Connecticut is seeing rapid growth in a statewide program that offers automatic college admission to qualifying high school seniors.
New data shows more than 19,000 students received an admissions offer in the 2024-2025 school year through the Connecticut Automatic Admissions Program, which began in the 2023-2024.
The program allows Connecticut high school seniors with a weighted GPA of 3.0 or an unweighted GPA of 2.75 to receive automatic acceptance to participating colleges and universities. Students still need to submit a simplified application to claim their spot, but they receive the acceptance up front.
The following colleges and universities currently participate:
Central Connecticut State University junior Brianna Renna said she never believed college was possible until learning she qualified.
“It’s kind of nerve-racking because, of course, the anxiety is like, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make it, even though I had the GPA for it, I had everything I needed’,” Renna said. “But it was like ‘Yes! I made it!’”
It’s an experience more Connecticut students are having. The program is run through the Common App, an online platform that allows students to apply to colleges and universities with a single application.
Jenny Rickard, CEO of the Common App, said the direct admissions model is gaining traction nationally.
“What this does is really say right out of the gate: ‘you have options,’” Rickard said.
The CEO said that many students fear judgment during application review in the admissions process: “That is the big psychological barrier for students who also don’t realize that most colleges admit most of their applicants.”
The latest numbers show the program is reaching key student groups. First‑generation and low‑income students were twice as likely to respond to their automatic admissions offer compared with other students, according to a new Common App report.
“It really flips the whole narrative. The student becomes the selective one because they’ve got so many choices,” Rickard said. “To give students more agency and confidence, I think, is the most important part of this program because they can then take advantage of the opportunities that they deserve.”
Administrators at Connecticut State Colleges and Universities said the school has seen a big increase in applications for the program.
By December 2025, Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western Connecticut State Universities received a total of 12,385 applications.
From November 2024 to 2025, applications under the program increased nearly 20%, according to data provided by CSCU.
Roughly 2,000 students enrolled via the program last year.
“We know we’re absolutely going to blow that number out of the water,” said Dr. John Maduko, Interim Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Chancellor.
He said the program removes barriers that often discourage students.
“It’s never been about intelligence or lack of ability. It’s always been about these barriers,” Maduko said.
The state system is waiving application fees, essays, and letters of recommendation.
“Those are barriers, right? So when it’s income, then we have income-dependent families. You have to be selective on the number of institutions here to apply to,” Maduko said. “The CAAP program eliminates that barrier and gives more choices and options of destinations to the students.”
The report states that only 46% completed the application to at least one institution that extended them an offer.
Leaders say the next priority is expanding outreach and communication, which is already underway this school year. (The admissions data in the report were from the 2024-2025 school year.)
Read the report in full here:
Interim Chancellor Maduko said CSCU had more intentional outreach this year with high school district partners about inconsistencies in the application process.
“As a system, we always have to create the right conditions to make this process conducive and accessible and approachable for families,” Maduko said.
Rickard at Common App said helping students understand the opportunity is key.
“A big learning is to make sure that you have the people within the community who are supporting students, help them understand what this opportunity is,” she said.
Rickard said this is reversing some of the stressors around the enrollment process for students.
“The fact this is not only streamlining the process, but it is empowering students is huge,” Rickard said.
She talked about research from a decade ago that found counselors and applicants never used words to describe the application process as simple, logical, joyful, or equitable.
With this program and others like it around the country, the tide is changing.
“Where I get really excited about this particular initiative is that it’s simple. Hopefully it’s logical. It’s joyful in that there’s confetti in advance, right? You know you have an opportunity. And then equitable, because we’re really focused on that first generation and low-income community in terms of trying to make the process more equitable for them,” Rickard said.
NEW BRITAIN, CT — Stanley Black & Decker on Thursday said it has decided to close its manufacturing facility in New Britain.
Debora Raymond, vice president of external communications for the manufacturer, said the decision is a result of a “structural decline in demand for single-sided tape measures.”
The New Britain facility predominantly makes these products, according to Raymond.
“These products are quickly becoming obsolete in the markets we serve,” Raymond said, via an emailed statement Thursday.
The decision is expected to impact approximately 300 employees, according to Raymond.
“We are focused on supporting impacted employees through this transition, including providing options for employment at other facilities, severance, and job placement support services for both salaried and hourly employees,” Raymond said.
As of Thursday at 4:30 p.m., no Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice had been filed with the state Department of Labor.
The company’s corporate headquarters remains at 1000 Stanley Dr., New Britain.
Gov. Ned Lamont released the following statement on the decision:
“Although Stanley has made the decision to discontinue operations for manufacturing outdated products, a change in workforce opportunities is difficult for employees, their families, and any community.,” Lamont said. “However, I am hopeful that these skilled workers will be repurposed with the help of Stanley Black & Decker, a company that will still proudly be headquartered here in Connecticut. My administration is working closely with local and state leaders to support affected workers and to reimagine the factory site so it can continue to create opportunity and strengthen New Britain’s economic future.”
New Britain Mayor Bobby Sanchez said he is “deeply disappointed” the company will be closing its Myrtle Street operations.
“For generations, Stanley Works has been part of the fabric of our city, providing good-paying jobs, supporting families, and helping build New Britain’s proud reputation as the ‘Hardware City,’” Sanchez said.
According to the mayor, his office’s immediate focus is on helping affected workers and their families. The mayor has been in contact with Lamont’s office, and they will be working closely to make sure employees have access to job placement services, retraining opportunities and support, Sanchez said.
“We will continue aggressively pursuing economic development opportunities and attracting businesses that are looking for a true community partner, a city ready to collaborate, innovate and grow alongside them,” Sanchez said. “New Britain has reinvented itself before, and we will do so again.”
Stanley Black & Decker, founded in 1843, operates manufacturing facilities worldwide, according to its website. It reports having 43,500 employees globally, and makes an array of products, such as power tools and equipment, hand tools, and fasteners.
Newly released police video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon ram his luxury sports car into the rear end of another vehicle on a Connecticut highway last summer as he was being followed by a state trooper.
McMahon, now 80, was driving his 2024 Bentley Continental GT at more than 100 mph on the Merritt Parkway when he crashed in the town of Westport, according to state police.
A trooper’s dashcam video shows McMahon accelerating away, then braking too late to avoid crashing into the back of a BMW. The Bentley then swerves into a guardrail and careens back across the highway, creating a cloud of dirt and car parts.
“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” state police Detective Maxwell Robins asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley, which can cost over $300,000.
“I got my granddaughter’s birthday” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.
No one was seriously injured in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day that WWE legend Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.
Besides damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, according to the police video.
McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. A state judge in October allowed McMahon to enter a pretrial probation program that will result in the charges being erased from his record next October if he successfully completes the program. He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution.
McMahon’s lawyer, Mark Sherman, said the crash was just an accident.
“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”
State police said Robins was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape — though in the video the detective suggests otherwise.
“I’m trying to catch up to you and you keep taking off,” Robins says.
“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon says.
An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.
The Associated Press obtained the videos Wednesday through a public records request. They were first obtained by The Sun newspaper.
The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and adds that he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.
After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”
The videos also show McMahon talking to the driver he rear-ended. Barbara Doran, of New York City, told the AP last summer that McMahon expressed his concern for her and was glad she was OK. She said she was heading to a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard at the time of the crash.
After McMahon was given the traffic summons, he shook hands with Robins and another trooper and they wished him well.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.
McMahon bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation in 1982 and transformed it from a regional wrestling company into a worldwide phenomenon. Besides running the company with his wife, Linda, who is now the U.S. education secretary, he also performed at WWE events as himself.
The New Haven Pride Center will close for 30 days starting Thursday, as leaders reassess the organization’s finances and its long-term business model.
Board members said the temporary shutdown will allow the nonprofit to stop accruing expenses and get better insight into a $250,000 IRS debt discovered in 2022 that has weighed heavily on the center’s operations.
According to board co-chair Hope Chavez, the debt was found four years ago. The board let the executive director go and began paying the back taxes. The payments have been ongoing, but Chavez said there’s no clarity on how much has been paid toward principal versus interest, making it hard to map out a payoff.
Chavez said the organization has an attorney to help obtain more details from the government, and that the debt has hurt its ability to generate income during an already challenging time.
“It all depends on the political climate — whether corporate sponsors feel like they can sponsor you, whether funders feel like they need to redirect elsewhere,” she said.
The 30-day furlough will include a pause in services. In the meantime, staff members are compiling a list of alternative LGBTQ-affirming resources in the Greater New Haven area to support community members.
Laura Boccadoro, who has worked at the center for more than six years, joined at what she says was a dark time.
“I was in and out of rehab dealing with drug abuse, and the center found me,” she said. “I grew up here, honestly.”
She said the organization has offered vital services, such as a clothing closet and a food pantry, and programs that she is helping clients find through partner organizations.
“There are so many LGBTQ-specific or affirming spaces that have food pantries, clothing closets, healthcare — all those kinds of things,” Boccadoro said.
Chavez highlighted partnerships with groups including AIDS Project New Haven, Anchor Health Initiative, and Q Plus, as well as other grassroots community organizations that will offer assistance during the pause.
Boccadoro emphasized that the staff’s focus remains on serving the community as effectively as possible.
“Our job at the end of the day is to impact the community in the best possible way that we can,” Boccadoro said.
The Board hopes a clearer financial picture and a restructured business model will position the center to reopen stronger and more stable.
“We want to ensure that our community has the care and supportive services that we’ve been providing,” Chavez said.
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