Texas universities join many other universities in 35 states in a program that allows students to determine whether they will be admitted to the school before applying We have revolutionized the application process.
‘Direct admission’, which was piloted in 2021 and officially launched at the end of 2023, aims to streamline the university application process, allowing schools to admit students even if they have not applied. . Notably, not all universities across the country participate in this program.
Now, Gov. Greg Abbott has announced that all Texas public universities, which make up the majority of the state’s universities, will also participate in the program.
“As a father, I understand how confusing and stressful the college admissions process can be for families. The launch of Direct Enrollment will help young students and their families lead successful lives in Texas. We will make the college application process easier for you to choose the best Texas college for you,” Abbott said in a press release announcing the changes.
“Together, we will continue to develop a more efficient and effective college admissions process for all Texas students and create a brighter future for our great state.”
Currently, more than 30 universities in Texas are participating in the new tool, including the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, the state’s largest public universities.
“We want to reduce anxiety and increase predictability for students and their families, and this seems like an important way to make the decision-making process easier to navigate,” Chief of Staff and said Executive Director Melissa Henderson. An agency of the Texas Higher Education Foundation.
Henderson said the new process will let students and families know “earlier in the process what they can expect and what options they have.”
The move to include Texas in this process is significant, given that Texas has the second-highest number of college students in the nation; earlier this year, Best Colleges magazine reported that Texas has 1.56 million college students. I am doing it. Texas A&M University-College Station is currently part of the Direct Admissions program and has the largest enrollment of any four-year college campus in the nation, with more than 74,000 students.
The direct admissions process is done by students entering their high school grade point average, class rank, and standardized test scores. Then, in real time, you immediately receive decisions from universities, each of which has set its own parameters for awarding an offer.
If a student is interested in the offer, submit a free application. The university will then verify the information in the application and send the student an official acceptance letter.
Importantly, even if students are not eligible for immediate admission, they may still be admitted the old-fashioned way, with admissions offices reviewing more traditional and comprehensive applications.
The new process isn’t just beneficial for students; Smaller universities with the potential to attract attention can now solicit students for direct admission, for example by waiving the normally required essay.
Henderson said Texas is improving the application process by combining MyTexasFuture, a website that provides information about direct admission offers for students, and ApplyTexas, a website that in-state students use to actually submit their applications. He said he wants to make it even more seamless.
Henderson said she hopes to include more information about offers, including financial aid, in the next application cycle.
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Other application websites such as Niche and Common App (the most widely used websites for students to apply to college each year) have adopted similar versions of direct admission.
For the 2024-2025 application season, Common App has launched a direct admissions program with 117 member universities.
Nick Sproull, Common App’s senior director of product strategy, said the company is addressing the “serious fear of rejection” that surrounds the college application process, especially for “first-generation or low-income students.” “The motivation for starting the service.” Admissions Pilot”.
The Common App will first roll out a direct admissions pilot in 2021, with a focus on extending offers from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to students in Tennessee, Virginia, and Maryland. did.
Sproul told the Guardian that the dramatic change in the process stemmed from a survey of students who were asked to choose words they would never use to describe the university admissions process.
“Words like ‘simple, logical, fun’ and ‘fair’ came up repeatedly among voters,” Sproule said, adding: Know that they absolutely deserve a college education, and that they deserve and are welcome on college campuses. ”
