More than 130,000 Georgia high school seniors will receive letters in October listing colleges and universities that are saving spots for them in their 2027 freshman classes—even though they never applied.
Georgia is one of 19 states that have developed some form of a direct-admissions system. Using data about academic performance through 11th grade, colleges essentially apply to students—a reverse of the traditional application process that can create logistical and financial barriers to enrollment.
“For a lot of high school seniors, maybe they aren’t sure if they are college material,” said Chris Green, the president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, which helped launch the system, called Georgia Match, in 2023. “It’s a real eye-opening experience to say, ‘I’m already admitted to 45 schools.’”
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Organizers from multiple sectors of state government believe Georgia’s is the largest and most comprehensive direct-admissions program in the country. The first such program began in Idaho in 2015 and other states have followed suit.
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Organizers have found that eliminating friction from the admissions process can encourage students to give more consideration to in-state schools, helping states retain talent, said Melanie Heath, the strategy director for access at the Lumina Foundation, an organization that aims to expand postsecondary opportunities.
And including a wide array of institutions, including technical schools, may help students who weren’t previously considering college to credential programs in high-needs fields, like skilled trades, she said.
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In Georgia, students’ college options are hosted on the same state data platform they use to discuss career paths as early as middle school. Students can click “claim my spot” next to a college on their offer letter to finish the application process, and schools waive application fees in November every year to eliminate another hurdle.
As it works to refine its program in bigger ways, the state has also made small tweaks to ensure students understand how it works, Green said. For example, organizers beefed up the envelope size for offer letters when they realized families had mistaken the business-sized envelopes they originally used as junk mail.
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