High school seniors can grab Fast Pass to University of Hawaii

After registering its first enrollment increase in 10 years, the University of Hawaii is once again offering a program that makes it easier for public high school seniors to apply for admission to a UH four-year university next fall.

The UH Fast Pass Initiative offers a streamlined admissions process and in some cases conditional acceptance directly from high school for academically prepared students. Offered for the first time in 2020, the program was such a success, officials said, that it is being brought back for an encore performance.

“We were very excited with the results we had last year and for the opportunity to welcome our public high school kids to have a quality education at home,” said Stephen Schatz, executive director of UH’s Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education.

Under the program, UH Hilo and UH West Oahu will offer conditional letters of acceptance to public high school seniors with a grade point average of 2.7 or higher, while UH Manoa will offer an invitation to apply to those with at least a 3.5 GPA.

All three campuses will automatically waive the application fee and expedite the processing of applications. Manoa’s application fee is $70, while the fee at Hilo and West Oahu is $50.

Schatz said the application fee can sometimes be an impediment to those who might be considering one of the three in-state public universities.

“We wanted to eliminate the barriers and create a smooth onramp to the University of Hawaii,” Schatz said.

“The UH Fast Pass initiative is a great opportunity for our hard-working seniors to explore the option of pursuing a high-­quality college education right here at home,” Keith Hayashi, interim superintendent of the state Department of Education, said in a statement.

Enrollment at the 10-­ campus University of Hawaii system increased this fall by 0.4% for the first time in a decade, defying a national trend made even worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

UH Manoa, the system’s flagship, led the way with a 6% increase, welcoming the largest first-year class in the university’s history and the institution’s highest overall enrollment since 2014.

Enrollment was up in nearly every category, university officials said, and that includes Hawaii resident, mainland, transfer and international students.

UH Hilo saw a 2.5% enrollment boost, including 459 first-time freshmen, the second-largest class since 2013. Although enrollment at UH West Oahu declined 5.1%, its fall enrollment of 3,008 remains historically high as the Kapolei campus exceeded 3,000 students for the fifth straight fall semester.

Fast Pass-eligible students will be contacted by the university in November with a letter outlining the Fast Pass program and the application process. Students could receive multiple letters depending on their GPA, officials said.

Those who receive a conditional acceptance letter must maintain a good academic standing through the end of the school year.

Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education will also host free virtual college application sessions for students and families now through December to help them through the UH college application process.

For more information on the online sessions, go to collegeiswithinreachhawaii.com/uhappnights2021.