The challenge in finding the right college is often the same as finding the right person: the best match might be someone you’d never cross paths with on your own.
Kalamazoo College has joined a statewide program built on addressing that challenge. MI College Match helps K identify students across Michigan who are an academic fit, offer them admission directly, and show them that a K education can be affordable and transformative. And high-achieving students who might never have heard of K or considered a liberal arts college will have a greater opportunity to learn about what K has to offer.
The program, run by the Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) with EAB’s Match platform, is embedded in more than 350 Michigan high schools—including public and private—through MCAN’s College Bound Michigan initiative. Students complete a short profile capturing their interests, preferences, and academic record; participating colleges then extend admission and scholarship offers based on anonymized profiles. Students choose which colleges to engage with and can enroll without ever filing a formal application.
“A liberal arts education at K prepares you for a whole life, not only a first job, and we want students across Michigan to know it’s within reach—academically and financially,” said Kalamazoo College President Karlyn Crowley. “MI College Match lets us introduce ourselves to talented students who might not have pictured themselves here, and to answer the affordability question honestly and early.”
For Kalamazoo College, direct admission is a genuine offer, not an invitation to apply. K sets its own admission criteria and conditions for enrollment, so students admitted to K through the MI College Match will meet the same admission criteria as students applying through its traditional admit process. The program changes how qualified students discover K—not what it takes to earn admission.
The program also strengthens the reach of K’s own admission counselors and their partnerships with high school counselors. A shared dashboard lets high school staff track offers, scholarships, and next steps, so more students—and the adults guiding them—can navigate the path to enrollment with better information.
Students who have already applied to K through the Common App will not qualify for direct admission and will be considered through the traditional admit process. Participation in MI College Match will begin this fall, with the first round of direct admission taking place in early October.
“Access is central to our mission,” said Shannon Milan, director of admission at K. “This is a concrete way to widen the circle of students who get to consider a Kalamazoo College education, and to allow our counselors to reach out and make personal connections to students who show a genuine interest in our programs.”
Direct admission programs are expanding across the country as states and colleges look for new ways to reduce barriers to enrollment. MCAN executive director Ryan Fewins-Bliss said direct admission helps students, particularly first-generation, low-income, and historically underserved students, see college as a realistic option earlier in the process.
“When colleges say, ‘We want you here, and you’re already admitted,’ it changes the entire conversation around postsecondary education,” he said.
Direct Admission Participating Institutions
- Albion College
- Alma College
- Aquinas College
- Baker College
- Bay College
- Cleary University
- Davenport University
- Kalamazoo College
- Montcalm Community College
- Oakland University
- Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
- Schoolcraft College
- Spring Arbor University
- University of Detroit Mercy
- University of Michigan-Dearborn
- University of Michigan-Flint
- The University of Olivet