Top College Admissions Trends in 2025

The landscape of college admissions continues to shift. As demographics change, policies evolve, and student behavior adapts, the 2025 admissions cycle is shaping up to be one of the most competitive and unpredictable yet. Even though the application cycle is continuing for Class of 2026, there are few notable trends:

1. Fewer Students + More Applications = More Competition

While the U.S. is experiencing a continued decline in the number of 18-year-olds, a trend that will deepen over the next decade, the number of college applications continue to increase

Why?
Because students are applying to more colleges than ever. Application totals at selective schools continue to climb.

• Students are applying broadly "just in case," often submitting 15–20+ applications.

• More apps + fewer seats = tighter admit rates.

The result: greater unpredictability, more waitlists, and more emphasis on strategic lists.

2. Public Colleges—Especially in the South, Southwest—Are Surging in Popularity, which makes “What you want to study Matters a Lot in Admissions

Applications to high-value public universities, particularly in the South and Southwest grew at nearly twice the rate (15%). Many of these Colleges are increasingly admitting by major, and the differences in selectivity are more dramatic than ever. It’s no longer just about getting into a school—it’s about getting into your specific program of interest. Highly selective majors like business, computer science, engineering, and nursing are now some of the toughest admits on campus, often with acceptance rates significantly lower than the college’s overall rate.

States seeing major interest include:

• Texas (UT Austin, Texas A&M)

• Florida (UF, FSU, UCF)

• Georgia (UGA, Georgia Tech—test required)

• Arizona (ASU)

• North Carolina (UNC Chapel Hill, NC State)

3. More Colleges Reinstate Testing — And More Students Submit Scores

The pendulum continues to swing back towards testing. In 2025, more colleges have reinstated test-required or test-preferred policies. Even test-optional colleges are increasingly rewarding strong test scores with higher admit rates and competitive merit aid. According to Common Application, by Nov 1 about 11% more students submitted SAT/ACT scores

Testing is becoming a differentiator again—particularly for students in competitive suburban high schools where GPAs cluster at the top. Increase in the score submission will also mean that the admitted student score percentiles will start to come down.

4. Early Applications Dominate — And Deferrals Are Climbing

Colleges continue to prioritize Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED) to manage yield, predict enrollment, and reduce uncertainty.

Some highly selective colleges admit 40–50% of their incoming class early, including:

• Northeastern

• Tulane

• Trinity College

• Many small private liberal arts colleges

This means: Applying regular decision is increasingly challenging. Deferrals from early rounds are climbing, as colleges push more students into the larger, more competitive RD pools. Demonstrated interest, strong testing, and a compelling narrative matter more than ever in the early rounds.

5. Sharp Decline in International Students on U.S. Campuses

U.S. colleges are seeing a notable drop in international student enrollment, driven by Visa processing delays and political uncertainty. A lot of it will come to bear in the 2025-26 admission cycle where the full impact of the changes at the federal level will come to bear.

What does this mean for domestic students?

• Certainly there will be more vying for domestic students but the bigger impact will be on the bottom lines of the colleges. Between the cuts in the federal grants, and full tuition dollars that international students often pay, many small and mid-sized private colleges will struggle.

Conclusion
While each admissions cycle is shaped by broader national trends, the fundamentals for students remain the same. Those who take the time to explore their interests, go deeper into their activities, and understand what they truly want from a college experience are always better positioned. When students pair that self-knowledge with strategic and tactical application planning, they don’t just survive a competitive cycle — they stand out.