Hello colleagues,
Imagine you’re a junior in high school. Your parents didn’t go to college, you’re working part-time to help out at home, and even though you have pretty good grades, you’re not sure where (or if) you might get in if you applied to college. You know that college could open doors, but with so many options and requirements, it feels daunting to even start. And it is daunting. The barriers students face when applying to college are numerous, from complex admissions processes to confusing financial aid offers, a lack of support to explore options to the simple uncertainty of not knowing if they’ll be accepted to the colleges they’re interested in.
With a new tool called “Direct Admissions” Texas is creatively tackling this last barrier.
- With the Direct Admissions tool, students can enter their class rank, GPA, and SAT/ACT scores to receive a list of Texas public universities where they’re likely to be admitted. Students can access this list as early as the end of their junior year, giving them time to plan, explore financial aid, and connect with schools where they already know they meet admissions criteria.
- With 31 Texas public universities participating, including flagships UT Austin and Texas A&M, students in every corner of Texas can find accessible, reliable information about where they’re qualified to attend.
The development of the Direct Admissions tool was supported by a $250,000 grant from the Lumina Foundation as part of The Great Admissions Redesign. Governor Abbott celebrated the launch of the tool: “The college application process will be made easier for young students and their families to choose the best Texas college or university to lead successful lives in our state.”
The best pathways aren’t worth much if students don’t know about them or can’t see themselves on them. I hope that this tool, along with public guarantees like UT’s guaranteed admissions for the top performers in every high school and the more recent promise of free tuition at UTs for students from families making under $100,000 help more students see, understand, and seize their options.
Direct Admissions is part of the My Texas Future platform, a website built for students to get clear intel on applications, financial aid, transferring between colleges, and potential careers. In the planning phase leading up the creation of this powerful tool, our partners at the Texas Higher Education Foundation surveyed 400 students and 400 parents . Around ¾ of both groups said that this kind of tool would be highly impactful on their (or their child’s) plans. And the numbers since the launch have confirmed that enthusiasm: In the first month, over seven thousand students used the tool, and traffic to the My Texas Future site skyrocketed.
With tools like Direct Admissions, Texas aims to reduce the guesswork and uncertainty that can be such a barrier for students. In the words of the state’s higher ed coordinating board, students can begin envisioning their reality as college students before even starting the application process.
I look forward to seeing how counselors and high school educators use this tool to help students see bigger (maybe even “Texas-sized”...) futures for themselves.
Thanks for reading,
Patrick Methvin
Director of Education, Pathways and Postsecondary Success Strategies
“One of our top priorities in Texas is to ensure the next generation of Texans have the opportunity to choose the best education options so they can succeed in high-demand, good-paying jobs after graduation.”
What we’re reading, Texas edition:
- The University of Texas system announced that students whose families make less than $100,000/year will get free tuition and waived fees at any of the academic universities in the system.
- Wynn Rosser has been named the new commissioner of higher education, taking over Harrison Keller after his departure to take on the presidency at the University of North Texas.
- Thoughtful reporting from East Texas on what it means when a majority of a community college’s enrollment is dual credit (high school) students—including great reflections from teachers on their role in helping students understand their education options.