When you’re applying to college, the first thing you should do is to familiarize yourself with what they need from you so that you don’t forget anything important. Your test scores used to be the most important thing these colleges look for, but that is no longer the case. Whether you wish to get into an Ivy League school or a state school, you’ll need to know what they’re looking for in addition to the application, so let’s take a look at some of the latest requirements that might be different from last year.
Trends for the Class of 2026
The current incoming class will be graduating in the year 2026, and while the requirements they had to endure are somewhat different than they were a few years ago, both domestic and international students are like everyone else – they are adjusting to some new normals in many ways. If you plan to apply for college anytime soon, it might help to learn some of the trends and statistics that make up today’s college classes because this can increase the odds of getting into your favorite school.
The first thing you should know is that, not surprisingly, the COVID pandemic has affected admissions rates over the past few years. The number of applications sent to most schools was periodically down, but so was the average acceptance rate. Right now, the number of applicants is rising, yet the low acceptance rates have remained. It might seem like it should be the opposite and that the college acceptance rates should’ve risen, but that isn’t the case. This means that college admissions is now more competitive than it was in the past, and this trend is forecasted to persist as COVID deferrals and students who took a gap year during the pandemic further limit the number of incoming spots schools are able to offer to the incoming first-year class.
Does the Type of Admission Play a Role in the Numbers?
Before you look at the numbers that tell a story for both Ivy League colleges and state colleges, you need to know that there are different types of admission programs, which naturally affects admissions statistics. To briefly recap these types, here is a short description of each:
- Regular admission: there is a set deadline for regular decision applicants, and applications are looked at after that date arrives
- Rolling admissions: applications are looked at on a continuous basis until the total capacity for the admitted class is full
- Open admissions: all applicants are admitted as long as they meet the basic requirements (this may be used for a community college or a safety school)
- Deferred admissions: applicants are approved for a program that starts in a year
- Early decision program: applicants are committed to the school that accepts them
- Early action: applicants can apply early and be considered before regular students
- Early evaluations: doesn’t necessarily mean early admissions, and the results are non-binding
For both elite colleges and others, you should familiarize yourself with the schools’ admission types so that you can make sure you don’t miss any important deadlines. Remember that an elite school might have the lowest acceptance rate, but that shouldn’t stop you from applying anyway. Admission cycles vary depending on the type of admissions the school offers, which is yet another reason why it’s so important to learn all you can about a particular school before sending them an admission application.
Trends in Colleges That Offer Regular Admission
For the Class of 2026, there are some noticeable trends for colleges that offer regular decision admissions. As a general rule, most select and even some state schools saw a huge increase in the number of students applying to the office of undergraduate admission, while the acceptance rates seemed to be smaller than ever. Several things have affected this. For instance, a test-optional policy – which says no ACT or SAT is required to get in – was instituted and extended at many colleges after the pandemic, which caused a lot of students to assume they’d be able to get accepted simply because no test was required.
Some of the schools with a strict selection process saw even lower acceptance rates than before, according to their admission data. Some of the schools with acceptance rates at 5% or lower include Brown University, Columbia University, Harvard, MIT, and Yale. As you can see, some of the Ivy League acceptance rates are much lower than the average. On the other hand, schools with acceptance rates above 20% include Villanova, Lehigh, Georgia, Fordham University, and George Washington University.
With regular admissions, as well as other types, an ongoing trend is that offers of admission continue to be very low, and there seems to be no clear-cut reason why. It could be for practical reasons; after all, a college campus can only accommodate a certain number of admitted students. That said, this could also be due to a post-pandemic uptick in college hopefuls, augmented by the volatile economy and disappearing jobs that may force future employees to obtain more and higher levels of education just to beat out their peer competition for an increasingly limited number of available and desirable jobs. Regardless of the reason, college-bound students should put their best foot forward and let these admission statistics inspire them to stand out more on both their academic strength, their diverse backgrounds, and their unique talents and differentiators.
Does the Admission Type Affect the Acceptance Rates?
If you look at the regular and early applications submitted every year, you’ll notice the percentages aren’t really affected by the type of admission policy they have. The overall acceptance rate from the previous year in most schools is typically lower, but the current numbers don’t reflect a steep decrease from the year 2021. All of this being said, some prestigious schools saw a drop in applicants even though their overall admit rate was the same, while other schools saw the opposite.
Of course, the overall admission rate of a school isn’t the only thing to consider when you’re looking for the perfect college. From first generation college students to students who wish to attend the same school their grandfather went to, you have to look at the whole picture when it comes to figuring out what that particular school expects from you in order to be accepted. And this applies to both students from different countries and those from the college’s local state or city.
Are there things you can do to improve your odds of getting into a certain school? Of course: Improving your SAT or ACT scores can help you stand out even in a test-optional world. Participating in volunteer and extracurricular activities – particularly independent ones that hone a unique skill or make a real-world impact – can set you far above the competition. As you likely know, though grades aren’t everything, concentrating on maximizing your GPA can also help show a college that you’re academically a good fit who will excel at their school.
Remember, the class of 2026 admissions statistics are just one snapshot of data, but you forge your own educational path, and your college list and admissions journey should be based around the schools that would best fit your desired educational trajectory and future career. Years from now, the admissions process will just have been a blip on the radar on your path to higher education, which is where the real magic will happen in progressing your skills, achievements, and career goals.
){kind=link}