the formatting options.

The Coalition Applications provides a bit more customization for submitting an essay . Students can upload a PDF or Word document, allowing for more creativity before uploading the document and submitting the essay.

You never have to submit applications to the same school on BOTH application platforms. Also, schools generally provide multiple methods for applying, and the Common App and Coalition App are simply two of the more popular options. 

You usually do not HAVE to apply with one or the other. That said, there are two general exceptions to this. First, three schools DO require all prospective students to apply using the Coalition Application: the University of Florida, University of Maryland, and University of Washington. And second, there are some schools that do not accept Common App submissions, such as Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Clemson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Elon.

This is entirely up to you. If you’re planning on attending one of the three state universities listed above (Florida, Maryland, or Washington), you’ll need to apply with the Coalition Application.

If you’re planning on attending college outside of the U.S., then the Common App might be a better option since it partners with schools in 20 countries, as well as in all 50 states in the U.S.

Keep in mind, if you’re applying to schools that use both application systems, we’ve seen some college admissions coaches recommend using the Common App . Although your choice of platform shouldn’t influence your chances of getting accepted, it seems that admissions officers might still personally prefer what they know best: the longer-running Common App. 

If you’re still unsure, talk to your guidance counselor to get a second opinion on what your counselor thinks might be best for you.

Well, you can. Going Merry is your one-stop shop for all things related to scholarships. ( Our founders were originally inspired by what the Common App did for college applications.)

What does that mean? You can find and apply for some scholarships on our website. You can request letters of recommendation, upload documents, and save essays. We even pre-fill your forms with your profile information. Sign up for free today .

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The Coalition Application: Everything You Need to Know

Reviewed by:

Former Admissions Committee Member, Columbia University

Reviewed: 4/26/24

Wondering what the Coalition App is? Curious about whether it’s the right college application portal for you? Our handy guide contains everything you need to know about the Coalition Application, including which colleges accept it and more. 

Navigating college applications is no small undertaking. Understanding which application platform to use, building a school list, and actually applying are only a few pieces of the process. 

The Coalition Application is one platform used to apply to colleges. Instead of filling out individual applications for every school, you can submit one application for multiple institutions.

So, what’s the difference between the Coalition Application and other platforms? And how do you complete your application? If you’re looking for answers about the Coalition Application, read on!

What is the Coalition Application?

The Coalition Application is a product of the Coalition for College , which is a group of 150+ colleges and universities that are “united in their mission to support lower-income, under-resourced, and/or first-generation students; to provide responsible financial aid; and to bolster students’ success in college—and beyond.” 

The Coalition Application is the online form on MyCoalition used to apply to any school that accepts it. You can enter general information about yourself and your family, submit recommendations from professors, and answer the essay prompts. The Coalition Application allows you to fill out one general application and submit it to several schools. 

Even if certain schools accept the Common Application and the Coalition Application, both applications carry the same weight. The only thing that should determine your choice of the two platforms is which is the best fit for you.

What Colleges Accept the Coalition Application?

There are over 150 U.S. schools that accept the Coalition Application. The Coalition has strict requirements for schools to join, which is why there are fewer member schools than the Common Application . These qualifications align with the Coalition’s mission: accessibility, affordability, and success.

Here are the qualifications to become a Coalition Application school:

• “Open to students of all backgrounds: cultural, socio-economic, and geographic
• Engage significant under-served and under-resourced populations
• Offer in-state tuition or meet full demonstrated need and/or graduate their students with low to no debt and low loan default rates
• Achieve high graduation rates, including strong rates for low income and under-represented students”

You can check out a list of schools that accept the Coalition Application on their website, but this table shows you which of the nation’s top-ranked schools accept the application: 

Notably, three of eight Ivy League schools don’t accept the Coalition Application: Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth. Before you start the application process through the Coalition Application, ensure the schools you want to apply for accept it!

The Coalition Application Timeline

The Coalition Application doesn’t have one specific opening date . Every member school determines its own application cycle timeline. However, the application cycle for each school usually opens between July and August. For example, most schools would open their applications in July or August 2022 for the 2022-2023 application cycle. 

The unique thing about the Coalition Application is that you don’t have to wait for the application to open to get started. You don’t even have to wait until you’re a senior in high school! With the Coalition Application, you can start filling out information about yourself as early as your first year of high school. 

Coalition Application Deadlines

Colleges can have different application deadlines. If you’re applying through Regular Decision, most schools set deadlines sometime in January. While there is no perfect time to start applying to colleges with the Coalition App, the best approach is to start as early as possible. 

If you start filling out your information in ninth grade, that’s great! You’ll have less work to do senior year. If you don’t start until the summer before your senior year of high school, that’s okay, too!

MyCoalition is another handy tool to manage deadlines and build your school list. This list will allow you to easily access all deadlines for those schools, so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of scattered deadlines. They’ll all be in one place!

Tips to Complete The Coalition Application

There are two main pieces of the Coalition Application: the profile and the essays. We’ll cover all the information required for your profile.

Here is the information that the Coalition Application asks you to put in your profile:

• Personal information (name, pronouns, date of birth, etc.)
• Contact information
• Citizenship information
• Demographics
• Academic interests
• Payment & financial aid
• Household information (parents and siblings)
• School information
• Current status (enrollment status, expected graduation date, GPA, etc.)
• School counselor information
• High school coursework
• Information about past college credits
• Honors & distinctions
• Activities & experiences
• Test scores (SAT, ACT, AP, IB, A-Levels, English proficiency tests, international tests) Not every piece of info on this list applies to every applicant. For example, domestic applicants don’t need to take international tests. When filling out your Coalition profile, we can offer you three main pieces of advice. 

Gather the Information Required

The profile asks for a lot of information about you, your family, and your school. If you’re trying to search for the information you need at the same time as filling out the profile, it might make the experience more stressful.

Doing these things before you sit down to enter your information can make the process smoother: 

• Talk to your parents about gathering their information
• Get a list of all the classes you’ve taken in high school (if you don’t have one, you can ask your guidance counselor) 
• Gather a list of all the extracurricular activities you’ve done 

By getting all this information in one place, you’ll make the process of filling out this part of the application significantly more manageable. A huge advantage of using application platforms like the Coalition Application is that once you fill out your information once, you won’t have to do it again. 

Start Early

The sooner you build your Coalition profile, the less you’ll have to do in one sitting. For example, if you start working on your profile in your first year of high school, you won’t have much to do by the time you reach your senior year.

Plus, if you need to reach out to your guidance counselor or other family members for more information, you’ll want to give them enough time to gather it for you. Starting early allows them time for that, and gives you more time to work on your application essays .

Stay Organized and Ahead of Deadlines

Since every school has its own application deadline, staying organized is crucial. Keep all your application materials in one place; you can use the Coalition Application’s “Locker” feature to keep everything together. 

Whether you use a digital planner, calendar, or notebook, ensure you jot down all crucial deadlines for the schools you want to apply to. You don’t want to miss financial aid or application deadlines! 

The Coalition Application Essays

Most of the Coalition Application schools require you to write at least one essay from the list of Coalition essay prompts. You should be prepared to write at least two essays: one for the Coalition and at least one for the college you're applying to. However, some schools you apply to may require more than one.

There is no minimum or maximum word count for each prompt, but the Coalition suggests you aim for somewhere between 500 and 650 words. These are the Coalition Application essay prompts :

1. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

2. What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?

3. Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?

4. Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?

5. What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?

6. Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

It doesn’t matter which Coalition App prompt you choose, as long your writing showcases your personality, experiences, and why you’re a stellar applicant. Remember to mind the word limit, write concisely, and use vivid imagery to make your narrative pop. 

FAQs: Coalition App

Do you have more questions about the Coalition Application? Read on to have all your burning questions answered! 

1. How Do I Know If I Should Use the Coalition Application?

While every platform has its benefits, the Coalition Application is designed for “students from disadvantaged backgrounds—including lower-income, under-resourced, and/or first-generation students.” The Coalition Application is structured to help these kinds of students, with many different resources to guide you through the process.

If you want to take advantage of the Coalition Application’s tools and the colleges you want to apply to are members, then this application might be the best fit for you!

2. What’s the Difference Between the Coalition App and Common App? 

There are a few differences between these application portals: 

• The Common Application has more member colleges (over 900)
• The Coalition Application has more features, including a “Locker” to store materials
• The Coalition Application was created to make it easier for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to apply to college
• The Common App allows you to apply to only 20 colleges, whereas the Coalition Application has no limits 

These are just some key differences: pick whichever application works better for you! 

3. Is It Better to Apply with the Coalition App or Common App? 

If the schools you want to apply to accept both applications, you can choose whichever you want to use. However, if your top school is Dartmouth College, Brown University, or another college that isn’t a member, it’s better to choose the Common App. 

4. When Do I Start My Coalition Application?

For the Coalition Application, you don’t have to wait until the summer before your senior year to begin your application. You can start as early as ninth grade or any time between then and your senior year of high school!

5. Does Using the Coalition Application Impact My Chances of Acceptance?

No, using the Coalition Application does not change your chances of acceptance. What matters about your application is that it's about you — not the kind of application you use.

6. How Many Essays Do You Have to Write Using the Coalition Application? 

You’re required to write one personal statement, although you may need to write other school-specific supplemental essays. 

7. How Many Schools Can I Apply to with the Coalition Application?

Unlike the Common Application, you can use the Coalition Application to apply to as many member schools as you want! 

8. Which Ivy League Schools Accept the Coalition Application? 

Princeton, Harvard, UPenn, Columbia, and Yale accept the Coalition App, while Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth don’t. 

9. When Is the Coalition Application Deadline? 

There isn’t a universal deadline for the Coalition App. Instead, you’ll need to check with the schools you’re applying to for deadlines.

Making College Application Easier With The Coalition App

The college application process can be overwhelming at first, but understanding the Coalition Application can help reduce stress. The Coalition Application has many resources for you to use so that applying to college is as easy as possible. You can start entering information as early as ninth grade, so you don’t have to wait until senior year to get started.

Remember to start early, stay organized, and most importantly, be yourself! As long as you keep these things in mind and use the resources offered by the Coalition Application, you’ll be sailing through the college application process in no time.

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These Grieving Parents Want Congress to Protect Children Online

A group is using the Mothers Against Drunk Driving playbook, sharing personal tragedies, to lobby for the Kids Online Safety Act.

Kristin Bride, a member of ParentsSOS, next to an apple tree she planted after her son Carson’s suicide in 2020. The apple’s variety is Sweet Sixteen, Carson’s age when he died. Credit... Amanda Lucier for The New York Times

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By Cecilia Kang

Reporting from Washington

• June 22, 2024

Deb Schmill has become a fixture on Capitol Hill. Last week alone, she visited the offices of 13 lawmakers, one of more than a dozen trips she has made from her home near Boston over the past two years.

In each meeting, Ms. Schmill talks about her daughter Becca, who died in 2020 at age 18. Ms. Schmill said Becca had died after taking fentanyl-laced drugs bought on Facebook. Before that, she said, her daughter was raped by a boy she had met online, then was cyberbullied on Snapchat.

“I have to do what I can to help pass legislation to protect other children and to prevent what happened to Becca from happening to them,” Ms. Schmill, 60, said. “It’s my coping mechanism.”

Ms. Schmill is among dozens of parents who are lobbying for the Kids Online Safety Act , or KOSA, a bill that would require social media, gaming and messaging apps to limit features that could heighten depression or bullying or lead to sexual exploitation. The bill, which has the greatest momentum of any broad tech industry legislation in years, would also require the tech services to turn on the highest privacy and safety settings by default for users under 17 and let youths opt out of some features that can lead to compulsive use.

Modeling themselves in part on Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which pushed for the 1984 federal law mandating a minimum drinking age of 21, about 20 of the parents have formed a group called ParentsSOS. Like members of MADD, the parents carry photos of their children who they say lost their lives because of social media, and explain their personal tragedies to legislators.

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The economic recklessness of both France’s hard left and hard right

They favour soaking the rich, big spending and business-bashing.

W ITHIN TWO weeks France could have a hard-left or hard-right government. That prospect has led to alarm in financial markets and to claim and counter-claim about each bloc’s economic policies and the damage that might result. The French will vote in two rounds on June 30th and July 7th, after President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly called a parliamentary election , shocking even his closest allies and business. On Friday 21st he said he was “confident in French people, their intelligence, their strength”. But several new opinion polls published over the subsequent weekend show the hard right continues to be in the lead, with a left-wing coalition running second.

Both blocs’ agendas are “dangerous for the economy”, according to Patrick Martin, the head of MEDEF , a business federation. The hard left’s tax and spending splurge could lead to a “catastrophe”, according to Olivier Blanchard of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while the hard-right’s programme “is like a Christmas tree, without logic or coherence”. Although neither bloc may gain a majority in parliament, France has high levels of public debt and a large deficit. As a result the public finances are more vulnerable than in the past to any divergence from centrist policies or political gridlock, while the national interest bill will swell if spiking risk-premiums become permanently embedded in financial markets.

On the hard right, Marine Le Pen’s total yearly net spending promises when she ran for president in 2022 amounted to a massive €102bn ($109bn), according to the Institut Montaigne, a liberal think-tank. This would be the equivalent of about 3.5% of GDP . Back then extravagant promises cost her little; she was never expected to win. Now that her party, National Rally ( RN ), is leading in the polls, the prospect of power and jitteriness of markets means it is trying to temper some of its pledges and postpone costly extravagances.

Jordan Bardella , Ms Le Pen’s 28-year-old protégé and her candidate to become the next prime minister, now says that only some of the party’s promises would be put in place right away. The main immediate fiscal change would be to lower the rate of VAT on energy and motor-fuel bills from 20% to 5.5%. The Institut Montaigne calculates this would cost up to €13.6bn a year. Mr Bardella wants to conduct an “audit” of public finances, presumably to secure a pretext for delaying costly pledges. The timetable for other party promises is vague.

The RN wants to cut payroll taxes in order to encourage firms to raise low-level salaries by 10%, which would carry a yearly cost of €10.5bn, according to economists at Allianz, an insurer. Mr Bardella promises to strike down Mr Macron’s pension reform, which raised the legal minimum retirement age from 62 years to 64; but now says that this would be “progressive”. He pledges that those who started work at 20 can retire at 60, which Allianz estimates would cost €17bn a year, including a promised hike in the minimum pension.

Set against this, Mr Bardella resorts to the familiar claim that money could be saved by curbing fraud, improving efficiency and closing tax loopholes. Social-security bills, he says, would be reduced by tightening up on immigration. Setting France up for a full-frontal potential clash with the European Union, he also claims that he would negotiate a €2bn-3bn cut in the country’s contribution to the EU budget (€21.6bn this year) and pull France out of the EU ’s electricity-sharing arrangement, which it says limits France’s ability to pass on the benefits of producing relatively cheap nuclear power to consumers. The RN also wants to restore the wealth tax, which used to apply yearly on all assets worth over €1.3m; Mr Macron replaced it with a form of “mansion tax” that applies only to property over that value.

Allianz estimates the RN ’s total yearly spending pledges, excluding a plan to nationalise motorways, would amount to €74bn, with a net yearly cost of €18bn, excluding the reversal of the pension reform. Even factoring in extra tax revenues and savings, Allianz calculates that the RN ’s plans would push the annual deficit up to 6.4% of GDP by 2026.

A swerve left

The left-wing alliance, dominated by Unsubmissive France, the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon (pictured), a one-time Trotskyist, has even more ambitious tax-and-spending plans. Known as the New Popular Front ( NFP ), this movement wants to raise the minimum wage by 14%, which the Institut Montaigne estimates would cost €3.5bn a year. Its pledge to cap energy prices and those of other “essential items”, such as basic food, would cost a further €24bn a year, says the institute. Other measures include striking down Mr Macron’s pension reform, reintroducing the wealth tax, bringing in an “exit tax” for those leaving the country, scrapping France’s 30% flat tax on financial income, increasing inheritance tax and imposing a tax on “super profits”, whatever they mean by those. “For a lot of companies it’s going to be a shock,” said Eric Coquerel, from Mr Mélenchon’s party.

On June 21st the alliance, which is advised by a coterie of left-wing economists, among them Thomas Piketty, laid out its plans. It says the total new annual spending would come to €25bn in 2024, €100bn in 2025 and €150bn by 2027, and claims that this expenditure would be covered by extra revenues, notably from extra taxation, mostly on high-earners, financial assets and firms. Among the measures the NFP would introduce is a new wealth tax, which it says would raise €15bn, with a further €15bn from taxing “super profits”. It will also raise public-sector pay and housing benefit, and make all state-school meals and supplies free to all. The bill, it says, is nothing next to the “€100bn of money paid out to shareholders by the top 40 quoted companies in 2023”.

The left-wing alliance argues that it is putting forward a stimulus package that will help relaunch the French economy, and put an end to what it calls “a policy of austerity” under Mr Macron. Valérie Rabault, a Socialist member of the alliance, heroically projects GDP growth of at least 3% in 2025 and 2026—roughly double the forecasts of the Bank of France. Her forecasts for the budget deficit do not see a return to below 3% of GDP , as required by euro-zone rules, over the next five years. Mr Blanchard argues the result would be an exodus of entrepreneurs, and that the increase in the minimum wage would make employment costs unsustainable for many businesses and prompt redundancies.

Walk on the wild side

The optimistic view of all this is that French politicians often make wild economic promises but they are rarely enacted. Neither the hard left nor hard right may win an outright majority in parliament, which would mean political gridlock or coalition negotiations rather than unconstrained radicalism. Whoever makes up the next government will also be disciplined by the financial markets, this argument goes. Mr Bardella’s back-pedalling hints that the RN has realised this, and is beginning to manage voters’ expectations as well as to try to calm the markets. As it comes under scrutiny the left-wing alliance may need to do the same, although its fiery anti-capitalist rhetoric suggests it will find this hard.

A more pessimistic view is that France is vulnerable, more so than in the past. Its ratio of public debt to GDP has risen from 66% two decades ago to 112% now, and it is running a fiscal deficit of over 5% of GDP . In order to stabilise and reduce its debt load it needs pragmatic economic policies. New projections from Goldman Sachs, a bank, show debt to GDP rising slightly further under the status quo or a parliamentary deadlock. In the event of a hard-left or hard-right government it could jump to as high as 120% of GDP by 2027.

On June 21st yields on France’s ten-year bonds were 0.8 percentage points higher than for German ones, the biggest gap since 2012 and a rise of about 0.3 percentage points since Mr Macron called the election. If sustained these higher yields will eventually mean higher interest bills, adding to the fiscal strain. The political outcome of Mr Macron’s snap election remains highly uncertain, but economically it may come to be seen as marking the end of the centrist agenda of the past decade and the start of a more turbulent era. ■

To stay on top of the biggest European stories, sign up to  Café Europa , our weekly subscriber-only newsletter.

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Election latest: Another Tory under investigation over election bets - as Labour to return £100,000 in donations

A former Tory candidate who was dropped for betting on the date of the election has vowed to clear his name, as the Labour Party and more police officers also become embroiled in the escalating scandal.

Tuesday 25 June 2024 20:01, UK

• General Election 2024

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Election betting scandal

• Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge is live - watch in stream above
• Labour candidate suspended | Party to return donations
• Welsh Conservative under investigation
• Dropped Tory candidate vows to 'clear name'
• More police officers accused of betting on election date
• Jon Craig: This has exposed quite a sleazy side of politics
• Live reporting by Faith Ridler and (earlier)  Tim Baker
• Car crash outside PM's country house
• Four arrested in grounds of Sunak's constituency home
• Reform drops in new poll after Farage's Putin comments
• Starmer says children 'worried' about possible move into No 10

Election essentials

• Manifesto pledges: Alliance | Conservatives | DUP | Greens | Labour | Lib Dems | Plaid | Reform | SNP | Sinn Fein | Workers
• Trackers:  Who's leading polls? | Is PM keeping promises?
• Campaign Heritage: Memorable moments from elections gone by
• Follow Sky's politics podcasts: Electoral Dysfunction | Politics At Jack And Sam's
• Read more:  Who is standing down? | Key seats to watch | What counts as voter ID? | Check if your constituency is changing | Guide to election lingo | How to watch election on Sky News

Rhun ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid Cymru, was also asked about a manifesto commitment to make it a criminal offence for elected politicians to knowingly mislead the public.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson was suspended from parliament for misleading the Commons - does Mr Iorwerth think he should go to prison?

He says legislation to "make it clear there are consequences if you are found to be purposefully deceptive" could be "part of the world of building trust in politicians and politics".

It's noted how difficult it would be to prove someone had purposefully deceived parliament.

Building that trust is a key focus for his party, he says.

"We believe this is important because one of the questions that I've been asked a lot during the course of this election campaign and MPs over the past year, is how do we build trust in politicians?"

That brings our coverage of tonight's Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge to an end, but the show returns tomorrow at 7pm. Stick with us for more news and analysis throughout the evening.

Sophy Ridge  asks about a report into Plaid Cymru, published before Rhun ap Iorwerth became leader, which found "a culture of harassment, bullying, and misogyny".

Has he cleaned up the party's act?

"It was a difficult time for us," Mr Iorwerth admits. "We commissioned this report on ourselves. 

"And, you know, there's a suggestion that other political parties may well benefit from doing the same themselves.

"But this was our moment."

Mr Iorwerth adds that Plaid Cymru has been "through a wake-up" and have "ticked off" all 82 recommendations the report made.

Russell George, a Conservative member of the Senedd, has stepped back from the Welsh shadow cabinet as he faces an investigation by the gambling watchdog over alleged bets on the timing of the general election.

Mr George represents Montgomeryshire in the Welsh parliament - the same area that Craig Williams, the Tory candidate who has had party support withdrawn as he faces similar allegations, represented at Westminster.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said: "Russell George has informed me that he has received a letter from the Gambling Commission regarding bets on the timing of the general election.

"Russell George has stepped back from the Welsh Conservative shadow cabinet while these investigations are ongoing.

"All other members of the Welsh Conservative Group have confirmed that they have not placed any bets.

"I will not issue further comment on this ongoing process, recognising the Gambling Commission's instruction for confidentiality to protect the integrity of the process."

Joining  Sophy Ridge  tonight for the latest in her Leaders Interviews series is Rhun ap Iorwerth of Plaid Cymru.

She begins with her usual first question: Why should people vote for Plaid Cymru?

Mr Iorwerth says the reason to vote for his pro-independence party is "clearer than usual".

He adds: "We really need to make sure that the MPs we have really do speak up for Wales, which are guaranteed in Plaid Cymru. 

"But also we kind of know where this is going to end don't we? In terms of Downing Street. 

"Sir Keir Starmer will be the prime minister two weeks from now. We need to be holding him and his government to account for the people of Wales."

But Sophy points out that much of Plaid Cymru's manifesto is similar to that of Scottish Labour.

Mr Iorwerth disagrees, pointing to his party's desire to scrap the two-child benefit cap and reassess the country's relationship with the EU.

"We want to make sure that there's investment in Wales through the £4bn owed to us from the HS2 rail project in England, which Labour is flatly ignoring," he adds.

By Tom Cheshire , online campaign correspondent

There are two ways to reach voters online: pay for your adverts to end up in front of them - or produce content yourself that gets attention.

Throughout the election, we've been tracking the first of those. Labour have been the big digital spenders, with the Conservatives second, and then everyone else a very distant third.

But throwing money at it doesn't necessarily fix the attention problem. 

And some of those spending the least are getting the most interactions, with the Reform UK party doing by far the best.

Reform is also seeing the most page growth, with 32,000 new followers.

The Conservative Party by comparison has seen much slower growth, just 0.08%. 

That's only 596 more people clicking follow over the course of the election, speaking to a spluttering campaign.

Returning to the gambling scandal, former Tory MP Tim Loughton tells  Sophy Ridge  anyone involved "should have the book thrown at them, frankly just for them being pretty dumb".

"It just looks really, really stupid," he says. 

He explains that suspending anyone is effectively a death sentence for potentially innocent candidates standing in elections, and that Rishi Sunak waiting for an investigation before doing so wasn't a bad idea.

"It was right to look at it properly," he adds - but reiterates that it doesn't look good for anyone involved.

Tory peer Baroness Nicky Morgan is asked by  Sophy Ridge  if the campaigning is all but pointless - with the only Conservative aim to avoid Labour winning a so-called "supermajority". 

"In my book, you never give up until 10pm on polling night," she says, noting occasions where final votes on election night have made the difference.

"I don't think the British public would want a government to have a huge majority," she adds.

"I don't think it's good for democracy, for holding a government to account."

She concedes that after 14 years it "was always going to be a battle" to convince the public for a further five. 

On the recent gambling scandal, she says: "The more you're talking about things like betting, the less you're talking about the issues that people really want to hear about."

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass in the grounds of the prime minister's home, police have confirmed.

The incident took place at Rishi Sunak's constituency address in Kirby Sigston, North Yorkshire, while he was attending events linked to the Japanese state visit in London.

A statement from the local force said officers were "with the four men within one minute of them entering the grounds".

The arrests are connected to a protest by the Youth Demand campaign group, which has staged a number of actions against both the Conservative government's performance and Labour's proposed policies.

A spokesperson for the group said three of those arrested were taking part in the demonstration, while a fourth was an independent photographer.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "We have arrested four people in the grounds of the prime minister's constituency home this afternoon.

"Our officers were with the four men within one minute of them entering the grounds.

"They were detained at around 12.40pm before being escorted off the property and arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

"The men aged 52 from London, 43 from Bolton, 21 from Manchester, and 20 from Chichester, remain in police custody for questioning and enquiries are ongoing."

Baroness Nicky Morgan, the former Tory education secretary, has said the time spent talking about the betting scandal is "frustrating" in the midst of a general election campaign.

The Conservatives today withdrew support for two candidates over informed betting on the date of the election, while Labour suspended a candidate for betting against himself.

Baroness Morgan told Sophy Ridge : "It's clearly been a very difficult couple of weeks, and I'm on record of having said I wished the prime minister had taken a decision sooner.

"I think the right decision has been taken today and I understand that Conservative HQ checked with the Gambling Commission before announcing to make sure that their action wasn't going to prejudice any investigations.

"Unfortunately these kinds of stories, because they are relatively simple to understand… people of course will internalise this and think 'Hang on a second, is this what I want to vote for?'.

"This is an election campaign, there are serious issues facing the country and facing the world.

"The time spent talking about these issues is frustrating for those, including the prime minister, who want to talk about the bigger issues."

Our chief political correspondent  Jon Craig   is here to break down the day's betting scandal events. 

He begins with the Tories. 

"For days and days and days both [Rishi Sunak] and senior ministers like James Cleverly have been saying, 'oh, we can't talk about it' - well that hasn't worked," he says. 

"Craig Williams, he's not going to go away quietly," he adds, noting the candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr's "defiant" message on X, which you can watch here .

He also notes that postal votes have already been going in in the midst of this scandal - meaning slow Tory action could already be directly impacting the polls

Jon next turns to Labour. 

A reminder that in the last few hours, a Labour candidate has been suspended by the party after betting against himself - with the Gambling Commission launching an investigation into him.

"So Labour have [also been] dragged into this, it's not good is it?" he asks. 

"If a footballer or a cricketer did this, the authorities would probably throw the book at them.

"All this betting, it's exposed quite a sleazy side of politics."

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