Early adopters of direct admissions expect record class sizes

Times Higher Education

Scott Jaschik for Inside Higher Ed

May 3, 2023

The first of May is the traditional deadline for admitted applicants to respond to their offers of admission in the US. But for all but the most competitive colleges and universities, 1 May does not mean that much any more.

Community colleges and most public and private four-year colleges are still admitting students. Many will be doing so right up to when colleges welcome students for the fall. Still, 1 May is a customary day to take stock of admissions.

And one group is declaring success: the colleges and companies pushing direct admissions. Although there have been experiments previously, this was the first big year for direct admissions, in which students do not apply to colleges; instead, they each create a portfolio of their grades, standardized test scores (if they have them), what they want to study and where they want to study (it might be a state or region, or a type of environment, such as urban or rural). Colleges then offer the student a spot.

Direct admissions appeals primarily to the students you do not hear about this time of year. These are the students who do not have 4.0 grade point averages (GPAs) or killer SAT scores. In other words, it appeals to the students who enroll at most colleges.

Most colleges using direct admissions are not done with the admissions cycle for enrolling students for the autumn of 2023. And most colleges using direct admissions are admitting only a small number of their students that way – for now, at least.

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