A pilot program with Niche Direct Admissions for the 2024-25 admissions year will allow high school seniors who meet certain criteria for admission and merit scholarships to receive immediate acceptance to the University of New Hampshire based solely on their Niche profile.
Direct admissions programs like the partnership with Niche have expanded rapidly over the past five years as universities seek to broaden access, boost enrollment and change the narrative of higher education from one of scarcity to one of opportunity.
According to Niche survey data, 80% of last year’s high school seniors reported they'd be more interested in a college that offers acceptance without a traditional application. Now in its fourth consecutive cycle, Niche Direct Admissions has more than 110 college and university partners.
“UNH is committed to making it easier for students and their families to access higher education and to navigate the admissions process,” said Kimberly DeRego, vice provost of enrollment management at UNH. “Students admitted via the Niche program are held to the same standards as any other student we welcome; however, they now have a quicker, more straightforward path to enrollment.”
Along with UNH, Plymouth State University is also taking part in the pilot program for the 2024-25 admissions year. This is the first time UNH and PSU, part of the University System of New Hampshire, will offer direct admissions.
Research from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University noted that “complexity and uncertainty in the college application process contribute to longstanding racial and socioeconomic disparities in enrollment.” While the study found that direct admissions programs increased the number of college applications overall, the increases were greater for underrepresented minority, first-generation and low-income students.
With Niche Direct Admissions, institutions set criteria for acceptance that are unique to their college or university. Meanwhile, students create an online profile and explore colleges based on a myriad of factors. In real time, qualified students will see if they have been accepted, receive a merit scholarship offer and access detailed information about the institution along with the option to initiate the enrollment process. These are offers from colleges the student expressed interest in, as well as similar ones they qualify for and may want to consider.
“It’s wonderful to see forward-thinking schools, such as our friends in New Hampshire, start to meet today’s students where they are by providing them and their families with the immediacy and transparency they’ve come to expect elsewhere in their lives,” said Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche. “Not only is it beneficial to the students, but the ROI for the colleges checks out as well. The 2024 Niche Direct Admissions cycle generated an estimated first-year net tuition revenue of nearly $100 million, accounting for 9% of our partner institutions’ deposits on average, with some as high as 30%.”
Niche’s student-first approach removes much of the friction associated with the traditional college admissions process, such as letters of recommendation or personal essays. Niche Direct Admissions is free for students and open to all high school seniors, allowing them to receive acceptance and scholarships to colleges both in their home state and elsewhere. Students can still apply to PSU and UNH via the traditional application process.
UNH and PSU are now actively offering Niche Direct Admissions to the high school class of 2025. High school underclassmen who create a Niche profile will automatically be eligible for direct admissions offers during their senior year. Over a million high school seniors create a Niche Profile each year, which is roughly one out of every two college-bound seniors.
“Niche was easy to adopt and has complemented our existing strategies, providing us with an additional source of enrollment at a time of rapid change within the industry,” said Joanne Landers, vice president of enrollment management and communications at Plymouth State University. “This new resource will enable us to further streamline our admissions process and extend the PSU experience to a broader audience.”
