Illinois high school students can say goodbye to college essays, recommendation letters and application fees as part of a new “direct admissions” program for some public universities and colleges in the state.
The program, called One Click College Admit, allows Illinois high school seniors and community college transfer students to apply for and receive college acceptance into 10 of the state’s public universities by meeting only a single criteria for admission: Grade point average.
The website for the program shows 10 participating universities. While the University of Illinois Springfield is on the list, the system’s popular other public schools, including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), were not.
A joint press release announcing the effort, from the Illinois Board of Higher Education; the Illinois Community College Board; the Illinois Student Association Commission and Gov. JB Pritzker says it “takes the stress out and fees out of admission to state institutions,” by waiving applications, application fees, essays and letters of recommendations for eligible Illinois students Illinois applying to in-state public schools.
“Enhancing access to Illinois’ public universities and community colleges with One Click College Admit will empower even more talented students across the state to realize their full academic potential through higher education,” Pritzker said in the release. “This program marks another step in my administration’s steadfast effort to make Illinois the best state in the nation to receive an accessible, high-quality education — one that sets students of all backgrounds up for lifelong success.”
The program is designed to remove barriers encountered when applying to college, the release said, making the path more streamlined “as simple as possible.”
“By eliminating the stress of essays and burden of fees, One Click College Admit creates opportunities for students who might not have thought college was an option for them,” ISAC executive director Eric Zarnikow said in the release. “Working together with our sister agencies and policymakers on the state’s new direct admissions program, we can make college possible for more Illinois students.”
According to the release, high school seniors can begin getting “automatic acceptances” into Illinois public colleges and universities through the program for the 2026-27 school year. Students start the process by creating a “Common app” account and then entering biographical information, along with their GPA.
Starting in 2027, Illinois high school students can opt-in to the program during their junior year through an online form, the release said.
“By opting into the program, parental consent is given for the student’s GPA to be shared with ISAC to match with the GPA admission requirements at partner public universities, which will give the student direct admission offers.”
In January 2026, the opt-in form will expand to serve community college students who have at least 30 transferable credit hours. Based on GPA, students would then be matched with “admission requirements at partner public universities to identify the direct admission offers.”
NBC Chicago reached out to the University of Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s officer and the program administrators but did not immediately hear back.
More information about the program can be found here.
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