College admissions shift: tests return, essays gain weight, and AI enters the review
The rules of getting into college in the United States are being rapidly rewritten. Standardized tests are making a comeback, essays are taking on new weight after the Supreme Court’s decision on race-conscious admissions, and artificial intelligence is entering the application review process — all while legacy preferences shrink and international enrollment slumps.
A recent Forbes analysis described a “perfect storm of policy reversals, technological disruption, demographic shifts, and legal mandates” remaking the process. One headline change: standardized testing is back. SAT scores, which became optional at most colleges during the pandemic and stayed that way at many schools, are now required by the vast majority of Ivy League institutions and other elite universities.
Colleges are also adjusting to the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down race-conscious admissions. While applicants can no longer check a box identifying their race, many schools are seeking other ways to understand a student’s background and access to opportunity.
The Common Application’s personal statement has taken on added importance; prompts asking students to describe their background or discuss an obstacle provide space to explain circumstances that may have shaped their academic path. Technology is reshaping file reading as well.
Students are expected to submit original work, yet portions of their applications may be reviewed by automated systems. Forbes reports that Virginia Tech uses artificial intelligence to scan hundreds of thousands of application essays in less than an hour. Alternative pathways are emerging alongside these shifts.
Niche’s Direct Admissions program allows more than 150 colleges nationwide — including Texas A&M — to send students unsolicited offers of admission, often with scholarships, based solely on a student’s online Niche profile. Financial pressures are mounting for campuses, too.
Colleges are contending with a sharp drop in international enrollment. According to Forbes, more international students — who typically pay full tuition — are opting for Canada, the United Kingdom, or Australia, with many saying they feel unwelcome in the United States.
Longstanding traditions are being reconsidered. More colleges are scaling back or eliminating legacy preferences, narrowing the advantage long given to applicants with family ties to an alma mater. Together, these changes have made an already competitive process feel even more volatile.
Counselors and therapists told Forbes that record-low acceptance rates, opaque algorithms reading essays, and social media comparisons are fueling a quiet mental-health crisis among applicants. For now, students face an admissions landscape in flux — one reshaped by shifting policies, new technology, and evolving definitions of merit and access.