[2025 Year in Review] From setback to comeback: ASU Earned Admission students rewrite their college stories
Life paused their education. Now they’ve earned degrees on their own terms.
This article is part of our 2025 Year-in-Review series, a retrospective on the inspiring stories of Arizona State University’s Learning Enterprise, focused on advancing learning across all stages of life.
ASU Earned Admission by the numbers:
- 1.2 million learners have been served by ASU
- 28,000 thousand learners have enrolled in Earned Admission in its lifetime (2021)
- ~12,000 learners enrolled in Earned Admission this year
- ~10,000 learners have been been admitted to ASU undergraduate degree programs through Earned Admission, and more than 1,000 students have graduated so far
- 86 Universal Learner Courses available to choose from, taught by ASU faculty
The night before his final exam, Griffin Snider was studying on his phone in a parked car outside work. Two years earlier, he’d been dismissed from college. In spring 2025, he walked across the Arizona State University stage — one of nearly 10,000 undergraduates who were admitted to ASU undergrad through a flexible, low-risk path called Earned Admission.
The program removes traditional barriers to higher education. There’s no GPA or transcript requirement, no standardized test. Instead it’s a chance to prove readiness through ASU courses. Learners take Universal Learner Courses taught by ASU faculty and pay only if they’re satisfied with their grade, earning college credits that can apply toward more than 100 ASU degrees.
From academic dismissal to the dean’s list
Snider had given up on college after being academically disqualified in 2022.
“I was at rock bottom,” he said. Then he found ASU Universal Learner Courses, which feed into the Earned Admission pathway.
In the spring Snider graduated with a degree in data science and a 3.81 GPA. This fall, he began a master’s program in business analytics at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
“This isn’t just a degree,” Snider said. “It’s proof that one setback doesn’t define your journey. Earned Admission gave me the chance to move forward — not based on my past, but on what I could do right now.”
Serving all returning adults looking for a second chance
Graduates came to ASU from a diverse set of backgrounds and with wide-ranging academic interests, including:
- Katie Martinez, a third-generation Sun Devil now in her third year as an ASU undergraduate, is finally getting her elementary education degree from Mary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation – while keeping her role as corporate billing director at Mountainside Fitness.
- Joshua Bell, a student who reclaimed his education after a traumatic brain injury and earned a degree in biological sciences through ASU Online.
- Sheila Dimitriadis, a first-generation student with a degree in graphic information technology through ASU Online.
- Donielle Seymour, a 64-year old who earned a degree in liberal arts studies through Arizona State University’s partnership with Uber
These Sun Devil graduates are proof of what’s possible when learners are given the opportunity to succeed on their own terms.
“This pathway represents what ASU stands for — meeting learners where they are and helping them move forward on their own terms,” said Marco Serrato, vice president of ASU’s Learning Enterprise. “When we design education around real lives, we open the door for more people to reach their potential and contribute their talent to the world.”
From Uber driver to IBM technical specialist
For Ryan Abernethy, returning to college was a dream. But with a family, a full-time job at a beverage company — and driving for Uber on the side — an undergraduate degree seemed unattainable.
Then, Abernethy discovered Arizona State University’s partnership with Uber, which offers tuition coverage for eligible drivers. Earned Admission offered a flexible pathway to make it possible.
“I would be a stay-at-home dad during the day, college student at night,” he said. “The way the Earned Admission program was designed — where you can do it at your pace and your time — it definitely makes it a lot, a lot easier.”
After meeting the academic requirements for formal admission, Abernethy enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in information technology program, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. A virtual career fair soon led to an internship — and later, a full-time role at IBM, where he now works as a partner technical specialist in information architecture.
“Ryan’s journey is a powerful reminder of why we design programs that meet learners where they are — at any stage of life,” says Kyle Squires, ASU senior vice provost of engineering, computing and technology and dean of the Fulton Schools of Engineering. “His determination to return to college, earn his degree and now thrive in his career is exactly the kind of success story that aligns with our charter.”
To learn more about ASU Earned Admission, visit ea.asu.edu.