More than 23,000 high school seniors have accepted direct admission offers from North Carolina colleges and universities through a new statewide program.
NC College Connect is designed to reduce barriers to higher education by guaranteeing eligible students admission to partnering schools without completing a traditional application.
It’s a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the University of North Carolina System and other community and independent colleges.
Seniors qualify for the program if they have a weighted GPA of 2.8 or higher and meet certain course requirements.
Based on that information, they’re offered direct admission to some, if not all, participating institutions. Those include 11 of the state’s public universities, 29 private schools and 58 community colleges.
The program launched as a pilot in 2024 but has since expanded. Officials say roughly 21% of this year’s graduating class used NC College Connect to access higher education.