Dive Brief:
- The Utah System of Higher Education launched a statewide guaranteed admissions program in a bid to boost higher education access, it announced Friday.
- Starting with the 2024-25 application cycle, graduating high school students will be promised admission to at least one of the state's 16 public colleges and universities without first needing to apply.
- The program, called Admit Utah, will also offer financial aid guidance to undecided students and real-time admissions updates to high school seniors completing their applications.
Dive Insight:
States and public college systems are increasingly turning to guaranteed or direct admissions as a way to attract local students, boost tuition revenue and prevent brain drain. Through these initiatives, students gain entry to colleges if they meet certain criteria, such as GPA requirements, or they receive letters proactively offering them admission before they apply.
Some programs allow students to skip applying altogether. Others have students complete the application process.
Utah's new program falls in the latter category.
After Admit Utah shows prospective students which colleges guarantee their admission, they will need to apply to each one individually. Students won’t have to pay application fees, and each college will have academic advisers to help students.
The initiative aligns with the state higher education board's goal to boost the college-going rate of high school graduates. In Utah, 61.5% of working-age adults hold a postsecondary degree or credential, higher than the national average of 54.3%, according to the Lumina Foundation.
“Admit Utah marks a significant milestone in our efforts to ensure that every Utah student has access to a quality college education,” Cydni Tetro, a member of the state’s higher education board, said in a statement Friday. The program will simplify the application process and give students confidence when applying, Tetro said.
Among the participating colleges, Utah State University and the University of Utah have more selective admissions, a system spokesperson said via email Monday.
Utah State requires a minimum GPA of 2.0 at most of its campuses and mandates applicants with less than a 2.8 GPA take college preparation coursework. University of Utah does not list a hard GPA requirement, the spokesperson said, but students generally enter with a 3.5 GPA or higher.
Utah's public colleges accept most, if not all, of the students who apply to them, including the state's flagship. The University of Utah accepts 87% of applicants, according to data from the College Board. The institution began testing a pilot direct admissions program this fall, proactively sending 5,000 high school seniors acceptance letters.
The Common Application reported last month its direct admissions program would grow to include 116 colleges, up from its inaugural cohort of 71 in 2023. The program focuses on first-generation students and those from low- and middle-income backgrounds.
Common App allows students to apply en masse to over 1,100 member colleges. Eligible students who have an account can receive direct admissions offers once they have uploaded a baseline of academic information.
The expansion, announced just a month before Admit Utah launched, did not include any Utah institutions.
