Applying to Colleges

Different Types of College Applications

Applications vary from college to college.  It is important that YOU know which application the college you are planning to apply uses.  They fall into two categories:  Institutional Specific- application used ONLY to apply to that ONE college, and Application Portals- where you can submit applications for any college that uses the portal.

Many colleges have their application available on the “Admission” section of their school’s website.  These applications are specifically designed for their school.  This type of application may require you to create a username and password.  Keep track of this information.     (UH System Application, Cal State University Application , University of California Applicaiton, etc.)

Common Application, Coalition Application, and Universal Application


 College Application Hub 

This is a great resource for putting together your college applications!

Quick Reference Guides for applying to commonly used Application Portals:

Application portals provide standardized applications which allow you to apply to multiple schools with a single application. Instead of filling out eight different applications, you can simply fill out one and submit it to each college. 

More information on each of the applications can be found below.

The Common Application

The Common Application, which is accepted by more than 900 schools, including some colleges located outside the U.S., helps streamline one essential part of the admissions process for students.

Through the platform, first-time and transfer applicants alike can apply to multiple colleges at once. So students only have to fill out details that most schools require, including name, address, parental employment and education and extracurricular activities, one time.

Application opens for the 2023-2024 School Year on August 1, 2023.

Please click on Common Application subpage for specific information on completing the Common Application.

Coalition for Education Application

This portal allows you to  apply to any of the 150+ Coalition member schools, easily and efficiently.  

MyCoalition is also  has free, online college-planning tools that helps students start early and stress less on their path to college.

The Universal College Application

The Universal Application is an online application process that allows student applicants to fill out once and then submit to any of the 43+ schools that accept the Universal Application.