{"id":18,"date":"2026-04-09T15:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/new-direct-admissions\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:01:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:01:23","slug":"overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/overview\/","title":{"rendered":"Direct Admit Wisconsin Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is Direct Admit Wisconsin?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Direct Admit Wisconsin is an initiative by the Universities of Wisconsin to proactively offer admission to qualifying Wisconsin high school students. Direct Admit Wisconsin does not require a student to submit an application. Instead, students are offered admission to UW universities based on academic data about each participating student (coursework and GPA) provided by their high school to the Universities of Wisconsin between their junior and senior years of high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Participate in Direct Admit Wisconsin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Becoming a Direct Admit Wisconsin High School Partner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year, the Universities of Wisconsin will reach out to private high schools and public school districts that are not currently participating in Direct Admit Wisconsin to share information and invite them to join the program. This outreach typically begins around mid-August with an email sent directly to school heads and district superintendents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a school or district is interested in becoming a Direct Admit Wisconsin High School Partner, they would complete the following steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Identify the people who will take the lead on Direct Admit Wisconsin activities. A typical team might include a principal or vice principal, a school counselor, and a technology coordinator familiar with your student information system (SIS). Because the primary submission window for Direct Admit occurs over the summer, it\u2019s a good idea to make sure that at least one person on the team will be able to work on Direct Admit during the summer months.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identify the team member who will serve as the primary contact for Direct Admit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Complete a participation survey (link shared in outreach email)&nbsp;to opt-in and share information about your school and Direct Admit team members. This survey is typically due around the end of October.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Submit a Data Sharing Agreement by the requested deadline. The Data Sharing Agreement will be routed to your school via DocuSign in early fall after you have completed the participation survey. This Data Sharing Agreement is typically due around the end of November. Schools who have previously participated in Direct Admit do not need to renew their commitment to participate as you will be automatically included as a participant every year unless you notify the Universities of Wisconsin Administration in writing of your intent to withdraw. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Information sessions for prospective High School Partners will be held each fall to share additional information about the program. Dates and registration links will be shared in the outreach email and posted publicly on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admissions\">website<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Student Participation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>High schools recruit students to participate in Direct Admit Wisconsin and obtain parent\/guardian permission for their student to participate using either an \u201copt-in\u201d process or \u201copt-out\u201d process. If the school chooses an &#8220;opt-in&#8221; process, they would distribute a form asking parents\/guardians to complete the form if they would like to allow their student to participate. If the school chooses an &#8220;opt-out&#8221; process, they would distribute a form asking parents\/guardians to complete they form only if they do not want their student to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Direct Admit Student Admissions Criteria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to receive an offer of direct admission, student must meet the following eligibility criteria, based on their academic record at the end of their junior year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be on track to graduate from a participating Wisconsin high school (students who have transferred from another state or country are still eligible, as long as they will graduate from the high school)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Opt to participate in the program<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be on track to graduate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be on track to complete the credits required for admission\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>4 units of English<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 units of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/math\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"27\">college-preparatory math<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 units of social science<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 units of natural science<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4 additional academic units (electives)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Admission Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>High schools submit a .csv data file to the Universities of Wisconsin with academic data about their rising seniors who have chosen to participate. The primary submission window takes place over the summer after the end of the students\u2019 junior year, but schools also have an opportunity to submit during a second window in early fall if they are unable to submit over the summer. Based on their unweighted GPA (4.0 scale), students are placed into one of six tiers that determine which UW universities they are admitted to. There is no minimum GPA requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Student Steps After Admission<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Universities of Wisconsin will send a single Direct Admit Wisconsin offer letter to each eligible student, listing all the UW universities to which they have received admission. This offer letter is sent via email to the student&#8217;s high school email address on August 1 of each year. A postal mail admission packet will also be sent to each student&#8217;s primary home address, typically in the week or two following August 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Students must then complete Direct Admit Forms for each of the UW universities they are interested in attending. These forms do not lock students into attending those universities; they simply indicate that they are interested in getting more information about enrolling. Counselors can work with students throughout their senior year to help them weigh their options and decide which university is the best fit for them. Direct Admit Forms must be submitted by May 1 of the student&#8217;s senior year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Admission to UW universities through Direct Admit Wisconsin is for students enrolling in the fall immediately after senior year. If a student is interested in early enrollment or deferral, they would need to reach out to the UW university they are interested in attending to inquire about options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Technical Information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Direct Admit data submission processes vary depending on what Student Information System (SIS) a school uses. InfiniteCampus, Skyward, PowerSchool and jmc have submission modules for Direct Admit Wisconsin integrated into their software. For other SISes or for schools that maintain their own records without third-party software, there is a manual submission process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Details, including step-by-step instructions can be found in our Technical Documentation Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Direct Admit Wisconsin? Direct Admit Wisconsin is an initiative by the Universities of Wisconsin to proactively offer admission to qualifying Wisconsin high school students. Direct Admit Wisconsin does [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6830,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6830"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/direct-admit-hs-resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}