Students entering Purchase College through a new targeted direct admissions program enrolled at more than double the rate of other Yonkers applicants in the program’s first cycle — an early indication that a pathway designed to lower barriers to a four-year degree is finding its audience.
Purchase College, SUNY launched the direct admissions program in February in partnership with Yonkers Partners in Education, creating a streamlined alternative to the standard application process for qualified students from eight YPIE partner high schools in Yonkers. To be eligible, students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 84 by the end of junior year and be on track for an Advanced Regents, IB, or Regents diploma.
The program removes several hurdles from the standard process. Students are not required to write an essay or submit letters of recommendation. The $60 application fee is waived. And rather than students tracking down their own transcripts, schools send official records directly to Purchase with the student’s permission.
“It removes a lot of barriers for the student, and helps them kind of get moved through the process more quickly and efficiently,” said Caitlin Read, Dean of Enrollment Management at Purchase College, in a phone interview.
The yield data tells the clearest story. Overall, Purchase enrolled 15.8 percent of Yonkers students who applied in 2026, up from 14.8 percent in 2025. Among students admitted through the direct admissions program, the enrollment rate was 38.1 percent — more than double. Read provided the figures to The Yonkers Ledger. The numbers reflect the program’s first full application cycle, which closed March 1, 2026; no prior-year baseline for direct admissions exists for comparison.
Applications from Yonkers students to Purchase were also up 20 percent following the agreement, according to Purchase College. Read said the figure reflects the total Yonkers applicant pool — including students who applied through Common App or the SUNY application, some of whom also had requirements expedited under the new arrangement.
Students who complete the direct admissions process and demonstrate financial need are also eligible for a $1,500 scholarship, contingent on filing a FAFSA and TAP application, according to Purchase College’s admissions website. Awards are limited and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
The direct admissions program is part of a broader partnership Purchase formalized with YPIE in February, making the Yonkers nonprofit the fifth partner to join Purchase’s Westchester Scholars program, following White Plains, Port Chester, Mamaroneck, and Ossining. That partnership, covered by The Yonkers Ledger in March, also introduced a separate $10,000 annual housing scholarship for one nominated student from each of the eight YPIE high schools.
The eight eligible schools are: Yonkers Middle High School, Lincoln High School, Saunders Trades and Technical High School, Riverside High School, Gorton High School, Yonkers Montessori Academy, Roosevelt High School–Early College Studies, and Barack Obama School for Social Justice.
The program is open across 27 fields of study — all programs that do not require a portfolio review or audition, excluding BFA, MusB, Creative Writing BA, and Visual Arts BS degree programs. Read said the current cycle was compressed, with the program only getting up and running in the last couple of months. She expects stronger numbers once a full admissions cycle begins in September.
The full list of eligible majors, as provided by Purchase College: Anthropology, Art History, Arts Management, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Cinema and Television Studies, Communications, Economics, English and Global Literatures, Environmental Studies, Global Studies, History, Journalism, Language and Culture, Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies, Law and Justice Studies, Mathematics/Computer Science, Media Studies, New Media, Philosophy and Critical Thought, Playwriting and Screenwriting, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Theatre and Performance, and Undeclared.
