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The College List You Need to Know

By this summer, the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success will launch an online application which will be accepted at all the Coalition’s member colleges.

The Coalition has approximately 90 members. Most of these colleges currently accept the Common Application. Once launched, the member colleges claim that they will accept both the Coalition application and the Common Application.


Don't know what the Coalition is? Read our blog post for the scoop!


As you consider which colleges you want to apply to, you should review the list of members of the Coalition. There is a high likelihood that if you are applying to selective colleges, you will be able to use the Coalition application. But you will probably want to also fill out the Common App in case some of your colleges are not members of the Coalition.

Below is a handy chart that categorizes the member colleges based on whether their admissions process is "Selective," "Very Selective," or "Highly Selective."

Colleges that have a “highly selective” admissions process generally have admit rates lower than 20%. Colleges with an asterisk next to them have admit rates in the single digits. Colleges with “very selective” processes will have admit rates between 20% and 40%. “Selective” colleges generally have admit rates higher than 40%.

College Selective Very Selective Highly Selective
American University   X  
Bates College   X  
Bowdoin College     X
Brown University     X *
Bryn Mawr College   X  
California Institute of Technology     X*
Colby College   X  
Colgate University   X  
College of Holy Cross   X  
College of William & Mary   X  
Colorado College     X
Columbia University     X*
Connecticut College   X  
Cornell University     X
Dartmouth College     X*
Davidson College     X
Duke University     X*
Emory University   X  
Franklin & Marshall College   X  
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering     X
Georgia Institute of Technology   X  
Grinnell College     X
Hamilton College   X  
Harvard University     X*
Haverford College     X
Illinois State University X    
Indiana University-Bloomington   X  
James Madison University X    
Johns Hopkins University     X
Miami University-Ohio X    
Michigan State University X    
Middlebury College     X
Mount Holyoke College X    
North Carolina State University at Raleigh X    
Northeastern University   X  
Northwestern University     X*
Oberlin College   X  
Ohio State University X    
Pennsylvania State University X    
Pomona College     X*
Princeton University     X*
Purdue University X    
Ramapo College X    
Reed College   X  
Rice University     X
Rutgers University-New Brunswick X    
Skidmore College   X  
Smith College   X  
St. Olaf College   X  
Stanford University     X*
State University of New York-Geneseo X    
State University of New York-Binghamton   X  
State University of New York-Buffalo X    
Swarthmore College     X
Texas A&M University X    
The College of New Jersey   X  
Tufts University     X
Union College   X  
University of Chicago     X*
University of Connecticut X    
University of Florida   X  
University of Georgia-Athens X    
University of Illinois   X  
University of Iowa X    
University of Maryland-College Park X    
University of Mary Washington X    
University of Michigan   X  
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities X    
University of Missouri X    
University of New Hampshire X    
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill   X  
University of Notre Dame     X
University of Pennsylvania     X*
University of Pittsburgh X    
University of Rochester   X  
University of South Carolina X    
University of Vermont X    
University of Virginia   X  
University of Washington   X  
Vanderbilt University     X
Vassar College   X  
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University X    
Wake Forest University   X  
Washington University     X
Wellesley College     X
Wesleyan University     X
Williams College     X
Yale University     X*

If you want to learn more about the Coalition, watch our newest video "The Coalition Rolls Out"—FOR FREE!
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