Expert Admissions co-hosted a webinar with Sasha DeWind of Tutor Associates to discuss the 2024 application cycle and changes to the college admissions landscape. We answered questions about Class of 2028 admissions data, the return to requiring standardized tests, how to build a strategic college list, and more. Keep reading for highlights from the conversation, and watch the webinar above.
Colleges Reinstating Standardized Testing Requirements
As colleges work on figuring out equitable ways of evaluating students, many schools have reinstated testing requirements. Admissions offices have found that testing is a useful method to distinguish between applicants when factors such as grade inflation might affect transcripts at different high schools. Since the applicant pool is tremendously competitive, standardized test scores can help make a difference in deciding who to admit.
Colleges such as Georgetown and MIT required SAT and ACT this past cycle; more recently, Brown, Dartmouth, and Yale have announced that submitting test scores is once again a requirement. Cornell, on the other hand, has said it will not return to requiring tests at some of its schools until 2026. We believe that we’ll continue seeing similar announcements from other highly selective colleges in the future.
The Admissions Landscape and Data for the Class of 2028
We noticed continued trends up in terms of the number of applications for most elite colleges, including Duke and Yale, which experienced increases of 10% over last year. Application numbers have increased by 53% at Northeastern in the last five years, while Tufts has seen a 50% rise in applications in the last three cycles.
We presented data depicting admit rates at schools such as Harvard, Yale, Williams, NYU, Duke, and Boston College over the last four years. We noted that colleges have gotten increasingly competitive as admit rates generally have been going down. Yale had its lowest admit rate this past cycle. Meanwhile, Harvard saw its highest acceptance rate in four years. However, the change is a slight one—3.59% for the Class of 2028, compared to last year’s 3.41%.
The biggest change this admissions cycle came from new essay questions that were introduced in the face of the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action. Many colleges used the decision as a guidepost in terms of what they wanted to ask, what they could ask, and how they asked it. By posing such essay questions, admissions offices expect students to reflect on the impact their background and experiences have had on them, which has informed our advice towards younger students and how they should plan their time in high school, particularly their extracurriculars.
The 2023-24 cycle also saw many colleges continue to implement test-optional policies. Pre-COVID, we had a handful of small liberal arts schools that were test optional. During and post-COVID we saw a sweep of most schools going test optional. Now we’re starting to see a return to test requirements.
The ACT vs. the SAT
This past March, the first group of students took the SAT in its new digital version. Understandably, we saw that juniors prefer taking the ACT due to the unpredictability of the new SAT format. As the College Board releases more tests, we expect current sophomores to be more amenable to the new SAT than current juniors.
The decision of which test to take can be aided by whether a student prefers to test digitally or on paper. It can be more obvious to some students than others which test to take. If a student is having trouble deciding, we encourage them to take practice tests and not just look at what the score is, but why they might be scoring in certain ways in different sections– such as stamina, lack of content knowledge in a particular area, or timing.
Whether or not scores are required, our advice is to aim to send strong test scores as part of your application to highly selective colleges.
Impact of Campus Unrest on College Choice
Student protests on college campuses this spring have had an impact on the choices families are making around college enrollment. Students who are considering enrolling in a college that is the site of political unrest will need to decide to what extent the events on campus impact their decision to enroll; many students and families are finding that multiple schools they’re considering are equally affected by recent protests. The question of how much the political unrest will impact students’ decisions pertains to juniors who are currently preparing to apply as well as seniors who are weighing offers of admission. Where to enroll is a decision that each family–and each student–will ultimately need to make on their own.
The last few years have seen a spike in the popularity of Southern schools for a number of reasons, and the current protests on college campuses might contribute to even more students opting to head south for college. Brandeis University has also recently announced an extension to their transfer deadline to accommodate students whose studies have been disrupted by the protests and are looking to make alternative plans.
The Application Process
In the current admissions landscape, admissions offices are emphasizing aspects of the college application process differently than in previous cycles. While course rigor, academic performance, and test scores (where required) remain the most important factors for admissions decisions, the “softer factors” like extracurricular activities and essays also make an enormous difference.
Applicants’ extracurricular activities have become a primary point for admissions officers to differentiate applicants from each other. Supplemental essays are also very important–admissions officers need to see that the applicant is not only a match for a particular school or program, but is genuinely a good fit for the school who could contribute meaningfully to the campus community. Developing extracurriculars and essays that show unique strengths are essential moves for applicants.
As always, applying to college early under an ED or EA plan is a great idea, and the decision of where to apply early should be well thought out and strategic. When building a list of colleges to apply to, students should aim to come up with a range of reach, target, and safer schools. The question of fit is paramount; when choosing schools to apply to, students need to do their research and really get to know the schools on their list in order to determine how they fit with the school, and demonstrate that fit in their application. Communicating fit can mean the difference between a denial and an acceptance.
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