MANKATO, Minn. — Hannah Halverson’s decision on where to attend college next fall is shaping up to be an easy one.
A senior at Rogers High School in a northwest suburb of Minneapolis, she was already interested in Minnesota State University, Mankato, when she received an email last month announcing that she had been admitted — before she even applied.
“It really helped me affirm that I wanted to come here,” she said in an interview before touring the campus this month, adding that she’s about 90% sure she will enroll.
Minnesota is one of a growing number of states that offer direct admissions, a program in which colleges and universities admit students even before they apply, often notifying them by mail or email. Students are typically admitted based on meeting requirements such as a minimum grade-point average, though this does not always guarantee them access to every major or program.
Many colleges across the country are struggling with declining enrollments and see direct admissions as one way to get more students to attend. For students who may not realize they are eligible for admission or are unsure about college, the automatic offer can be the nudge they need to enroll.
California expands direct admission
California is in the process of becoming one of the latest states to implement direct admissions. Last year, a direct admissions pilot was launched in Riverside County. Students at public high schools in the county who met the California State University’s minimum eligibility requirements were notified by mail that they had been automatically admitted for fall 2025 to one of 10 CSU campuses.
And soon, direct admissions will be expanding across California. Gov. Gavin Newsom last month signed Senate Bill 640, which will extend direct admissions to public high school districts across the state. Students who meet CSU requirements will be automatically admitted and eligible to enroll at one of 16 campuses. The system’s most selective campuses, such as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, will not participate.
The University of California system, with nine undergraduate campuses that are generally more competitive than CSU campuses, will not participate.
Adrian Huerta, an associate professor and college access scholar at the USC Rossier School of Education, said he’s hopeful direct admissions will make life easier for students, especially in areas such as the Central Valley and Inland Empire. College-going rates in those regions lag behind many other parts of the state.
So far, the pilot is already helping, boosting first-year enrollment from Riverside County public high schools by 6% compared with 2024, according to CSU. The CSU campuses participating in the pilot include Channel Islands, Chico, East Bay, Humboldt, Maritime Academy, Monterey Bay, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Marcos and Sonoma.
“Being able to get that message that says, ‘Hey, you’re admitted, and you just need to submit some paperwork,’ I think it’s going to be a big boost for a lot of students,” Huerta said.
Since Minnesota implemented direct admissions in 2022, the program has already paid dividends, according to officials. About half of the state’s public high schools participate in direct admissions. Each participating high school opts into the program, but the state hopes that all of them will participate before the end of the decade.
At participating schools, 76% of students filed a federal financial aid application last year, compared with 50% of all graduating seniors. And 46% of students at participating high schools enrolled in a Minnesota college, compared with 28% of students at non-participating Minnesota high schools.
In the Minnesota State system, which consists of seven four-year universities and 26 two-year universities, enrollment has increased each of the past three years, including a 4.2% jump this fall over last year. The hikes in recent years followed about 15 consecutive years of enrollment declines.
The national scene
At least 15 states are offering some form of direct admissions: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. The details of direct admissions are different depending on the state.
The types of colleges that participate in direct admissions also vary: Some states limit direct admissions to public institutions, while private colleges participate in other states.
For students, one of the top perks is that direct admissions reduces the “administrative burden” placed on students, said Taylor Odle, an assistant professor of education policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In general, direct admissions can make the biggest difference for students who are “on the margin” and unsure of whether they are going to attend college, Odle said. That often includes first-generation students or students from rural areas who may not believe they are college material, or might be considering only their local community college.
When applying for other colleges, students often have to write essays, submit transcripts and even get letters of recommendation. “So the idea behind direct admissions is cutting out that red tape,” Odle said.
That was part of the appeal for Halverson, who knew that as long as she maintained a grade-point average of 3.0, she would be automatically admitted to Mankato and several other colleges, including University of Minnesota campuses and many private universities.
Knowing up front that she would be admitted based on her grades alone “made it a lot easier,” she said. “Because then I could figure out schools that would actually take me, and then I could plan out paying for it and dorms and all that stuff way earlier.”
Burke writes for EdSource.
