ST. PAUL (WJON News) - Several area school districts are looking into a pilot program through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

The Direct Admissions Initiative allows students at participating high schools to create a personalized list of state colleges and universities they’d like to attend. Based on their academic performance, the student will be notified of admission to those schools. Then, the student can complete a free admission application to the schools they’re interested in attending.

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Office of Higher Education Commissioner Dennis Olson explains the purpose of the program.

Every single high school student in Minnesota is college material and Direct Admissions reinforces that belief by proactively admitting students to college. If a student knows that they will be admitted, they are less likely to self-select out of higher education. In its first year of implementation, we heard from students who were not considering college, but after receiving their notification of admittance, suddenly pursuing higher education became a real possibility. This program is simplifying the process of getting into college and advancing our work to break down attainment gaps for historically excluded populations.

More than 40 Minnesota high schools participated in the first year of the pilot program, and both Becker Public Schools and St. Cloud Area Public Schools have expressed interest in participating during the next school year.

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