The direct approach aids students AND schools

The growth of direct admission—an approach that simplifies the college search process by automatically admitting high schoolers who meet certain criteria—bodes well for both.

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In California, proactivity is a plus

A pilot direct admission program is expanding statewide this year. Officials see it as an important tool in attracting more young people to college—especially those who are unsure about pursuing education beyond high school.

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Hawaii’s system catches the wave

Direct2UH is a tool to boost enrollment, but it's more than that. One university official says the program encourages students who don’t see themselves as college-worthy. "It says: ‘No, you are. You deserve to be in college. You’ve earned this.’”

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Confidence climbing in Wisconsin

Direct admission doesn't just simplify the application process. Advocates say the programs often bolster students’ confidence about their ability to succeed in college.

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Video: Now she knows, “The world believes in me.”

Direct admit is expanding statewide in California. Learn how it’s opening opportunities for students like Milana Waggoner and her peers at Cal State in San Bernardino.

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Video: He says his future holds ‘something big.’

Eiziah Lieblein, an incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, is using guaranteed college admission as a springboard to success.

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

There’s a memory common to most of us—perhaps painfully common: With our high school years winding down and graduation day approaching, we anxiously perused the daily mail, hoping for that long-awaited acceptance letter from our college of choice.

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The stories in this issue of Focus were reported and written by Jamaal Abdul-Alim, a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C., where he has covered higher education policy since 2008. Abdul-Alim broke into the news business in the 1990s as a crime reporter for the old Milwaukee Sentinel while an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He was a staff writer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for a decade, served as a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan in 2008, and was a Spencer Education Journalism Fellow at Columbia University in 2014. He is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Writing | Jamaal Abdul-Alim
Editing
| David S. Powell and Stephanie Wang
Editorial assistance | Ruth Holladay
Photos | Shawn Spence
Video Reporting: Grace Trahan
Video Production: Michael Jensen
Design | IronGate Creative

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