More Than 150 Colleges Nationwide Providing Real-Time Acceptance and Scholarship Offers via Latest Launch of Niche Direct Admissions®

Niche concluded its previous direct admissions program, for fall 2025, having sourced $138M in first-year net tuition revenue for participating institutions

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Niche, the country's leading platform connecting students and families with colleges, has launched its 2025-26 direct admissions program for high school seniors enrolling in the fall of 2026. Now in its fifth consecutive cycle, Niche Direct Admissions^® has expanded to over 150 college and university partners with more expected to participate in the coming weeks and months.

Key Results:
The most recent Niche Direct Admissions program, for college freshmen enrolling in the fall of this year, delivered outstanding results for both students and higher education institutions:

• 1M students: more than a million students on Niche received at least one acceptance and scholarship offer, with an average of eight per student
• $16K in aid: average annual scholarship amount awarded by participating institutions
• 50% diversity: nearly half of all deposits came from BIPOC and/or first-generation students
• $138M in revenue: estimated first-year net tuition revenue sourced through the 2024–25 Niche Direct Admissions program, an increase of over $50 million from the prior cycle

"Higher ed isn't broken, but the model it was built on is being stress-tested like never before," said Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche. "Colleges and universities of all types know they need to do things differently in order to thrive. Our direct admissions program has proven to be an important piece of the puzzle for many institutions, serving as a new source of enrollments and tuition revenue, and enhancing their competitiveness at a time when they need it most."

Niche is revolutionizing the college admissions landscape by modernizing the way students and families choose their best-fit colleges, and how institutions build their future classes. With Niche Direct Admissions, colleges come to students by sending them real-time acceptance and upfront scholarship offers based solely on a student's online profile with Niche.

Direct admissions programs are rapidly expanding nationwide and help break down barriers to enrollment, encouraging more students — especially Pell Grant-eligible, first-generation, and underrepresented students — to pursue higher education.

Why Niche Direct Admissions:

• Participating colleges include Texas A&M University–Kingsville, The University of Nevada Reno, University of Minnesota Crookston, The University of Missouri–St. Louis, Seattle University, and Drake University
• Featured in NPR, New York Times, and Money.com
• Winner of the 2025 EdTech Breakthrough Awards, a 2024 Best Invention, and the 2024 Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence

The program is now open to high school seniors graduating in 2026. More than 150 four-year colleges and universities across 35 states and the District of Columbia have already committed to offer direct admissions via the Niche platform for the 2025-26 admissions cycle. Students and families can see here which colleges and universities have direct admissions. More institutions will be added on a rolling basis in the coming months. Each year, over a million seniors—about one in every two college-bound students—create a profile on Niche.

Admissions teams interested in accelerating enrollment by meeting students where they are can learn more at niche.com/about/partners/direct-admissions.

ABOUT NICHE
Trusted by over 70 million people annually, Niche is the country's leading college and school search platform. With products like Niche Market Intelligence, Niche Engage, and Niche Direct Admissions^® we provide thousands of higher education and K-12 partners with the tools and support they need to build and shape their future classes. For over 20 years, Niche has been a trusted resource for students and families alike, and we remain dedicated to modernizing, personalizing, and simplifying the education journey.

Press contact:
Nick Liberati
Director, Communications & Content
[email protected]

SOURCE Niche