Which Schools Use the Coalition Application? Complete List (2024)

Ah, October. The changing of the leaves, the onset of autumn allergies...and the knowledge for high school seniors that, slowly but surely, college application deadlines are drawing ever nearer.

If you're applying to schools in the U.S., you've probably heard of the Common App before, but you may not know about the relatively new Coalition Application.

The Coalition Application works pretty much the same way as the Common App—it's an online application that you only have to fill out once (aside from supplements for certain schools). This centralized application system is a big time saver if you're applying to multiple Coalition Application schools.

To help you figure out if you can use the Coalition Application for the schools on your college wishlist, we've listed all the current Coalition Application schools in this article, broken down by state.

What Is the Coalition Application?

The Coalition Application is a centralized college application, first pioneered in 2016 by the Coalition for College Access, Affordability, and Success (often just referred to as the Coalition for College Access).

For colleges to use the Coalition Application, they must meet the following criteria:

• Be open to students of different cultural, socio-economic, and geographic backgrounds
• Have low or no-debt financial aid, meet full demonstrated need, or offer in-state tuition
• Have high graduation rates (for low-income and under-represented students as well as overall)

What this means for you as an applicant is that instead of having to fill out separate applications for each school, you can instead fill out one central application (the Coalition Application) and submit it to whatever Coalition schools you want to apply to.

In addition, because of the eligibility criteria schools have to meet to use the Coalition App, you can be at least somewhat assured that you're likely to graduate and that when you do, you won't be carting along a boatload full of student loan debt.

However, just because schools accept the Coalition Application doesn't mean that you can apply to dozens of schools with just one click.

Many of the Coalition schools have application supplements you have to submit, which can be anything from a couple of informational questions answered with a drop-down menu to multiple additional essays.Plus, each school has its own application fee (although the Coalition Application does allow eligible low-income students and U.S. armed forces vets or active members to waive this fee).

When you stare into the eyes of the piggy bank, the piggy bank stares back also. Luckily, the Coalition app makes it easy to waive fees if you're eligible—no need to trouble Mr. Waddles.

Who Uses the Coalition Application?

More than 150 schools use the Coalition Application, including colleges in 35 states and Washington, DC.

Because of the Coalition for College Access's commitment to affordability, there is a mix of both public and private schools who use the Coalition Application, including schools in the University of Washington (WA), Rutgers (NJ), and SUNY (NY) systems.

Public schools on the list tend to offer free or low-cost in-state tuition, while private schools offer loan-free (or no-loan) financial aid or aid that fully meets demonstrated need.

The requirement that students at Coalition colleges have high graduation rates (for low income and under-represented students in particular) means that schools that accept the Coalition Application tend both to be strong academically and offer a good support system for their students. Being able to apply to these public schools through a centralized application system like the Coalition Application is a huge boon to students who aren't exclusively applying to schools in the same university system.

Finally, the Coalition Application is accepted by the following highly selective colleges and universities:

• Three of the eight Ivy League schools (Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale).
• Many other highly selective universities, including Stanford, UChicago, Caltech, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins.
• Top liberal arts colleges, including Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, and Middlebury.
• Highly-ranked public schools like the College of William and Mary, University of Florida, UMich (Ann Arbor), and UT Austin.

Complete List of Coalition Application Schools

And now, for the moment you've been waiting for: a list of all the schools that accept the Coalition Application.

Currently, over 100 schools (all in the United States) accept the Coalition Application, but we'll be sure to keep this blog post updated with any changes.

The following list is organized alphabetically by state. If you want to find out if a specific school uses the coalition app, you can search this page for it using ctrl + F.

Alabama

• Birmingham-Southern College

Alaska

NONE

Arizona

• Arizona State University
• University of Arizona

Arkansas

NONE

California

• California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
• Claremont McKenna College
• Harvey Mudd College
• Loyola Marymount University
• Occidental College
• Pomona College
• St. Mary's College of California
• Stanford University
• University of La Verne

Colorado

• Colorado College

Connecticut

• Eastern Connecticut State University
• University of Connecticut
• Wesleyan University
• Yale University

Delaware

• University of Delaware

Washington, DC

• American University

Florida

• Florida Southern College
• Palm Beach Atlantic University
• Rollins College
• University of Florida
• University of Tampa

When I look at this picture of the Rollins College campus, I don't at all regret going to college in New England. Not one bit. Especially not in December-March. Katy Warner/Flickr.

Georgia

• Emory University
• Oglethorpe University
• University of Georgia

Hawaii

• Chaminade University of Honolulu
• University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Idaho

NONE

Illinois

• Illinois College
• Illinois State University
• Knox College
• Lewis University
• Loyola University Chicago
• Northwestern University
• University of Chicago
• University of Illinois Springfield

Indiana

• DePauw University
• Indiana University—Bloomington
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• University of Notre Dame

Iowa

• University of Iowa

Kansas

NONE

Kentucky

• Berea College
• University of Kentucky

Louisiana

• Centenary College of Louisiana

Maine

• Bates College
• Bowdoin College
• Colby College
• Maine Maritime Academy
• University of New England

The Bowdoin Bear not only serves as a memorial to Bowdoin alum and North Pole discoverer Admiral Peary—it also serves as a warning to prospective students of what Maine winters are like. Seth Glickman/Flickr.

Maryland

• Johns Hopkins University
• Maryland Institute College of Art
• St. John's College
• St. Mary's College of Maryland
• University of Maryland

Massachusetts

• Amherst College
• Babson College
• Boston University
• Clark University
• College of the Holy Cross
• Harvard University
• Mount Holyoke College
• New England Conservatory of Music
• Northeastern University
• Franklin W. Olin College Of Engineering
• Smith College
• Tufts University
• University of Massachusetts--Lowell
• Wellesley College
• Wheaton College
• Williams College

Michigan

• Hope College
• Michigan State University
• University of Michigan

Minnesota

• Carleton College
• St. Olaf College

Mississippi

Missouri

• Maryville University of Saint Louis
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Webster University

Montana

NONE

Nebraska

• University of Nebraska—Lincoln

Nevada

NONE

New Hampshire

NONE

New Jersey

• Drew University
• Princeton University
• Ramapo College of New Jersey
• Rutgers University—Camden
• Rutgers University—New Brunswick
• Rutgers University—Newark
• The College of New Jersey

New Mexico

• St. John's College

New York

• Bard College
• Barnard College
• Binghamton University
• Colgate University
• Columbia University
• Hamilton College
• Hobart and William Smith Colleges
• Le Moyne College
• Manhattan College
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Skidmore College
• SUNY Stony Brook (Stony Brook University)
• Syracuse University
• Union College
• University at Buffalo
• University of Rochester
• Vassar College

North Carolina

• Davidson College
• Duke University
• High Point University
• North Carolina State University
• UNC Chapel Hill
• UNC Charlotte
• Wake Forest University
• Western Carolina University

UNC Libraries Commons/Flickr

North Dakota

NONE

Ohio

• Case Western Reserve University
• College of Wooster
• Denison University
• Kenyon College
• Miami University
• Oberlin College
• Ohio Wesleyan University
• University of Dayton

Oklahoma

• University of Oklahoma

Oregon

• Portland State University
• Reed College
• University of Oregon

Pennsylvania

• Allegheny College
• Acadia University
• Bryn Mawr College
• Bucknell University
• Chatham University
• Drexel University
• Duquesne University
• Franklin & Marshall College
• Haverford College
• La Salle University
• Lehigh University
• Lycoming College
• Marywood University
• Mercyhurst University
• Penn State
• Robert Morris University
• Swarthmore College
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of Pittsburgh
• Washington and Jefferson College
• Westminster College
• Wilkes University
• York College of Pennsylvania

Riepe College, University of Pennsylvania. Chris Potako/Flickr.

Rhode Island

NONE

South Carolina

• Clemson University
• Furman University
• University of South Carolina

South Dakota

NONE

Tennessee

• Vanderbilt University

Texas

• Austin College
• Rice University
• Southern Methodist University
• Southwestern University
• St. Edward's University
• St. Mary's University
• Texas A&M University
• Texas Christian University
• Trinity University
• University of the Incarnate Word
• The University of Texas at Austin

Utah

NONE

Vermont

• Middlebury College
• University of Vermont

Virginia

• University of Richmond
• Virginia Tech

Washington

• University of Washington—Bothell
• University of Washington—Seattle
• Whitman College

West Virginia

NONE

Wisconsin

• Beloit College
• Lawrence University
• Marquette University
• St. Norbert College

Wyoming

NONE

Buh-loyt? Bell-wah? Below-it? Only one way to find out: visit Wisconsin! (NB: not actually the only way.)

(Robin Zebrowski/Flickr)

What's Next?

The Coalition App isn't the only centralized application system in town. Find out which schools use the Common Application and which schools use the Universal College Application.

Should you use the Common App or the Coalition App to apply to college? Our expert guide breaks down the pros and cons of each system.

What about schools that aren't on either the Coalition or Common Application? We have specialized guides to popular schools that fit into that category, including Georgetown, most ApplyTexas schools, and the University of California system.

Application systems aside, how do you figure out what colleges belong on your wishlist to begin with? Learn more about how to figure out what colleges you should apply to here.