A readable daily digest of college admissions developments — testing policies, financial aid, federal enforcement, and enrollment — with Test Ninjas analysis of what it means for applicants.
Legacy admissions has collapsed nationally since 2015, from about 50% of colleges to just 23% today. But among the 89 colleges admitting 25% of applicants or fewer, 57% still weigh it — nearly unchanged from a decade ago.
A federal judge granted a nationwide injunction against the DHS rule ending "duration of status" for F-1 and J-1 students, hours before its September 15 effective date. The reprieve is temporary — the next hearing is October 2.
A joint DOJ and Education Department investigation found Berkeley Law used a diversity essay prompt and an identity form as backdoor ways to weigh race, giving Black applicants 5.8 times greater odds of admission than comparable white applicants in 2025. It's the second law school DOJ has targeted after Duke.
The State University System of Florida's Board of Governors voted unanimously to bar anyone "present in the United States unlawfully" from enrolling at any of its 12 universities, starting with students entering in fall 2027. Open-admission state colleges are unaffected.
A proposed rule would strip tax-exempt status from up to 18,000 private schools — colleges included — that use race in admissions, scholarships, or aid, even if relabeled as diversity or equity. It would take effect for tax years starting after May 2027.
DOJ argues that donor-funded scholarships reserved for Chinese students can violate Title VI even though the money is private — a theory that could reach the country-restricted scholarships plenty of other colleges also offer.
A new SEVP memo says CPT internships now have to be a required part of every student's curriculum and tied to a formal employer partnership — or a campus risks losing certification to enroll international students at all. UCLA and UC Berkeley have already paused approvals.
A FairTest analysis of 2,247 admissions policies found just 7% of colleges require SAT/ACT scores for 2026-27 — even as elite schools keep reinstating them. Among U.S. News top-100 schools, though, 11% now require scores.
DOJ says GW's medical school used essay responses to flag applicants' race and admitted Black applicants with significantly lower MCAT scores than white and Asian applicants — the fourth medical school found in violation after UCLA and Yale.
Michigan's statewide direct-admissions portal opened August 26 with 20 public and private colleges. Students upload a transcript, skip the essay, and can get admitted before applying — with a September 21 priority deadline for the first round of offers.
Starting in September, 234 colleges — up from 215 last cycle — will proactively offer admission to eligible first-generation and low- and middle-income students through Common App, often before those students have applied.
F-1 visa issuances fell 23% in 2025 versus 2024, with the drop concentrated after Trump paused visa interviews in May for new social media screening. India fell 56.6%; Iran, Myanmar, and Venezuela each fell over 70%.
Fifteen colleges told federal officials the DHS rule capping international student stays at four years is already driving disenrollments — before it even takes effect. Applications fell over 25% at Illinois's flagship, and dozens withdrew from UMB weeks before the semester started.
Nearly 16,000 fewer international students applied through Common App this cycle — the steepest drop in a decade. But the pain wasn't even: elite schools lost almost no international applicants while less-selective colleges lost a fifth of theirs.
A former DOJ civil rights attorney alleges the Title VI investigations behind this year's Harvard, Brown, and Columbia settlements had predetermined outcomes. Raskin is now demanding records — including on Cornell.
A federal judge dismissed DOJ's Title VI suit seeking to claw back nearly $1 billion from Harvard, ruling the antisemitism incidents cited were "too isolated and episodic" to show ongoing noncompliance. DOJ is weighing an appeal.
NAFSA and JB International project about 111,000 fewer international students will enroll at U.S. colleges in 2026-27 — a 9.5% drop tied to visa restrictions that could cost the economy $3.4 billion and nearly 40,000 jobs.
A federal judge ruled the Sherman Act case against 32 elite colleges' early-decision practices can move into discovery, though claims against Common App, Scoir, and COFHE were dismissed.
DOJ said Duke Law used essay tags tied to race to admit Black and Hispanic applicants over white and Asian applicants with stronger LSAT scores — its first finding against a law school.
About 61% of colleges expect to hit fall 2026 enrollment goals, but small schools are far less confident — and discounting hard to fill seats.