Coalition Application (Recommnedation Section)

[DonHomeschool]

Hello Everyone,

 

I would like to know if anyone has ever used, or currently using the Coalition Application, instead of the Common Application.  My daughter has a problem with the recommendation section.  According to an email she received from Coalition, any recommendation she receives from her dual enrolled college professor must be classified as "Other," instead of "Teacher."  I feel that this may be a problem once the application is submitted to the universities (they require recommendations from teachers and other recommendations are optional with the application).

 

My daughter has always worked on both Coalition and Common applications simultaneously (just in case things like this happen).  Therefore, should she just abandon the Coalition Application and just work on the Common, or should she continue to use the preferred Coalition App and classify instructor's recommendations as "Other?"  Thanks.

[Julie of KY]

No advise to your actual question, but I ask WHY does the Coalition not allow her to label her DE teachers as a teacher. Is it automatically rejecting their email addresses?

[DonHomeschool]

Julie,

 

Coalition actually allows my daughter to label her dual enrolled (DE) professor as Teacher.  However, when the DE professor attempts to complete the recommendation, the Coalition system does not allow it.  It seems that when the DE professor enters "ABC College," Coalition rejects it because it does not match the name of her high school (which is Home School in this instance). 

[JanetC]

This can cause a problem if the college has set up the application requirements to be from a teacher and not accept them from an "other." If it's only one school, I'd talk to them about sending the recommendation separately by snail mail.

 

We are working through the coalition app, but the school in question does not require a recommendation.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Have you tried contacting the Coalition App help line? It sounds like the problem is within their app. I can think of a couple reasons a student might have a teacher rec from a teacher at a school that isn't the one they currently attend.

 

I went to three different schools for high school. It was also possible to travel to another school for specialty classes.

[DonHomeschool]

JanetC,

 

Unfortunately, my daughter is applying to various schools that require Teacher's recommendations.  I guess she should just used Common App for all of the applications.

 

Sebastian,

 

Coalition App specifically said to resend the invites using "Other" instead of "Teacher." 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

JanetC,

 

Unfortunately, my daughter is applying to various schools that require Teacher's recommendations. I guess she should just used Common App for all of the applications.

 

Sebastian,

 

Coalition App specifically said to resend the invites using "Other" instead of "Teacher."

Did you go back to the Coalition help staff and point out that this put the recommender into a category that the college didn't necessarily accept recommendations from?

 

(I'm not sure the people putting things together for the Coalition thought through all the permutation that studenta can have when they built their website. Last year I was a little underwhelmed. )

[DonHomeschool]

Sebastian,

 

No, I did not go back to them.  I have a November 1st deadline to meet and my time is limited; therefore, I instructed my daughter to use the Common App.  It is the first time going through the process; as a result, I'll leave the Coalition App for another year with another child.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Sebastian,

 

No, I did not go back to them. I have a November 1st deadline to meet and my time is limited; therefore, I instructed my daughter to use the Common App. It is the first time going through the process; as a result, I'll leave the Coalition App for another year with another child.

That is pretty much what I did last year. As complex as the Common App is, I found the Coalition App to be just as complex, more poorly designed, and to have less help available (within the app or from outside sources).

 

Given the highly selective level of the schools using it, not accepting a college prof as a teacher seems odd.