WELCOME TO COLLEGE – NO NEED TO APPLY

Last month, CSU Pueblo welcomed 143 freshmen who came to campus through a new direct admission program that is the first in the state to automatically accept high school seniors who meet university admissions criteria – without the need to apply.

“The whole premise is to eliminate the barrier of students having to create and submit an application,” said Kristyn White Davis, vice president of enrollment management and extended studies at CSU Pueblo. “One of the goals is to increase enrollment at CSU Pueblo. The second goal is to help the precollegiate population understand that they can go to college – the door is now open wider.”

CSU Pueblo has nearly 4,000 students and seeks to build its enrollment. First-generation students – the first in their families to earn bachelor’s degrees – make up about 40 percent of that population. These students, in particular, may be inspired to attend college through the direct admission program because they can bypass an application process that may be unfamiliar to them and their families, White Davis said.

“We know that many students do not apply to college at all, whether that is out of fear of rejection, perceived cost, or to enter the workforce directly,” said Lee Saunders, executive director of admissions at CSU Pueblo. “Direct admission quashes the fear, demonstrates financial aid and scholarships to offset costs, and puts the power of higher career earnings right into students’ hands – easier and earlier than ever before.”

The direct admission program relies on partnerships with school districts, which share student academic and demographic information with CSU Pueblo after receiving permission from families. Rising high school seniors with grade-point averages of 2.3 or better are automatically admitted to the university without going through the standard application process, White Davis said.

Students then receive admissions letters from CSU Pueblo, followed by information about the availability of scholarships and financial aid – thereby reinforcing messages about both college access and affordability. That aid includes the potential for free tuition for qualifying students from low-income households through the university’s Pack Promise program.

Pueblo and Southern Colorado are the first target markets for the direct admission program, White Davis said. As time goes on, CSU Pueblo will seek to partner with numerous school districts and community colleges to reach potential university students.

Direct admission is a no-cost, no-commitment program, Saunders noted. The program could encourage students to apply to other colleges and universities after they are emboldened by CSU Pueblo.

“It cuts out that mindset of ‘I’m not good enough to go,’ helping students instead say, ‘I can go to college,’” White Davis said.

Photo at top: Matthew Staver.