Have you heard about the Coalition for College? On its website, the description reads, "The Coalition is a diverse group of more than 150 distinguished colleges and universities that is committed to making college a reality for all high school students through our set of free online college planning tools that helps students learn about, prepare for, and apply to college." Let's take a deeper dive into this.

On its home page, the Coalition features three main categories of information:

• Students Can Start Early, Stress Less -- Using MyCoalition, students can begin exploring colleges and digitally compiling personal and school-related achievements as early as ninth grade. So by the time senior year rolls around, they are already on track for college success.

• Coalition Schools Invest in Student Success -- It's a fact: Coalition schools are affordable. Members either meet students' full demonstrated need or offer low-cost in-state tuition, and most also graduate students with low-to-no debt. What's more, with the Coalition's simple fee waiver, eligible students do not even have to pay application fees.

• Coalition Schools Stand by Students Every Step of the Way -- Coalition members have an excellent track record of supporting students and ensuring they graduate. In fact, all member schools meet or exceed strict graduation rate requirements. Because it's not just about getting to college — it's about succeeding.

Each of these categories has a link for more detailed information. The MyCoalition section is quite interesting:

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

With anytime, easy-to-use access, MyCoalition empowers students to learn about, prepare for, and apply to college…

MyCoalition Is Comprised of Four Parts:

The Locker gives you private, unlimited digital space in which you can collect and organize important materials, such as documents, photos, and videos, as a record of your high school experience. Items you store in your secure, cloud-based Locker can easily be submitted as part of your application to Coalition schools.

The Collaboration Space is a virtual area in which you can connect with trusted adults, like counselors, teachers, and family members, and ask for their input on your college preparations. Here, you and your supporters can collaborate on things like college lists, essays, or applications.

The Coalition Application can be used to apply to all 140-plus Coalition member schools, easily and efficiently.

MyCoalition Counselor is a directory of informative articles, printables, and other valuable resources for college preparation. Here, you can find free, expert advice on such topics as financial aid, standardized tests, and college essays—great reads for students heading for college and their supporters alike.

MyCoalition accounts are free and mobile-friendly …

15 More Colleges Join Coalition

A list of Coalition member schools can be found here. Speaking of that membership group, the Coalition has just announced 15 new members for the 2019-20 application season, as follows:

● Austin College

● Barnard College

● Champlain College

● Christopher Newport University

● Cornell College

● Drexel University

● Lehigh University

● Maryville University of Saint Louis

● Mississippi State University

● Southwestern University

● St. Mary's College of Maryland

● Texas State University

● University of Nebraska – Lincoln

● University of New England

● University of Texas, Dallas

In announcing these additions in a press release, Annie Reznik, executive director of the Coalition, says:

"Our members share our goal to make college accessible and affordable for all students and to help them find success in college and beyond, and by expanding our membership we are closer to making that goal a reality. We are thrilled to collaborate with these colleges and universities to offer students proven support on their path to college — and significant opportunities for successful graduation."

In order to be eligible for membership in the Coalition, institutions must meet rigorous standards in at least two of three areas of emphasis -- access, affordability and success. For example, they must enroll at least 20 percent underrepresented and low-income students; graduate students with low-to-no debt, while either meeting students' full demonstrated financial need, offering low-cost in-state tuition, or providing responsible financial aid packages; and/or have a graduation rate of 70 percent or higher or, for low-income and under-represented students, and a graduation rate equal to or greater than the school's overall graduation rate.

Tools Aim to Help All Students

The Coalition tools are designed to engage students in the college application process as early as ninth grade and comprise a convenient digital storage locker, interactive collaboration space, and easy-to-use application, which is accepted at all member schools, and is particularly aimed at helping students from historically underrepresented groups.

The Coalition's website also includes a helpful FAQ section, which answers such questions as:

• What does it mean when the Coalition says that member institutions are "affordable?"
• How does the Coalition help lower-income students?
• Is there a cost to use MyCoalition?
• What is the MyCoalition Locker?
• What is the MyCoalition Collaboration Space?
• Do students still have to pay application fees when they apply to Coalition schools?
• Can community college students use MyCoalition and the Coalition application?

Be sure to check out all of the frequently asked questions while learning about the Coalition for College. It will be time well spent.