Dive Brief:
- The Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success will open college planning tools to high school students in April, the first step in a new college admissions plan.
- The New York Times reports more than 80 of the nation’s most elite schools have signed on, including all of the Ivys as well as top liberal arts colleges and publics — though critics say opening college admissions to 9th graders will add stress, rather than take it away as envisioned.
- The new application is aimed at giving low-income and first-generation students more time to prepare for college admissions and get feedback from college representatives early in the process, as they prepare an electronic portfolio throughout high school.
Dive Insight:
Coalition members report feeling rushed with the new process, and some high school counselors fear what will happen when their students are told to start thinking about their college application during freshman year. The New York Times reports the Common Application has been making moves to make its product more attractive to schools, though CEO Paul B. Mott said that it's not a direct response to the Coalition’s impending alternative. It has approved more custom questions for colleges to add to their applications, changed its mission statement to focus more on equity and access, and launched new college planning tools to help high schoolers find scholarships.
Since last month, the launch date of The Coalition’s tools has been delayed. The portfolio system was set to go live in January, but now that date has been pushed to April. Some wanted it to be pushed back a full year, however, so April appears to be a compromise.