Q: Several of the colleges I’m applying to accept both the Common Application and the Coalition Application. Does it matter which one I choose?

A: The Common Application and the Coalition application are quite similar. Both allow a student to enter data about themselves, their family, their school, and their extracurricular activities once and send completed applications to a variety of schools. But there are some differences.

First of all, not all colleges subscribe to both. So take a look at the list of colleges that utilize each platform. If all of your schools are Common App or Coalition exclusive, there’s no other option.

But if you do have a choice, here are a few things to think about.

• Your guidance counselor probably wants you to use the Common App! Why? Because the tools that schools use to send transcripts and letters of recommendation (Naviance, Parchment, etc.) don’t integrate with the Coalition App, so it can be more work for them at a time when they are already taxed by all the paperwork!

• Have a creative but short essay? Coalition may be the way to go. There are more formatting options in the Coalition app than on the Common App. That being said, each college has the ability to limit the word count on their main personal statement. We’ve seen limits anywhere between 250 and 550 words.

• Have a lot of extracurricular activities? The Common App gives you room for ten; the Coalition, eight.

• Have a few extracurricular activities but a lot to say about them? The Coalition app gives you more space to describe each activity.

• Have an art portfolio, music recording, research abstract? The Common App integrates with Slideroom, allowing you to send that along for review.

• The Coalition app has partnered with the College Board, to allow students to send SAT and SAT subject test scores within the application.

Finally, if a college accepts both, take a look at the supplemental essays on each. Sometimes they are different! That, in and of itself, can make your decision.