The Foreign Service Journal, December 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2016 107 Proponents stress that the Coalition App gives colleges a chance to learn much more about their applicants if they choose to. ences between the Coalition App and the Common App, and many college admis- sions officials are not thrilled with the prospect of a Locker full of much more information about each student than can reasonably be perused during a high- volume application season. In fact, rumors are already circulating about the Coalition App being tweaked in anticipation of increased usage during the 2017-2018 application season. Finally, some experts fear that starting the college application process in 9th grade pressures already anxious high school students at an earlier age. But others argue that disadvantaged children can only gain from preparing earlier. The App’s creators maintain that thinking about college in 9th grade, and slowly uploading items as needed, is actually a more relaxed way of complet- ing the college application. Even if you don’t end up applying to any colleges that use the Coalition Application, you can still use the Coalition App’s Locker and other features as a private organi- zational tool for the college application process. Proponents of the Coalition App also stress that it gives colleges a chance to learnmuchmore about their applicants if they choose to, and that its tutorials and advice are helpful to students whomay not have access to counseling or mentoring. The jury is still out on this very new application platform. If you’re an under- classman, create an account and at least give the Locker feature a try. If you’re a senior and aren’t required to use the Coalition App for any of your applica- tions, then simply choose the applica- tion platform with which you’re most comfortable—and good luck! n Continued from page 102