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2025-2026 Pilot

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Direct Admissions + Financial Aid Project

We believe every student can benefit from a college education. That belief is the driving force behind Tennessee’s new Direct Admissions pilot study. This study will notify graduating high school seniors in the Class of 2026 from a group of randomly selected Tennessee high schools that there are multiple colleges and universities that are eager to admit them based on their academic records and their projected graduation date.

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of proactively admitting students to participating colleges and universities and providing them with an upfront signal of the financial aid available to them.

"What if students could be proactively admitted to college and provided with an upfront guarantee or signal of financial aid?"

>> Research shows that many students find the college application process overwhelming, which can lead some to abandon college altogether.

>> Direct admissions programs proactively admit students based on pre-existing data, eliminating the need for traditional applications.

>> Current direct admissions initiatives boost college access, especially for first-generation students, but affordability remains a challenge.

>> Tennessee is the first state to combine direct admissions with financial aid, ensuring students know their college options and grants and scholarships available to them.

>> THEC is leading this pilot to streamline college entry and increase enrollment statewide.

Many people and organizations contributed to the Direct Admissions pilot project, and it would not have been possible without their support.

Governor Bill Lee

Tennessee Board of Regents

Tennessee Department of Education

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Making Caring Common at the Harvard Graduate School of Education