Let's Talk about the Coalition

For the past decade, there has been two main avenues to apply to college: the Common Application and applying through the college website. Well, it's about to time to add a third option in there, as the Coalition Application has opened for business for the 2016-2017 college application year. In this post, I want to help students and parents understand what the Coalition is all about and how/when/if it should be used during the college process. We will all know much more as the fall approaches, but as of June, 2016, this is what I know...

What is this Coalition? 
The official name of the Coalition is "The Coalition for Access and Affordability". This idea was put into motion two years ago when the Common Application infamously crashed during the peak application season, causing students, school counselors, and admissions professionals to basically panic. It was not a pretty scene, and a few top colleges began thinking of new ways to improve the entire application process for everyone involved. In the fall of 2015, these colleges presented the Coalition, which is basically a new way to apply to numerous schools, using one application, just like the Common Application...but hopefully better. As of today, there are over 90 colleges and universities that have agreed to take part in the Coalition, and are "potentially" ready to use this next year.

How is the Coalition Different? 
Just like the Common Application, the Coalition allows students to create one account, complete an application, and send it to many colleges, which saves time and sanity, and keeps things more organized. However, unlike the Common Application, which has over 600 members, the Coalition is a bit more exclusive. In order to join this alliance, the college must have a graduation rate of at least 70% in 6 years (national average is much lower), and must be affordable. For state colleges, the schools must be affordable with help of in-state tuition and need-based financial aid, and private schools must meet 100% of the student's demonstrated financial need. One of the goals of the Coalition is to eliminate some of the barriers to attending college, and to help all students learn about and apply to great institutions across the country.

So what is the Deal with this Locker? 
If you have heard information about the Coalition already, you may know that the biggest questions revolve around what they are calling a "locker". The locker is the most unique feature of the Coalition. This allows students as early as freshmen year in high school to create an account on the Coalition and begin storing personal work in their secured locker. This is an online feature that allows students to upload items such as class projects, favorite essays, artwork, videos of play performances, extra-curricular milestones or awards, research, capstone projects, and much more. The locker will store all of this information, and it will never been seen by colleges during the pre-application stage. As part of the locker, there is also a collaboration space, where the student can choose a mentor (teacher, counselor, etc) who will then be able to go into their locker and look at the work they have saved. The mentor can then give feedback and comments, but will not be allowed to make changes. The hope is that over time, through the help of the chosen mentor, the student will be able to improve on his or her academic and extra-curricular work. Although we are not certain yet, as part of the application, senior year, students may be able to unlock some of their work to send to colleges, so they can get a better sense of who they are as an applicant.

Should We Use the Coalition this Year?
Well, my quick answer is NO. Although I think the Coalition has a lot of promise, the engineering of the website and application are very good, and I think the purpose of this has great merit, there are just too many questions right now. As I said before, there are over 90 colleges that have signed on to join the Coalition, but only THREE colleges are going to be Coalition-exclusive. This means rising seniors applying to the University of Florida, University of Washington, and University of Maryland, College Park MUST use the Coalition to apply. For the rest of the colleges, students can choose to either use the school's website to apply or can use the Common Application. Also, close to a third of the colleges have decided they will NOT allow rising seniors to apply to their college through the Coalition for the 2016-2017 school year, which tells me something. That list of schools can be found here: Coalition Schools not Accepting their Application Portal for 2016-2017

Final Thoughts: When I first heard of the Coalition, I was not happy. I figured this would just add to the already growing craziness that surrounds applying to college. However, as more of their plan is being outlined and delivered, I think this could be a great tool. However, I think it is in everyone's best interest to sit out of the Coalition for this next school year. There are still other ways to apply to college (besides the above mentioned 3 universities) and there are way too many questions about the effectiveness of this new application. So I hope everyone has a great summer, and I will return to this topic next year...hopefully with much more solid information and student experience from around the country. As always, take care and happy searching!

Joseph D. Korfmacher

Introducing Micro-Scholarships for College from Raise.me

We are all familiar with the high costs associated with pursuing a college education. But remember, there are many options out there to collect scholarships and financial aid. And some are more out-of-the-box than you may expect.

Take Raise.me, for example. I recently had the opportunity to meet with folks from Raise.me, a new organization that is partnering with colleges across the country to help families rack up "micro-scholarships" against the astronomical costs of higher education. Starting in 9th grade, students can accrue these small, conditional scholarships from colleges for accomplishments such as getting an 'A' in science class, making the Varsity swim team, being involved in community service, partaking in various extracurricular activities, and much more. If you wind up attending a school you've selected through Raise.me, the micro scholarships you've built up will be applied to your tuition.

The process is very simple; go to their website, create a free account (Name, DOB, High School, and graduation year), select any or all of the schools they partner with, input your accomplishments, and watch the scholarships grow. The Raise.me platform is retroactive, meaning even juniors and seniors can enter any high school accomplishments to count toward Raise.me scholarship money (as long as the college's submission deadline has not passed).

Currently, this organization is partnered with 65 colleges, including Tulane and Temple, but will be adding an average of one new school per week. Students may choose to connect to as many colleges on Raise.me as they want, and are under no commitment to attend those schools. However, if they do choose to attend a college selected through Raise.me, the school is bound to give them the amount in their account. The scholarships range in amounts, and can be small, but receiving any scholarship money for your accomplishments is a great way to offset college costs. Parents, this is also a great motivator for high school students to become more involved in school activities, sports, or even work harder in the classroom. Of course, getting that 'A' in Calculus is a win on transcripts, as well, but it won't hurt to also get $500 from a college for receiving that grade!

Raise.me launched for student-use 6 months ago, and has grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, and UPenn. So students, check out the website, connect with colleges, begin listing your accomplishments, and watch the potential scholarships accrue in your account! If you haven't had motivation yet to get involved in the classroom, on the field, or in extracurriculars, maybe a little money towards your college education will help.

Best of luck with this experience, and as always, happy searching!

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

YouVisit: Seeing College Campuses Virtually

I have always stressed the importance of visiting college campuses. It is one of the most, if not the most important part of the college search process. Sure, you can research most of the information on the college websites and websites such as College Board and Naviance, but it is tough to get a true feeling for the school without walking the campus, sitting in on classes, eating in their cafeteria, or talking with current students and professors. It is essential to plan ahead during high school breaks and vacations to schedule campus tours at colleges across the country. However, sometimes families do not have the time or money to visit every college the student is interested in attending, this is just a fact. So the next best thing to physically walking the campus, is to "walk" the campus virtually.

To my knowledge, the most comprehensive virtual college visit website is YouVisit. This website allows you to search for hundreds of colleges across the country, and when you select the school, you are instantly "standing" on their campus. A real-life student appears and is your tour guide for the campus visit. You can just sit back, relax and have them take your all over the campus, or you can jump to specific parts of the campus and learn important information about the school. This is definitely a website you want to visit, while looking for colleges. Enjoy the world of virtual visits, and as always, happy searching!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Tips for Early Decision & Early Action Results

As seniors are waiting for and receiving decisions for their Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED) applications for colleges, I wanted to share some tips on next steps once you've heard from your schools.

• If you have been accepted to a school through Early Decision, congrats! After celebrating, the first thing you should do is withdraw your applications from the other schools you have applied to or were planning on applying to. Remember, with Early Decision, you, your parent, and school counselor all signed an agreement that, if accepted, this would be the school you would attend.
• If you have been deferred from Early Decision or Early Action to regular decision, don't worry - there is still a chance you will be accepted in the spring. For ED, you are no longer committed to attending the school, even if you are accepted through regular decision, so more options have just opened up! To be deferred means the college liked what they saw in your application, but they need a little more information and time before making a final decision. As such, you should be proactive in updating the school with additional information about yourself and your commitment to attending if accepted. You may send updated senior grades, new standardized test scores, a revised résumé and continue to demonstrate your interest with the school - perhaps take a visit and introduce yourself at the Admissions office. Most schools will note that you applied ED/EA when they review you again for regular decision, but it will also help your cause to continue to show how much you want to attend their school.
• If you have been accepted to any schools through Early Action, congrats! Lucky for you, you're not obligated to tell them whether or not you're planning to attend until May 1st. 
• If you were denied through Early Action or Early Decision, unfortunately you cannot apply again for regular decision. But take heart - there are over 3,000 colleges in the United States alone and there are likely many options where you can be happy and thrive! If your heart is set on the school you were denied by, you can wait until the following school year to apply again. 
• Make plans to visit the schools you have been accepted to, especially the ones you have yet to see in person!
• Keep track of the scholarships offered by each school you have been accepted to. It may be helpful to create an Excel document to compare the cost of each school after scholarships and eventually financial aid are factored in.
• If your college requires the CSS Profile, make sure you are getting that done as soon as possible. Also, remember the FAFSA is available on January 1, and complete that within the first few weeks of January if possible.
• Most of all, keep calm while decisions are coming out. You most likely will not be accepted to every school, and that's OK! You will end up where you belong and at the school that is a great match for you.

Have a fabulous and relaxing break, and Happy Holidays!

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Visiting Colleges Virtually

As I am sure you know, visiting college campuses is one of the most important parts of the college research process. Unless you are commuting from home, the college or university that you choose to attend will be where you eat, sleep, and live for at least four years. College campuses vary in so many ways, and you want to make sure you are comfortable and happy with what the school offers. Elements that should be considered are the dorm rooms, the athletic facilities, classroom sizes and what they offer, technology centers, libraries, green space, and much more. When visiting schools,  you need to ask yourself if this is a college you could see yourself living at. If you are uncomfortable with the school setting and what they offer in terms of their physical plant, it may affect your overall happiness and academic well-being at the school.

Although, it is not always possible to visit every school before you apply, you DEFINITELY should visit the school before committing to attend. While you have until May 1st to make the decision, if you are short on time, virtual tours are the next big thing in college admissions. I recently came across a website called YOUVISIT. This site offers virtual tours of hundreds of colleges across the country, as has current students lead the tour. I encourage you to check out the site if you are just starting the college search process or even if you are a senior and you are still looking to add another school or two to your list. So keep up the good research and have fun visiting the colleges, whether you are actually on the campus and walking around, or sitting on your couch with your laptop!

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA