Pitt Joins Coalition to Streamline College Application Process

Issue Date: 
October 12, 2015

The University of Pittsburgh has joined the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, a diverse group of more than 80 public and private colleges seeking to make the college application process easier.

The new coalition is developing a free platform of online tools to streamline the process of planning for and applying to college. The planning tools—including a digital portfolio, a collaboration platform, and an application portal—will be available to high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors by January 2016. 

The Coalition Application will permit students to use one application to apply to any of the coalition’s member schools. (It is entirely different and separate from the existing “Common Application” program used by other colleges and universities.) Pitt will accept the Coalition Application through the portal beginning in summer 2016 for the Fall 2017 incoming class.

The coalition’s planning tools are intended to address many of the barriers that prevent students from attending college or successfully earning a degree. For example, research has found that students from disadvantaged backgrounds often do not participate effectively in the college application process, struggle with applying for financial aid, and often do not get awarded all the financial aid for which they qualify. The coalition said it hopes to address these findings through its free online tools and increased transparency around admissions and financial aid. More information can be found at coalitionforcollegeaccess.org.