College Admissions News & Trends
The February 16th WSJ article entitled "For College Applicants, Pressure to Make Summers Count Has Gotten Even Worse," portrays high school summers as an escalating contest to craft manufactured college application narratives. In our view, the truth is more nuanced. Summers have always mattered. For decades, ambitious students used June and July to differentiate themselves through test prep, travel, service hours, or part-time jobs. Moreover, we believe that the shift in today’s focus is driven by institutional design. Capacity-constrained majors at schools like University of Texas at Austin and Clemson University force students to present major-aligned academic signals earlier in high school.
Based on this year’s data, we continue to see that applying early is the predominant default strategy. Early Action applications at University of Georgia have jumped 30% over the last three years. Early rounds absorb the academically strongest applicants and typically the highest proportion of admits.
Current research exposes the trend that high grades and grade inflation are masking gaps that standardized testing reveals. Read more on the https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-parents-report-cards/ and note the advice: "When grades and test scores don't align, it's worth asking why."
Given the recent enhancements to “vibe coding” with AI, it is unsurprising that applications to CS are flattening or declining at many schools. Students are shifting toward data science, applied math, and machine learning. Along these lines, we predict AI to influence other college classwork by shifting to more oral exams and in-class writing. It remains to be seen how AI will ultimately affect admissions essay requirements.
A subset of private institutions continues to operate with persistent negative net margins. Warning signs: high tuition discount rates (often >60%), shrinking freshman classes, high debt service ratios, and rural locations with declining regional demographics. On the other hand, other schools, such as Johns Hopkins and Southern Methodist University, have strengthened their financial position. Hopkins increased their sponsored research from 2015–2020 by 71%, reduced their student-faculty ratio by 50%, and has seen a 60% rise in applications numbers since 2010. SMU’s net margin is up to 19% after operational restructuring. The school has invested in enhanced recruitment efforts which have paid off.
Effective this coming July, a sweeping federal reform bill includes the elimination of Grad PLUS loans, new borrowing caps for students and parents, and a new universal IDR plan replacing multiple legacy programs. This will likely mean that some graduate programs will become harder to finance and families of pre-med, pre-law, and business-bound students should anticipate a higher reliance on private loans or school-based aid.
Recommended Listening & Reading
One of the most enjoyable and original podcasts we’ve heard lately on essay writing! “Channel Your Main Character Energy” on Admissions Beat. Find it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/79hzsRLdkhLzHsGjIrcfuu?si=qi47iZZtRoOUo5gtvU5O7A
The College Admissions Podcasts hosted Jeffrey Selingo again, covering topics from his recent book, Dream School: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3kBtzu0YGLfbjP6Z6sk75N
An interview with University of Tennessee, Knoxville, higher education researcher, Robert Kelchen, highlighting major policy issues affecting American universities. Read it here: https://higheredstrategy.com/the-annual-kelchen-review-the-top-10-u-s-higher-ed-stories-in-2025/
Warm regards,
Your MCA Team