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Many moons ago, back when your parents were likely applying to college, you had to mail away for each college's unique application, get out the typewriter to complete the application, and put it back into the mail.
As a result, your parents likely only applied to a very few schools. Now, the process has gotten "simpler," but not really. Here are a few different ways to apply to colleges. |
The Common Application
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A group of universities banded together to streamline the application process. From this was born the Common Application, or the Common App. And starting in 2016, there's another player in town, the Coalition.
You'll need to create an account with login and password, which you should write down and remember! The Common App consists of a few parts: Common parts that go to all universities
After you complete the Common Application, you must pay and then click boxes and sign. You're application is not complete until you sign. The information from the Common App only goes in one direction, from you to the Common App to the University. To check your application status, you will often receive an email directly from the university asking you to create a university-specific login and password. Do this immediately, write it down, and don't forget it! These videos can help you with the Common Application, including how to add teachers to the form.
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The Coalition is another application portal that's starting in April 2016. You can read about its mission here. As we learn more, we'll update this site.
College-specific applications
Some schools still have their own unique application. To complete this application, you'll need to enter all of the required information into the form.
Sometimes universities use a different website called ApplyWeb to host their applications. This site works differently than the Common App in that it often doesn't allow as much information to transfer from one school's application to another.
Sometimes universities use a different website called ApplyWeb to host their applications. This site works differently than the Common App in that it often doesn't allow as much information to transfer from one school's application to another.
Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success
In 2015 a group of universities banded together to compete with the Common App. This group, the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success should have applications available for the 2016 application cycle. As the CAAS is new, we don't have much information about it. Although, you can read more about the CAAS in this Inside Higher Ed article.