Guaranteed Admission at UW–Madison

• In Event: Consequences of State Policies on Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Wisconsin Act 95, signed into law in February 2024, newly guarantees students who graduate in the top 5% of their high school class admission to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This Top Percent Policy differs from previously studied policies along a number of important dimensions: UW–Madison is the single state flagship in Wisconsin, admits large numbers of students from states not treated by this admissions guarantee, and is requiring students in the top 5% of their class to submit applications by the early action deadline to receive the admissions guarantee. This paper uses admissions records from the University of Wisconsin–Madison to study whether the policy affects high school level application patterns in Wisconsin. I employ a difference in differences framework where Wisconsin high schools are treated, and Minnesota high schools serve as controls. I report the policy's first year effect on high school level application patterns, describe which types of high schools appear to respond most to the policy, and study whether students identified in the Top 5% differ from students who historically sought admission to UW–Madison from their high schools.

Author

• Heather Kain Little, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  Presenting Author