ACT 95 & Direct College Admit

Direct Admit Wisconsin offers early and proactive admission to participating UW System Schools for rising seniors at participating Wisconsin high schools. The UW System Schools will collaborate with participating high schools to review student academic records at the end of their junior year and make offers of admission to participating UW System Schools without the need to submit a traditional admission application. Based on a review of the student’s end-of-year 11th-grade transcript (grade point average, coursework, progression towards graduation), you and your student will receive an email in July indicating which UW System schools are providing them direct admission and the next steps to learn more and enroll. Additional information on Direct Admit is available here and in the table below.

In order to participate in Direct Admit, the Sun Prairie Area School District must share some student data with the University of Wisconsin System. Data that is shared is typical of the data shared during any college application process. You will need to notify your child’s school if you do NOT want your student to participate in the Direct Admit program. You are strongly encouraged to fully review the chart below and the links included in this letter for detailed information. Data would be shared from our Student Information System through a digital secure file transfer system and would include the following information:

• Directory information (name, grade, school of attendance)

• Non-directory information: WISEid, high school student ID, graduation year, physical address, email address, GPA, legal sex, and race/ethnicity. 

Students who rank in the top 5% or 10% of the class at the end of 11th grade will receive an email in July from their High School notifying them that they are eligible for the WI Guarantee program. The top 5% or top 10% will also be shown on the student transcript.

Students are responsible for initiating and completing the application process with any University of Wisconsin School for admission. The law guarantees admission for eligible students who complete the application process. Participating in this program does not commit your student to attend the Universities of Wisconsin. 

Main Differences

1. Basis of Admission:

   • Act 95: Relies primarily on standardized test scores as the main criterion for admissions or eligibility.
   • Direct College Admit: Uses a broader set of criteria for admissions, which includes but is not limited to standardized test scores.

2. Scope:

   • Act 95: Applies specifically to how standardized test scores influence admissions and eligibility in Wisconsin’s public colleges and universities.
   • Direct College Admit: Can apply to a variety of programs and institutions and typically guarantees admission to a specific program or major based on a broader range of criteria.

3. Admission Guarantees:

   • Act 95: Provides clear admission pathways based on meeting standardized score thresholds, often leading to automatic admission if certain score benchmarks are met.
   • Direct College Admit: Guarantees admission to specific programs or majors if a student meets a broader set of criteria, not limited to test scores alone.

In essence, Wisconsin’s Act 95 focuses specifically on standardized test scores for admissions decisions, while Direct College Admit programs use a more holistic approach to guarantee entry into specific programs based on multiple criteria.

No. High schools do not share information directly with the Universities of Wisconsin in this program. Instead, student transcripts will be annotated with their status, and students will be responsible for sharing this with schools they choose to apply to during normal application processes.

You may choose NOT to share your student’s data - choosing NOT to share your student’s data means your student will not be included in the Direct Admit program. If you do NOT want this data shared with the University of Wisconsin System, you MUST complete this form [Link to form] or contact the following High School staff members by email or phone by June 1st, 2024.

Sun Prairie East High School:
Karen Johnson- kmjohns1@sunprairieschools.org 

Sun Prairie West High School:
Jamie Beam- jkbeam@sunprairieschools.org

Prairie Phoenix Academy:
Annetta Wright- alwrigh@sunprairieschools.org