Prospective students tour the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato. It is one of a number of colleges in Minnesota that now use direct admissions.
Michael Burke/EdSource
Top Takeaways
- Minnesota and a growing number of other states are using direct admissions, in which colleges automatically admit students based on their grades, without them even applying.
- California is implementing its own direct admissions statewide. A pilot already exists in Riverside County, and a new law recently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will expand the initiative at CSU.
- In Minnesota, direct admissions programs help students unsure about college, especially first-generation students or those in rural communities.
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 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. And 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 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 this 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, also will not participate.
“California is behind in many things when it comes to higher ed,” said Adrian Huerta, an associate professor and college access scholar at the USC Rossier School of Education. “I’m glad that California’s finally joining a number of states that are practicing this.”
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 to 50% of all graduating seniors. And 46% of students at participating high schools enrolled in a Minnesota college, compared to 28% of students at non-participating Minnesota high schools.
In the Minnesota State system, which includes 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.
Officials credit the turnaround partly to direct admissions, making it easier for students to enroll.
At Le Sueur-Henderson Middle/High School in Le Sueur, Minnesota, counselor Jessica Kirschner said she has seen direct admissions make a difference for some students.
The school is located in a small, rural town known for its farming of peas about halfway between Minneapolis and Mankato. Located off of Minnesota’s Highway 169, Le Sueur has a population of just over 4,000 people. The school enrolls students in sixth through 12th grade and has a total of about 500 students.
When Kirschner made a presentation recently for a class of juniors about direct admissions, some were surprised to learn they would be automatically admitted to four-year colleges. About 70% of graduates from Le Sueur attend some form of college, but some students don’t realize they are eligible, Kirschner said.
“Even if I get two or three more kids who enroll because of direct admissions that wouldn’t otherwise, that’s huge for us,” she said.
There are at least 15 states 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.
Minnesota’s program includes the 26 community colleges and seven four-year universities in the Minnesota State system. Four of the five campuses in the separate University of Minnesota system also participate — all except Twin Cities, the system’s moderately selective and flagship campus. An additional 17 private universities also participate, as do tribal colleges.
The Minnesota colleges program divides colleges into one of five tiers of selectivity. For colleges in the highest tier, students who achieve at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average are admitted. The grade requirements get less strict for the lower tiers, but colleges often exclude or require more for their most popular programs.
“We’re really trying to lean into the fact that this is a public good,” said Aaron Salasek, the director of Minnesota’s direct admissions program. “So that applies to all different kinds of higher ed partners.”
The Mankato campus, the Minnesota State system’s flagship campus, enrolls about 14,000 students and is located about 80 miles south of Minneapolis. Most undergraduate students live on the campus, and the most popular majors include nursing and business.
The chilly winter weather there has an impact on student life. At the center of the 300-acre campus, a central outdoor space gets significant foot traffic during warmer months and hosts events like homecoming activities and poster sales. But in the winter months, when temperatures often drop into the single digits, students can typically get from building to building without ever stepping a foot outside. Most buildings are connected, either by bridges or underground tunnels.
Last year, Mankato made direct admission offers to 971 students, and 127 of them enrolled, a modest but meaningful number for a campus where enrollment has flattened.
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 only be considering 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.
Halverson recently toured the Mankato campus with six other prospective students and their parents. She said she likes the modern facilities and amenities, including the student center that features pool tables and a bowling alley. She is deciding whether to major in math, accounting, or communication sciences and disorders.
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.”
Back in California, Huerta, the college access expert at USC, said he’s hopeful direct admissions will similarly make life easier for students, especially in areas like 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 to 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.