Illinois has launched a direct admissions initiative called “One Click College Admit.”

The program, officially announced by Governor JB Pritzker and higher education leaders on August 19, is a shift in college admissions that waives application fees, essays, and letters of recommendation for Illinois students. Through this streamlined system, high school seniors and community college transfer students across the state will receive automatic college acceptances to participating public universities by meeting a single criterion: their GPA.

How the Program Works

For Current High School Seniors (Class of 2026): Students need only create a Common App account, enter their basic biographical information and GPA to receive automatic admission offers for fall 2026 enrollment. The eligibility matching process runs weekly, with institutions verifying transcripts before enrollment.

For High School Juniors (Class of 2027): Beginning in August 2025, students and parents complete an online opt-in form allowing their GPA to be shared with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). Participating students will receive admission offers during fall of their senior year for enrollment in fall 2027.

For Community College Students: Starting in January 2026, transfer students can opt into the program by allowing their GPA and required 30 transferable credit hours to be shared with ISAC for matching with university admission requirements.

The program includes nine of Illinois’ eleven public universities:

• Chicago State University
• Eastern Illinois University
• Governors State University
• Illinois State University
• Northern Illinois University
• Northeastern Illinois University
• Southern Illinois University (Carbondale and Edwardsville)
• University of Illinois Springfield
• Western Illinois University

The University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are not participating in the direct admissions component, though students who meet certain criteria will be encouraged to apply to these flagship institutions through traditional methods.

The program also reminds students about open enrollment opportunities at Illinois’ 48 community colleges across the state.

Illinois joins more than a dozen states implementing direct admissions programs. Research on Idaho’s program showed impressive results, including an 11% increase in undergraduate enrollment at participating institutions and 11.1% to 16.3% increases in in-state enrollment.

A recent large-scale experimental study across four states found that direct admissions increases college applications by 2.7 percentage points (12% increase) overall, with even larger impacts for underrepresented groups: racially minoritized students saw 3-6 percentage point increases, first-generation students increased by 4 points, and low-income students by 5 points.