Reducing Inequality in College Admissions: Experimental & Quasi-Exper Evidence on Simplified “Direct Admissions” Systems

When applying to college, students navigate a “gauntlet” of informational and financial processes that require substantial social and cultural capital. This reality produces widespread racial and socioeconomic inequalities in college access. Rather than working to individually reduce application burdens, an emerging strategy is to structurally eliminate applications altogether and instead proactively admit students to college based on high school records.