Colleges increasingly use direct admissions programs that notify students of acceptance before they submit a traditional application. The approach seeks to boost access, simplify decision‑making for students, and improve yield by removing application barriers and signaling institutional interest. For prospective students, direct offers can accelerate enrollment decisions; for admissions teams, the model requires stronger high‑school outreach and data partnerships to identify candidates. Minnesota State University, Mankato’s outreach was cited as an example of a student who received an offer and used it to firm up plans. Direct admissions shifts the recruitment landscape by making offers earlier and more proactively—admissions leaders will need to monitor equity impacts and downstream effects on financial aid packaging and campus capacity.