Federal Way Public Schools (FWPS) students can now receive guaranteed admission to six colleges and universities after high school graduation, thanks to expanded FWPS Guaranteed Admissions Program (GAP) partnerships.

This year, the program adds five Washington institutions for a total of six private and public four-year higher education options.

Building on the program FWPS established last year with Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), eligible scholars can add Central Washington University (CWU), Eastern Washington University (EWU), The Evergreen State College, Washington State University (WSU), and Western Washington University (WWU) to the list of schools granting automatic admission without an application.

“Improving college-going outcomes and overall post-secondary education enrollment continues to be a focus in Federal Way Public Schools and we continue to seek new agreements with colleges to assure admission to our scholars,” said superintendent Dr. Dani Pfeiffer. “We are excited to be one of 66 school districts in Washington to partner with these five colleges at the start of college application season for seniors. Now, including our existing GAP partnership with PLU, our scholars are empowered with more choice and opportunity.”

Eligibility for guaranteed admission to the partner colleges and universities requires students to:

• Earn and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 during senior year for CWU, EWU, Evergreen, WSU, and WWU, or a cumulative GPA of 3.3 for PLU.
• Be on track to complete the College Academic Distribution Requirements (CADRs) by high school graduation.

The new articulation agreements and criteria for guaranteed college admission to the newest batch of GAP schools reinforces the importance of staying on track for credit completion and increases access to post-secondary education.

According to the district, FWPS scholars complete more advanced coursework than other districts in the Road Map Project region with 2,272 scholars passing an AP, IB, or Cambridge course last school year.

In addition, 4,128 scholars are enrolled in 45 Career and Technical Education courses offering dual credit. The district’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rate is over 20% higher than other school districts in Washington state.

Eligible scholars will receive direct communication from participating GAP colleges with next steps to solidify enrollment which may include providing additional student data. Students are still responsible for tuition and other enrollment-related costs.