Heard About The Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success?

If you haven’t, you’re not alone. The Coalition is a new group of colleges and universities whose mission is to make college more accessible and affordable, especially for underserved kids. Members of the Coalition include public universities that have affordable tuition along with need-based financial aid for in-state residents, and private colleges that provide financial aid to meet the full, demonstrated need of every domestic student they admit. One way that the Coalition will accomplish its goals is by creating a site with free tools that will allow all high school students, from freshman year forward, to begin formulating a college plan and assembling information that they will need for their applications. By providing a college tool that targets students long before senior year, Coalition members believe they will improve access to college for all. One part of the site, which should be available this April, is called The College Locker – a private virtual storage space where students can upload artwork, projects, essays, and awards that they have accumulated during each year of high school. When the time comes to apply to college, all those stored items will be easily transferred to the next tool – the Application. The Application will be accepted by all members of the Coalition. As with the Common App, students will be able to apply to multiple schools using this one portal. The application portion of the site should be available over the summer. The Coalition hopes it will be a simpler, less daunting form that will encourage students to dive in. To view the 91 schools that are part of the Coalition, click here. Another tool planned by the Coalition is a collaborative platform, which will allow teachers, mentors and counselors to send information about the student to the site and to read materials already there. If you’re wondering, as we were, if this affects whether or not these schools will still take the Common App or their State’s application, the answer is yes, they will. College Fit 360 will stay on the case and keep you updated as more information about the Coalition becomes available. In the meantime, if you want to read more, click here.