Indiana high school seniors can expect college-related letters in their mailboxes this fall, but they may not be the letters they hope to receive.
Starting next school year, all Indiana high schools will be required to participate in the “Indiana Pre-admissions: Your Path to College” program, which sends letters to seniors informing them which Indiana colleges and universities they are eligible for based on their GPA and SAT scores in the first year.
The letter does not mean the student will be automatically admitted to all colleges listed, but is intended to help inform Hoosier students about their educational options after high school.
“Our goal here was to create a much friendlier marketplace for students and their families, and yes, to keep as much talent in our state as possible,” said Chris Lowery, commissioner of Indiana’s Commission for Higher Education. Although Indiana has made progress in increasing the state’s higher education enrollment this year, state officials hope the letter will address the stagnant number of students entering college, or students entering college straight out of high school go, turn around.
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Who gets the letter?
About 75,000 high school students will receive the letter in September, Lowery said Monday during his State of Higher Education address.
Last September, secondary schools were able to register for the pre-admission process. About 57,000 students, or about 80% of high school students, received letters this year, Lowery said.
In addition to identifying which colleges and universities the students are eligible for, the letter also tells the student how to research the school, how to apply, and how to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Some of the state’s largest campuses, like IU Bloomington and Purdue University West Lafayette, don’t participate in the pre-admission program, but that doesn’t mean students can’t apply. Information about these and other universities can be found at learnmoreindiana.org/preadmit.
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The pre-admission program differs from an automatic admission program, such as the current partnership between Indiana University Indianapolis and Indianapolis Public Schools, which automatically admits students to the university with a certain GPA.
How many Indiana students go to college?
Only two other states, Idaho and Minnesota, have a pre-admission program. Such programs are intended to increase the number of students attending college in the state.
While Indiana continues to lag in increasing the number of students attending colleges, this fall saw an increase in higher education enrollment with an increase of about 5,000 students, or about 2%, compared to fall 2022.
As of fall 2023, approximately 244,000 students were enrolled at Indiana colleges and universities seeking both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Lowery said in Monday’s speech that despite the progress, more work needs to be done to raise the standard of higher education.
“Last year was the wake-up call and this year the data tells us we are on the right track, but there is still work to be done,” Lowery said.
Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.
Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America will fund up to half of the reporter’s salary during their time with us, and IndyStar will raise money for the rest. To learn more about how you can support IndyStar’s partnership with Report for America and make a donation, visit indystar.com/RFA.
This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: High school seniors: watch for this letter coming in September
