Nearly 1,500 MPS students apply to college before they start senior year

More than 1,500 High school juniors at Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) have met the June 1, 2025 deadline for applying early to college by using the free, simple M-Cubed Milwaukee Direct Admit form.

In less than five minutes, students could apply to Milwaukee Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, or both. Students can go to mpsmke.com/directadmit to get started.

Milwaukee Direct Admit effort is part of M-Cubed, a partnership connecting MPS, MATC and UWM to build bridges from K-12 to higher education and transform Milwaukee through education. As one initiative in the partnership, M-Cubed Milwaukee Direct Admit is specifically designed to simplify the college application process. There are no essays, no letters of recommendation, and no test scores, attachments, or transcripts for the students to send. MPS provides UWM and MATC with transcripts and other needed information directly. And by starting the process early — during junior year instead of senior year — students can focus their senior year on finishing strong, completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and getting registered for college classes.

Students and families are already responding in increasing numbers.

The 1,467 MPS juniors who have already applied represent 39 percent of the class –exceeding M-Cubed’s goal of 35 percent and nearly doubling the 21 percent who applied last year.

Last year’s applicants are now high school seniors and nearly 900 began their senior year with a college acceptance in hand. Through another M-Cubed initiative — Smart Start — they spent their senior year getting to know one another, registering for classes and getting oriented to college. They can participate in a summer program, and the support continues into their first year at UWM or MATC. Together, these efforts are aimed at increasing the number of Milwaukee high school students who go on to and succeed in higher education, lifting up the individuals, their families, our community — and building a skilled, diverse workforce.