Expert Admissions hosted a webinar with Dr. Bari Norman, our Co-founder and Head Counselor, and Sasha DeWind, Executive Director of Tutor Associates. We discussed preliminary trends for the 2025-2026 cycle, SAT and ACT strategy, the biggest factors in admissions decisions, and more.
Preliminary Trends
While it’s still early in the 2025–26 admissions cycle, several patterns are already visible. Essays remain a core part of the process; most schools have kept supplemental essays, and prompts are increasingly personal and reflective. The introduction of Early Decision (ED) at the University of Michigan has reshaped early application strategies, as families recalibrate which schools to prioritize early. There is also growing interest in Southern universities.
Overall, college admissions continue to emphasize authenticity, expecting students to demonstrate a deep understanding of themselves and their fit for schools.
Navigating the College Process
The college process is stressful and frustrating at times, but it’s important not to rush any part of it. While students and parents sometimes equate “being done” with success, the goal is to complete materials well; finishing an essay or testing early is meaningless if the outcome isn’t competitive. We strongly encourage parents to stay a steady course and to give students time to develop their confidence, maturity, and voice—factors that ultimately help them do better.
When parents or students are feeling overwhelmed during the college process, it’s great to have an encouraging counselor, tutor, or other person who can help keep you going strong.
SAT and ACT Strategy
The SAT and ACT are equally accepted by colleges—but there are differences in how they are taken, so students should choose the one that is better for them and aim to do as well on it as possible.
The SAT is digital and adaptive, with question difficulty adjusting based on performance in each module. Essentially, the SAT is simpler content presented in a more difficult way, so students who consider themselves problem-solvers and enjoy puzzles and games usually enjoy the style of the SAT more.
The ACT, by contrast, remains more traditional—there is a choice between digital and paper-based, and it is non-adaptive. It also includes a science section (which assesses reasoning, not knowledge of scientific content). Compared to the SAT, the ACT tends to present more challenging math topics and reading, but its style is more straightforward.
In terms of timing, students typically begin diagnostics at the end of 10th grade and should aim to test between fall of 11th and fall of 12th grade. A common misconception is that testing should be done by the end of junior year. We strongly advise families to consider keeping fall of senior year open as an option for retesting! It’s a great time for potential score improvement, when we often see meaningful jumps in performance.
Whether you take the SAT or ACT, deciding to submit your scores to particular schools remains an individual, strategic choice; the test-optional landscape is still evolving, with some schools reinstating testing requirements. Applicants should still aim for scores at the top of or above a school’s published range, as a student at the low end of the range is rarely competitive for highly selective institutions.
The Biggest Factors in Admissions Decisions
The high school transcript remains the most important factor for college admissions—not just grades but also course rigor. If you are applying to highly selective colleges, you should take the most difficult courses available to you at your high school and do well in them. That highest level of difficulty may be AP courses, IB courses, both or neither, depending on your school; most NYC private schools have stopped offering AP courses, but their intensive or advanced courses are equally or more rigorous—and admissions officers know that. Decisions about curriculum need to be made carefully in the context of the student and the school they attend, so we highly recommend you talk to someone (like a counselor) who is knowledgeable about course selection.
That said, at more selective schools, upwards of 85% of applicants are academically qualified. So, assuming that you pass the initial academic review, whether you are admitted will be heavily influenced by “softer” factors: how you have spent your time outside of class, the genuine interest you have shown and impact you have made, and how well you are able to express those things authentically in your essays.
This is why extracurriculars are more important than ever: they serve as the narrative backbone for essays. Families sometimes worry about choosing the “right” activities—but the best thing for a student to pursue is something they genuinely care about. Admissions officers care less about what students do and more about why and how they do it: how deeply they engage, how they’ve grown, and how their experiences connect to their larger goals.
Because expressing yourself in your authentic voice is so important to the admissions process, it’s crucial to write your own essays without relying on AI. Chatbots and Reddit forums can be great resources for research, but if you use them in the writing itself, you will end up with unoriginal, formulaic essays that admissions officers can easily spot. Your own genuine enthusiasm and curiosity are irreplaceable and far more compelling than an AI-polished draft.
Early Decision or Early Action
We continue to see schools admitting a large portion of their freshman classes through early admissions. Early Decision (ED) offers applicants the best shot of getting into a particular school because it’s binding and demonstrates commitment. However, you should use it only for a school that you are genuinely excited to attend. You should never force an ED choice just for the sake of applying early, as that can lead to regret or poor fit later. Early Action also provides an advantage (especially at colleges that do not also offer ED)—so apply EA when it is available.
The Political Climate—has it had an effect?
While federal policies under the Trump administration have created uncertainties, their tangible impact on application and enrollment trends has so far been minimal at top-tier schools. Harvard, as a prominent example, had a high yield of just under 84% last year, and its yield for international students was even higher at 90.3%.
For all the details on these topics and more, watch the webinar above.
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