Even if They Didn’t Apply, Some Students Get College Admission Offers

Some high school seniors have already received offers of admission to college for the next academic year — even though they didn’t formally apply.

Under so-called direct admissions programs increasingly being tried by states, colleges and third-party services, seniors who meet minimum academic qualifications are receiving unsolicited notifications of admission. Once they are identified as qualifying candidates, the students can complete an often-simplified application online.

Some programs in use or being tested are overseen by states, including those in Idaho, Minnesota, and Georgia. Others are managed by individual colleges, or by services like the Common Application, a nonprofit used by more than 1,000 colleges to manage their applications, and Niche, a commercial college search website.

Details of the programs vary. Some focus on four-year colleges while others include two-year community colleges. With some state-based programs, all high school seniors may be admitted. With the Common Application (popularly known as the Common App) and Niche, students create online accounts with basic information like their grade point average and home state, and participating colleges respond when notified of students who meet their criteria.