New Plan to Boost Attendance at Idaho Colleges

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho education officials want to flip the traditional college admission process around in order to boost the state's dismal college attendance rates.

The State Board of Education listened to a new proposal Thursday that recommended alerting qualified high school seniors that they've been accepted to all eight of Idaho's colleges and universities rather than wait for application results. Board spokesman Blake Youde says students would still need to fill out paperwork to secure a spot at their school of choice.

Pre-qualification for acceptance would be based on grade point average, total school credits and SAT scores. However, officials are still determining the minimum standards. Roughly 50 percent of Idaho's 21,000 graduating students don't go on to college. The board will vote on adopting the proposal in August.