Even if they didn’t apply, some Wisconsin students to get admission offers from UW schools

Incoming high school seniors, check your inboxes: You may have just gotten into college without even applying.

Ten of the state's public universities will send acceptance letters starting next week through a new "direct admissions" program . Eligible students at participating schools will be automatically admitted to universities based on their grades and coursework at the end of their junior year, essentially bypassing the traditional application process.

The intent of the program is to reach students who haven't considered college or never would have applied on their own. Direct admissions may also help improve declining enrollment, a problem plaguing most Wisconsin universities.

The program launches this year amid a slide in Wisconsin's college-going culture . The percentage of high school graduates going directly to college fell from 62% in 2016 to 52% in 2022, according to state Department of Public Instruction data.

"We know there are some students out there who might think that they cannot succeed in college," University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman told reporters in a Wednesday interview. "Well, we believe in them. And we think they can succeed. And we want to work with them to do precisely that, whether it's choosing the right program, finding a campus that is the best fit for them or figuring out financial aid."

Which University of Wisconsin schools offer direct admissions?

Ten University of Wisconsin campuses are participating in the program and plan to send "tens of thousands" of notices next week, Rothman said. Each university sets its own admissions criteria for a student to be automatically admitted.

UW-Madison, UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse declined to participate in the program. Students seeking to attend one of those campuses must apply through the traditional process.

"We view this as a new pathway, not the only pathway," Rothman said.

Which Wisconsin high schools are participating in the UW direct admissions program?

More than half of Wisconsins' public high schools are participating in the first year of the direct admissions program. Altogether, nearly 350 public and private schools in the program serve about 50,000 students, Rothman said.

The aim is to expand participation to even more high schools in the coming year.

Milwaukee area schools that have signed up for the program include Milwaukee Public Schools, West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Waukesha School District, Wauwatosa School District, Shorewood School District, Whitefish Bay, Franklin Public Schools, Oak Creek Franklin Joint School District, Elmbrook School District, Pewaukee School District and Greenfield School District.

Do direct admissions programs work?

A handful of other state university systems and hundreds of colleges have experimented with direct admissions.

Idaho was the first, directly admitting students to all of its community colleges and open-access universities. Students can also receive admittance to the state flagship and another more selective school depending on their GPA and SAT scores.

Other states have set up slightly different models. Hawaii relies on high school GPA to admit students to some schools and extends invitations to certain students to apply to more selective institutions. Minnesota developed several admissions tiers based on schools' selectivity.

Some of the latest research by UW-Madison professor Taylor Odle and University of Illinois professor Jennifer Delaney found direct admissions can be effective at "equitably increasing college application rates," especially among first-generation students, low-income students and students of color. But the research also found it was less successful at convincing students to actually enroll given other barriers these groups face, especially affordability.

What should high school seniors do?

Check high school email accounts for notifications from colleges. Acceptance letters will also be sent by mail in the coming weeks.

Follow instructions in these letters. Students must complete a form to connect with interested schools. There's no fee to complete the form.

Incoming high school juniors at participating high schools will be asked to sign up for the direct admissions program this fall.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Even if they didn’t apply, some Wisconsin students to get admission offers from UW schools