As a follow up to our Direct Admissions report out in 2024 and the value it provided to enrollment leaders, the MARKETview team compiled a new suite of insights to uncover how this fast-growing decision type is faring in 2025. When examining the top-level findings, there were several key takeaways specifically tied to yield that shed light on how this barrier breaking decision type is performing in the current enrollment environment. In this blog, we’ll focus on yield outcomes. For the bigger picture of Direct Admissions in 2025, check out the full eBook here.
When comparing overall yield rates for Direct Admissions year-over-year (YOY) among MARKETview partners, we can see a slight downturn. Yield was at 11.3% for Direct Admissions in 2024, dropping to 7.4% in 2025. In contrast, MARKETview partners’ Traditional Admissions yield did not see much change YOY, going from 15.6% in 2024 to 15.5% in 2025. However, it is worth noting that many institutions use Direct Admissions to build raw admit volume, which offsets the lower expected yield between the two decision types.
Breaking down these Direct Admissions students’ yield rates by the year of their first inquiry reveals further, more granular disparity. In 2025, Direct Admissions yielded lower than Traditional Admissions across all points of inquiry; from Pre-Sophomore to Senior. Pre-Sophomores were 6.4 percentage points (pp) lower, Sophomores were 6.5 pp lower, Juniors were 6.9 pp lower and Seniors were 7.5 pp lower.
In addition to reaching out to students sooner, Direct Admissions yield rate can also be increased by recruiting students closer to campus. When looking at yield rates filtered by distance bands, we can see a steady decline in yield the farther students are from campus (aside from the comparatively much-fewer students within the 1000+ miles band). Traditional Admissions students also yielded better close to home but remained relatively flat across other distance bands.
While these yield struggles aren’t necessarily surprising, they do illustrate the challenges and tradeoffs faced by schools using Direct Admissions (or thinking about adopting it). But for all the ups and downs, Direct Admissions only continues to grow in popularity; amongst MARKETview partners in 2023, usage was at 3.9%, which has now multiplied tenfold to 30.9% in 2025. For an even clearer picture of how Direct Admissions fared in 2025, make sure to check out our latest eBook: The State of Direct Admissions: Five Key Takeaways From 2025.
Chat with our team to see how MARKETview’s real-time data can keep you in the know throughout the enrollment cycle on the student populations that matter most to your goals.