Mercy College Partnerships with Direct Admissions Programs Break Down College Access Barriers
Mercy College has partnered with two organizations that aim to strengthen the path to higher education for students from all backgrounds by simplifying and automating the college application process. The two organizations, The Common Application (Common App) and College Greenlight programs allow colleges to proactively approach and provisionally accept students that meet admissions criteria before they formally apply. In partnering with Common App and College Greenlight, Mercy can continue to increase access to higher education for both traditional and nontraditional students. Since the beginning of Mercy’s partnership with Common App and College Greenlight in November 2022, the College has admitted nearly 200 students that have reciprocated interest in enrolling at Mercy.
“Mercy College’s partnerships with Common App and College Greenlight have been successful in drawing an increased interest and applications from a diverse pool of prospective students,” said Adam Castro, vice president of enrollment management at Mercy College. “Beyond generating interest in the College, the partnerships further Mercy’s mission of advancing access for marginalized groups that are the most likely to be undermatched when it comes to college.”
The Common App is a non-profit membership organization representing 1,000 diverse colleges across the country, including Mercy College. The organization was founded in 1975 to offer an undergraduate college admissions application that allowed students to complete one application for several schools, and in 1998, it created an online platform for students to submit college applications.
In November 2022, the Common App launched a direct admissions pilot program utilizing just 14 out of their 1,000 member colleges as participants. Mercy College was selected as one of the 14 direct admissions pilot program participants. The Common App direct admissions pilot program culminates in fall 2023, which will be followed by an evaluation of the direct admissions program’s effectiveness in meeting its goals.
Like the Common App, College Greenlight aims to cultivate a diverse pipeline of college applicants, including first-generation students. Launched in 2012, College Greenlight is a large professional group of community-based organizations that provide college access services for youth. Mercy’s partnership with College Greenlight gives students in the College Greenlight database who demonstrate criteria applicable to Mercy admittance requirements, automatic admittance to Mercy. Furthermore, the partnership with College Greenlight enables Mercy to connect on a broad scale with community groups that share a similar mission of ensuring access to college for underrepresented students and students from low-income backgrounds.
As Mercy continues to engage and connect with a diverse prospective student population, organizations like Common App and College Greenlight, that administer direct admissions, have proven to be successful partners in reaching students who would benefit most from the supportive, inclusive and high-quality college education that Mercy College has to offer.
To read more about Mercy College’s participation in the Common App pilot program, please click here.