Coalition App Essay Guide

A constant throughout the years of the college application process is the Coalition App personal statement.

The Coalition Application first emerged in 2015 and was launched in 2016 as a challenger to the Common Application, in what was called the “Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success”, and includes storage for essays and assignments that applicants are considering submitting with their applications.  It was created to give students better access to higher education and to improve the college application process for students from historically underrepresented groups. Most schools that have their application on the Coalition App will also have their application on the Common App as well. The Coalition App is used by more than 135 schools in the United States, both public and private, but only five of the eight Ivy League schools accept the Coalition App (the ones that do not are Brown, Cornell, and Dartmouth). There are also 12 schools that are on the Coalition App that do not accept the Common App; they are the following: 

• James Madison University
• Rutgers University—Camden 
• Rutgers University—New Brunswick 
• Rutgers University—Newark 
• St. Mary's University 
• Texas A&M University 
• Texas State University 
• The University of New Mexico 
• The University of Texas at Austin 
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
• University of Washington—Bothell 
• University of Washington—Seattle

The Coalition App has five different prompts for the applicant to choose from, one of which is a prompt of the applicant’s choice, and the word limit for the personal statement is 650 words, though the app recommends a limit of 500-550 words. The personal statement, as the name suggests, should be personal and show the admission’s officer why that student is unique and should set that student apart from other applicants. 

• In order to respond to this prompt, the applicant should pay special attention to the word “demonstrates”; this should not be a story in which the applicant simply lists occurrences or says X happened so Y happened. This essay should answer why these occurrences matter; this should be X happened, and here is why it is so important for Y. 
• The applicant should also try to avoid over-done stories, such as that of a sports injury, since this could potentially put off the admissions officer reading the response. 
• Also, the applicant should make sure that this story is about them; it might seem obvious from the prompt, but it is surprising how many times applicants discuss an experience but forget to weave themselves into it. 

• Once again, the applicant should be showing, rather than just telling. Furthermore, this prompt does not need to be seen as daunting, but rather as an opportunity to discuss a cause the applicant is passionate about, such as that volunteer work that was mentioned in an activities list or resume. This prompt is an opportunity to demonstrate that the applicant really has a passion for that work that was done, and why they are passionate about that, and that they did not just do those things to make their application look better. 
• Another thing to keep in mind is that this response does not need to be some grand scale project but can also be something within the applicant’s local community; what is important is showing a passion for what the response discusses. 
• Even though the applicant is talking about a time in which they contributed, the applicant should remember that this essay is supposed to allow their personality and passion to shine through, so they should make sure they do not get so lost in discussing the experience that they forget. 

• Although this prompt might seem difficult to answer, it does not need to be something as dramatic as a questioning of one’s religion or something like that; it can simply be about a disagreement with someone or a group of people regarding an idea they might have had. 
• The key takeaway from this response should be demonstrating that the applicant has the ability to think for themselves and form their own opinions regardless of what others are doing. 
• Also, the applicant should not shy away from discussing difficult issues in this response, but what is important is showing that a good deal of thought was put in and the applicant is not just trying to appear “right” or something like that.

• This question might seem an easy one to respond to at first, but this question really requires the applicant to dig deep and think of things from a historical or psychological perspective. For example, one applicant might say the best part is so much information being readily available but that the worst part is the ever-increasing academic pressure put on students. From the response to the first two parts of the question, the applicant should be able to answer the third part with their advice.
• Make sure that this response fully addresses an area in which the applicant is passionate about, no matter how big or small, since admissions officers can easily see through applications that the applicant might not have fully engaged with. 
• That being said, make sure that the issue has some degree of significance and professionalism, since this is a college admissions essay, after all. 

• Although this prompt is very broad and allows for quite a bit of wiggle room, the applicant ultimately must ensure that the prompt is first and foremost about them and their personal journey, rather than an “impressive” academic paper that although well-written, has nothing to do with the applicant. These essays are all about allowing the applicant’s personality and uniqueness to shine through. 
• The applicant should not choose this prompt just because they believe it will be “less work”, especially if they have something they can already use, because it is not. Just because the applicant has something they can already use, it helps them with coming up with a new idea, but they should still make sure that essay is perfected and refined.
• Finally, the applicant should really use this prompt as a way to have fun and really show off their writing skills in a way that is creative and uniquely the applicant’s. 

 First and foremost, this essay should be personal. College applications can often feel very impersonal, especially for the admissions officer reading them, so the applicant really wants to ensure that their personal statement for the Coalition App attaches a living, feeling person to the application. The applicant wants to make sure that the admissions officer reading their essay can get a deeper sense of who they are, and what their background and story is. The applicant should not write what they think the admissions officer wants to read, since they will be able to see right through that; this essay should be what the applicant wants to write and what they want the admissions officer to know about them. 

• Before writing, every essay needs to begin with an idea. It can seem daunting when there is so much freedom with the prompts, so that is why it is important for the applicant to have at least one good person to bounce ideas off of, preferably someone who is familiar with personal essays or the college application process. 
• Do not use cliché topics in your essay, since this essay is supposed to help the applicant stand out to the admissions offer, not make them groan because they’ve already read twenty other essays about the sports victories of other applicants. Even though it is not impossible to write a good essay with a cliché topic, applicant should still aim to write an essay that is unique to them and their identity, rather than something that any other applicant can write about.
• Do not worry about length right away. Although the applicant might want to start thinking about the length of their essay as soon as they start writing, this can be a restriction on the writing process. The applicant should first work on telling the full story that they wish to tell, and then going back and shortening the essay if necessary. This allows the applicant to use whatever pieces that might have seemed “extra” to craft the best essay for themselves, since many times those pieces were included for a reason and can allow the applicant to see what parts really highlight their personality. 
• Make sure to proofread the essay. The applicant should also have another person proofread their essay, in order to make sure it makes sense to another person, since it is easy for the writer to read what they were thinking rather than what they actually wrote. This other person should be someone the applicant trusts and who has experience with essays and college applications, as mentioned previously. When proofreading, the applicant should make sure they are careful, but also not overthink too much; they should be confident in what they wrote. 

Personal Statement Example

The ways people describe family vary. Some may say that family is everything, while others believe family is annoying and just something to deal with. Some argue that family is what shapes us into who and what we become, while others argue that we mold ourselves in response to our families. Perhaps, while we have control over ourselves and our futures, our family does play a rather significant role in the start that we have and the direction of the path that we take in the future.

As a young child, I was raised mostly by my paternal grandmother, Granny, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I spent much of my childhood with my grandmother in the Amsterdam Houses right behind Lincoln Center because my mother was in residency and my father worked long hours. Since my grandmother lived so close to Lincoln Center, we would visit almost every day. I enjoyed playing near the fountain and asking my grandmother about the opera and the ballet. She would often play classical music and opera while I painted, since she firmly believed that classical music stimulated the mind and creativity. She enrolled me in a ballet class because my favorite composition was Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and the billboards by Lincoln Center made me think that being a ballerina would be the coolest job a person could have. However, my ballet career was short-lived since I did not like being told how to dance or that I had to dance with the orange scarf instead of the pink one, which was my favorite.

I then decided that science would be my passion, since my mother was a pediatrician and I enjoyed watching the space videos at the Museum of Natural History. I even carried out a flawed experiment, where after watching a video about zero gravity in space, I decided to ignore the “Do not try this at home” warning and proceeded to drop my grandmother’s mug on the floor once we got back to the apartment. After hearing the loud shattering noise of ceramic hitting linoleum, my grandmother rushed into the room to find me crying because gravity did not work. She proceeded to explain that gravity was in fact working and that was why the mug had broken.

My grandmother always encouraged me to pursue my interests and learn more about subjects that fascinated me, so we would often go to the library by her apartment. After a while the librarians got to know the little girl with curly hair who would leave with large books on Egyptian mythology, human anatomy, or the solar system. I was an avid reader because of my grandmother’s influence. She would tell me about her childhood when she would read and get lost easily in a good book, and how books can expand one’s knowledge of the world and the people in it.

My grandmother’s influence in my life continued even after she passed away from pancreatic cancer. Because she nurtured my natural curiosity and love of the arts, throughout high school I participated in my school’s singing group as well as our school musicals. Through the time that I spent with my grandmother in my early childhood in New York City, I was able to grow a passion for the arts and sciences, which led to my desire to pursue my interest in singing and a career in medicine. As I make decisions today about what I wish to pursue in college and which direction I wish to go in my adult life based on my interests and experiences, I still remember my Granny’s influence during those formative years that I had with her.

• First and foremost, this essay is personal. The writer describes an aspect of her childhood that greatly impacted and continues to impact her life even at the moment of writing, and this provides insight into the writer as a person. One can see from the essay that the writer has had an interest in science from a young age, as well as the arts, and that the writer was very close to her grandmother, who had a large influence on her life. This is seen from what is explicitly written, but also one can read between the lines and see a level of assertiveness in the writer from how she did not want to be told how to dance or how she refused to dance with the orange scarf because she did not like it. A reader can also see that the writer has a high level of curiosity and desire to learn more, as evidenced by the writer’s many questions she asked as a young girl and the wide array of interests she had. 
• Furthermore, this essay is unique to the writer. Although she chose a broad theme, like family, she narrowed it down to the times she spent with her grandmother and made the essay specific to her experience. The author references specific moments in her childhood and ties them back to her present, which in theory is something that any essay can do, but what makes this essay stand out is the fact that these moments are unique to the writer and the ways in which she connects them to each are unique as well. 

Overall, the personal statement should not be overwhelming, even though it is something that will attach a person to an application; this is an opportunity for the applicant to really show the people in admissions what makes them them and also really flex their story-telling muscles. So, just relax, get brainstorming, and write! 

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Written by PathIvy Content Team