The admissions landscape is changing faster than at any point in recent memory. We track the developments that matter — and share our perspective on what they mean for your student.
Washington University in St. Louis is adding a non-binding Early Action option for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle, alongside changes to demonstrated interest and the removal of its optional essay. WashU will also continue its test-optional policy — even as peer schools like Georgetown, Purdue, and Cornell have begun phasing theirs out.
USC will offer binding Early Decision for the first time starting this fall, expecting to fill 35 to 40 percent of its freshman class through the early round. The move is part of a national trend that is reshaping how elite private universities admit students — and leaving fewer spots for regular-decision applicants.
The Brown Daily Herald analyzed two decades of admissions data, revealing a stark gender gap in acceptance rates, a dramatic rise in Asian enrollment, the surge of Early Decision applications, and tuition costs that have more than doubled since 2004. The data tells a story about who gets in — and why.
Columbia admitted 2,581 students from a record pool of 61,031 applicants, pushing its overall acceptance rate to 4.23% — down from 4.94% last year and the lowest in the Ivy League this cycle. Early Decision applicants remain roughly five times more likely to gain admission than Regular Decision applicants.
Harvard's faculty is set to vote on a proposal to limit A grades to 20% of students per course. Undergraduates are pushing back hard, calling it 'crude' and 'absurd.' The debate reveals just how deeply grade inflation has reshaped expectations at elite universities.
Yale's own faculty committee has called out grade inflation, opaque admissions preferences, and declining public trust. Their 20 recommendations are a candid admission that elite higher education has a credibility problem.
Syracuse University has eliminated 93 academic programs, including majors in languages, Middle Eastern studies, fine arts, and engineering. The university says it's not a financial crisis — it's a strategic choice. Either way, it's a signal families should pay attention to.
Harvard's own dean of undergraduate education has called the university's grading practices a failure. More than half of all grades are now A's, up from less than a quarter twenty years ago. The report is a candid reckoning with a practice that has quietly spread across elite higher education.
SATs are back. Legacy preferences are fading. AI is reading essays. The process students face today looks fundamentally different from what their parents experienced — and the uncertainty is taking a real toll.