September marks the beginning of college admissions season. High school seniors are back in school working on class assignments and college essays at the same time. Traditionally, the college admissions process consists of making a list of schools to apply to, gathering the necessary documents (transcripts, essays, letters of recommendation from teachers, etc.) and devoting time to assemble and submit these documents, along with an application, to colleges by their deadlines and then waiting until Spring to see where you got accepted.
What if you didn’t have to do all that work? What if the colleges found you and invited you to attend? Such a thing can and does happen through something called Direct Admissions.
What is Direct Admissions
With Direct Admissions students upload their high school transcripts to a portal (Common App and Niche are the two primary portals currently available) and sit back and let the invitations come. Colleges use these platforms to seek out eligible students who they think would meet their enrollment needs, academically and/or demographically. Schools then proactively extend an offer of acceptance to a desired student. These offers can also include financial aid information and incentives from the school to help encourage the student to accept.
Pros & Cons of Direct Admissions
Clearly the biggest pro of Direct Admissions is the saving of time and money through the avoidance of the lengthy admissions process and costly applications fees. Additionally, knowing you have an acceptance can reduce the stress of worrying whether or not you will have a school to attend. Direct Admissions might also make college available to students who lack the means or access to apply to college.
One con of Direct Admissions is that it doesn’t consider the desires of the student. A student may want to attend a specific school and if that school doesn’t participate in Direct Admissions, then this path is not an option. This would be the case for most private schools as the majority of schools using Direct Admissions are public institutions.
Furthermore, a school may or may not have the program a student wants to study. While it’s possible to be directly admitted into a specific program at the school with Direct Admissions, it would require your transcript or other information to indicate an interest as well as meet any pre-defined criteria for the school before an offer is extended. If your major is not clearly understood with only your high school transcript, you could find yourself in a bind if the school offering admission doesn’t have a suitable program for you.
Deciding Between Traditional and Direct Admissions
Most students will still participate in the traditional admissions process. This ensures that they are considered at their desired reach, target and safety schools and that those schools offer the majors they want to pursue. That said, it doesn’t hurt to submit your information onto these platforms, since the offers extended are in no way binding for the student. Who knows, you might get an offer from a school you hadn’t originally considered but decide is the best choice for you after all.
Schools Participating in Direct Admissions
More than 200 schools are currently using Direct Admissions to attract students and can be found in either the Common App or Niche Platforms. Below is a list of these schools.
Alabama State UniversityAllegheny College
Alma College
Andrews University
Arcadia University
Art Academy of Cincinnati
Auburn University at Montgomery
Augsburg University
Austin College
Baker College
Belhaven University
Bellarmine University
Beloit College
Benedictine University
Brenau University
Brescia University
Caldwell University
Capital Technology University
Carlow University
Centenary University
Central Michigan University
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Chatham University
Chestnut Hill College
Christopher Newport University
College of St. Benedict
College of Wooster
Columbia College Chicago
Concordia University, St. Paul
Coppin State University
Cornell College
Cottey College
Curry College
Dean College
Denison University
Dominican University of California
Drake University
Duquesne University
East Central University
Eastern Mennonite University
Eckerd College
Elmhurst University
Emory & Henry University
Eureka College
Felician University
Fisher College
Fisk University
Freed-Hardeman University
Gannon University
George Mason University
Georgia State University
George Washington University
Gordon College
Grand Valley State University
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gwynedd Mercy University
Hamline University (MN)
Hampshire College
Hardin-Simmons University
Hartwick College
Hendrix College
Hiram College
Hollins University
Houston Christian University
Illinois College
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Wesleyan University
Immaculata University
Iona University
Johnson & Wales University – Charlotte
Johnson & Wales University – Providence
Kansas State University
Kean University
Keene State College
King's College
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Lake Superior State University
Lamar University
La Roche University
Lasell University
Lebanon Valley College
Lenoir – Rhyne University
Lesley University
Lincoln University (PA)
Lubbock Christian University
Lycoming College
Madonna University
Maine Maritime Academy
Manhattan College
Manhattanville University
Marshall University
Mary Baldwin University
Marymount University
Maryville University of St. Louis
McMurry University
Menlo College
Mercy University
Merrimack College
Methodist University
Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver)
Millikin University
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Molloy University
Monmouth College (IL)
Montclair State University
Moravian University
Mount Saint Mary College - New York
Mount St. Mary’s University - Maryland
Mount Saint Mary's University Los Angeles
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Naropa University
Nazareth University
Nebraska Wesleyan University
Neumann University
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)
Niagara University
Nichols College
North Carolina Wesleyan University
Northern Arizona University
Northwest Missouri State University
Norwich University
Oglethorpe University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Old Dominion University
Oral Roberts University
Oregon Tech
Pacific Lutheran University
Paul Smith's College
Pennsylvania Western University
PennWest California
PennWest Clarion
PennWest Edinboro
Piedmont University
Plymouth State University
Point Loma Nazarene University
Portland State University
Purchase College, SUNY
Purdue University of Fort Wayne
Regis College
Regis University
Reinhardt University
Richard Bland College of William and Mary
Rider University
Robert Morris University (PA)
Roger Williams University
Roosevelt University
Rosemont College
Saint Elizabeth University
Saint John's University (MN)
Saint Leo University
Saint Martin's University
Saint Mary's College of California
Saint Peter’s University
Salem College
Salem State University
Salve Regina University
Savannah State University
Schreiner University
Shawnee State University
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Siena University
South Carolina State University
Southern Baptist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Nazarene University
Southern New Hampshire University
Southwestern College - Kansas
Spalding University
Spartanburg Methodist College
St. Ambrose University
St. Catherine University
St. Edward's University
St. John Fisher University
St. Norbert College
St. Mary’s University
St. Thomas Aquinas College
Stetson University
Stockton University
SUNY Buffalo State University
SUNY College at Brockport
Tennessee Wesleyan University
Texas A&M University – Kingsville
Texas College
Texas Woman’s University
The College of St. Scholastica
The New School
The University of Memphis
The University of Texas at Dallas
The University of Tulsa
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise
Thiel College
Thomas College
Thomas More University
Tiffin University
Towson University
Transylvania University
Trine University
Truman State University
Tusculum University
Tuskegee University
University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Central Missouri
University of Evansville
University of Incarnate Word
University of Kentucky
University of La Verne
University of Lynchburg
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Massachusetts Boston
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of Maine at Fort Kent
University of Minnesota Crookston
University of Minnesota Morris
University of Minnesota Rochester
University of Missouri - St. Louis
University of Mount Saint Vincent
University of Nevada, Reno
University of New England
University of North Carolina Asheville
University of Saint Francis
University of Saint Joseph
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
University of Texas Arlington
University of the Pacific
Upper Iowa University
Utah State University – Tennessee
Utica University
Vermont State University
Vincennes University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Wesleyan University
Wabash College
Wagner College
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington College
Western Carolina University
Western New England University
Western Oregon University
Westfield State University
Whittier College
Whitworth University
Widener University
Wingate University
Wittenberg University
Woodbury University
Xavier University of Louisiana
York College of Pennsylvania
