When Getting Admitted To College is No Longer a Question

What is Direct Admissions?

Direct Admissions is program that streamlines college enrollment for Minnesota senior high school students. Each year the program expands to add more high schools and colleges. Participating Minnesota high schools and colleges collaborate under the coordination of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) to make the admissions process straightforward for families and students. 

For senior students at participating high schools, Direct Admissions is an opportunity to get an individualized list of schools across Minnesota that they are pre-admitted to, effectively ensuring that they are on their way to achieving their educational goals –and without having to pay for admission fees.

How does it work?

The program is straightforward and doesn’t require any extra upfront work for students. Participating high schools work with  OHE to review unweighted GPAs and then compile a list of participating colleges that a student is eligible for pre-admission. Students will receive their list via email along with a custom survey for college selection. 

After selections are made, students will be contacted by the colleges/universities they selected with next steps for their application. One of the advantages about Direct Admissions is that students are in control of which schools get their information. So if you just received your pre-admission list, you can be confident that only the colleges you select will receive your information for admission.

What do students have to do?

First off, check if your high school participates in Direct Admissions. Not all high schools in Minnesota are a part of the program. Jump to the OHE website for a full list of high schools. 

If your high school indeed participates in Direct Admissions, you will experience a bump-free ride into college (lucky you!). Nevertheless, there are some key areas you should stay on top of: 

• Keep up on grades. The process filters according to GPA; the higher your GPA the more schools that will be unlocked for pre-admissions.
• Check your school email. The all-important survey will be sent out via email that will include the list of all the schools you are pre-admitted to.
• Take the survey. Once you receive the email, fill out the survey! Only then will colleges/universities be aware of your interest. And if after a couple of college visits, you are interested in other colleges, your list can be updated!

Why is it worth it?

There are a few reasons why students in participating high schools should take advantage of Direct Admissions instead of applying for college in the traditional way:

1. Reduce the stress. Applying to college can be a stressful and complicated process. Direct Admissions takes the stress away and reduces the complexity surrounding “will I get in?” and replace it with a confident “YES!”
2. Give yourself more options. When the customized list of colleges arrives to your inbox, take time to learn about all of them. It’s easy to fall into the one-and-done thought process and wait until you hear from each college before applying to the next one. With Direct Admissions, you know ahead of time which colleges are ready and willing to admit you so you can fully dive into researching each one and become confident of your ultimate decision.
3. Save yourself some money! By using the Direct Admissions, you don’t have to pay application fees for any college you get admitted too. Last year families saved $530,000 in waived application fees.