2024-2025 Issues
Volume 39

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June 2025

Admissions Watch: Record applications at Amherst College, Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo), Colby College, and others.

Penn State's closure of seven Commonwealth campuses, Middlebury's continued test-optional policy, Commentary on competitive applicant pools, NACAC's "College Openings Update", and more.

Financial Matters: Student loan default collections resume, SAVE Plan legal blockage and its impact on borrowers, Department of Education workforce reduction’s effects, FAFSA system delays and aid eligibility disruptions...

Curriculum Capsules: Lafayette College's new "Common Course of Study", Georgia's HB 192 aligning education with high-demand careers, 16 AP Exams transitioning to fully digital formats.

Enrollment Trends: National Student Clearinghouse enrollment estimates: Undergraduate enrollment up 3.5% overall, Increases across bachelor's, associate, and certificate programs, Strong growth among 21 to 29 year-olds, and Black/multiracial students, and more.

Counselor's Bookshelf: The Disengaged Teen - book for parents of struggling teens, The Home Stretch of Student Recruitment - Chronicle guide, Forget the Rankings - card-sorting tool for college search, How to Apply for College as an International Student - Scholaro, A College For the Future - USF's interdisciplinary AI and cybersecurity initiative.

And of course, News You Can Use.

May 2025

Pell Grant recipients rose significantly across U.S. colleges this year, thanks to new federal aid formulas. Public two-year colleges saw a 17% increase, while private four-year institutions reported a 14% jump. At the same time, charitable donations to colleges climbed 3% and the University of Delaware received a record $71.5 million gift for a new business school.

Michigan launched a $1 million FAFSA sweepstakes, offering major prizes to boost student participation. Meanwhile, the University of Connecticut broke its application record with over 62,000 applicants, driven partly by NCAA basketball glory. Oberlin’s Conservatory saw a stunning 41% surge in applications, and Vanderbilt University expects 10% of its incoming class to come from the waitlist.

Financial headlines include Wellesley College surpassing the $100,000 cost threshold, while Boston College, Cornell, and GWU announced tuition hikes alongside expanded financial aid. Illinois community college enrollment rose nearly 9%, aided by new state investments.

AI in college essays continues to raise concern among admissions officers, with warnings about authenticity and software detection. And the CIRP Freshman Survey highlighted high financial stress, especially among Latino and Black students.

Curriculum shifts were also noted: Amherst College now limits students to two majors, Barnard requires more classes on its own campus, and Columbia introduced a new climate science engineering degree. Meanwhile, Mississippi's fourth-graders ranked first nationally in NAEP tests, and Ohio State reinstated standardized testing for future applicants.

April 2025

FEATURED ARTICLE
Admissions Watch: Wishes and Dreams
Amherst Admits 7 Percent, BC Accepts 12.6 Percent, UC Riverside Apps Surge 23 Percent, Duke Admits 4.8 Percent, Fairfield Apps Up 15 Percent...
Ivy League: Brown Admits 5.65 Percent (Fewer Apps than Last Year), Cornell Admits 5,824, Dartmouth Admits 1,702 (Apps Up 32 Percent Since 2020), Princeton Expected Around 5 Percent Admit Rate (Test-Optional Extended), Yale Admits 2,380 to Expanded Class.

Financial Matters
Some Changes in FAFSA Eligibility Resulted in State Aid Cutbacks, College Inflation Rate at 8 Percent, Georgetown Ranks College ROI, Bucknell Funds Study Abroad for Low-Income Students, Cleveland State Cuts Three Athletic Programs...

Scholarship Scoops
Grace College Aids 100 Percent of Students (20 Percent Tuition-Free), Smith College Receives Record $51 Million Gift for Financial Aid.

Transfer Trends
Overall Transfers Up 4.4 Percent, Strongest Growth at Community Colleges (5.8 Percent) and Online Schools (6.6 Percent), Reverse Transfers (4-Year to Community College) Up 6.3 Percent, Black Student Transfers Up 8.3 Percent.

News You Can Use
State-Run Direct Admissions Programs Expand to 14 States, Common App Sees 4 Percent Applicant Increase (Notably Latinx, Black, First-Gen, Low-Income Applicants Up).

Counselor's Bookshelf
The First-Year Experience: How to support student success, The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Improving Support for Nontraditional Students and The Future of Regional Publics, The Chronicle of Higher Education.

March 2025

FEATURED ARTICLE
Admissions Watch: Bennington Admits 37 Percent EDI, Bowdoin Tops 14,000 Apps, James Madison's Apps Up 34 Percent Since 2022, Rice Admits 6 Percent ED II, USC Attracts 83,000 Apps, UVA Admits 6,746 Early Action, and more.

Financial Matters
FAFSA Mandates, Florida Eliminated In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students, State Support Grows by 4.3 Percent, Cal Poly Humboldt Covers Last Dollar, Public Still Backs Government Aid To Education, Impact of NCAA Athletic Revenue Sharing.

Enrollment Trends
Black Male Enrollment Initiative, Demographic Dip, Glenville State Enrollment Up 10 Percent in 2024, Harvard Partners With QuestBridge, Texas A&M Caps Enrollment, Steep Decline in Legacies.

Curriculum Capsules
Accounting Popular, More First-Year Law Students, SUNY's New Core Competency Requirements, Texas A&M/Maritime Licensing, USC to Introduce EA for Business & Accounting.

News You Can Use
Race-Based Policies Declared Illegal, Common App Adding Community Colleges.

Scholarship Scoops
ASU/LA Fire Victims, Emerson Arts & Communications Aid, Rural Teacher Education.

Testing Tabs
Miami Reinstates Standardized Testing, Learning Loss, NAEP Tests Cancelled for 17 Year-olds.

Counselor's Bookshelf
Hands-On Career Preparation: Experiential learning to engage students and meet employers' needs, The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Serving Nontraditional Students and The Future of Regional Publics, The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Geography of Opportunity, The Institute for College Access & Success.

February 2025

FEATURED ARTICLE
Admissions Watch: Columbia Fields Slightly Fewer ED Apps, Fairfield U. Admissions Officers "Have Never Been Busier," George Washington U. Admits 11 Percent, NYU Tops 120,000 Apps, and more.

Financial Matters
Financial Aid To Continue Uninterrupted, Debt Forgiveness Era Ends, Final Biden Debt Forgiveness Actions, Colby Expands Help For Middle Class Families, Concord�s Last Dollar Makes Tuition Free, The Elms Promise..

Enrollment Trends
On Second Look, Freshman Enrollment Actually Increased, U. of California Enrollment Up 1.2 Percent, Grand Canyon�s 75th Year Marked with Record Enrollment, and more.

The Counselor's Corner
Challenges Ahead
Counselor Burnout, The Risks Facing Colleges, Stop Campus Hazing Act, "Spiritual and Mental Health in Higher Education," Miami Reinstates Standardized Testing..

Counselor's Bookshelf
The Times Good University Guide 2025: Where to go and what to study by Zoe Thomas.
Hands-On Career Preparation: Experiential learning to engage students and meet employers� needs The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Transition Matters
Illinois Transfers Guaranteed, Marist Takes A Step Up..

January 2025

FEATURED ARTICLE
Admissions Watch: EDs Begin to Shape Class of 2029
Barnard Selects 56 Percent of New Class Early, Brown Welcomes 906 ED Students, Duke Admits Record-Low 12 Percent ED, Emory Received 3,311 ED Apps, and more.

Financial Matters
Congress Acts on FAFSA, More Student Debt Relief, Donations Matter, Reed's Tuition-Free Initiative..

Enrollment Trends
Harvard's Overall Diversity Remains Relatively Stable.

Outlook
New Initiatives in Admissions
Florida International Conducts EA Decision Day, Quinnipiac U. Hosts 100th Class, Stockton U. Hosts Instant Decision Day, Texas to Admit Top 5 Percent Automatically..

Counselor's Bookshelf
Reimagining Student Engagement: From Disrupting to Driving by Amy Elizabeth Berry, Radical Reimagining for Student Success in Higher Education Jo Arney, Timothy Dale, etc, and more.

Testing Tabs
Dartmouth Reinstates Testing Requirement, Princeton Remains Test-Optional..

And, of course, News You Can Use.

December 2024

FEATURED ARTICLE
Fall 2024: The Ups and Downs for Class of 2028
Brown's "Underrepresented Students" Declined in Class of 2028, New Jersey Brings Back 8,600 Stopped-Out Students, SUNY Enrolled 376,000 Students, and more.

Financial Matters
FAFSA Ready, More Biden Administration Student Debt Relief, Recalculating Aid Formulas, MIT's New Financial Aid Policy..

Sticker versus Real Price
Key details of "The Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2024" report released by the College Board.

The Counselor's Corner
More Fall Enrollment Trends
FAFSA Rollout Hurts Private Colleges, Niche Used for Direct Admissions, Postsecondary Outcomes of High School Dual Enrollment Students, and more.

Counselor's Bookshelf
Learning for Work: How Industrial Education Fostered Democratic Opportunity, by Connie Goddard, and several more.

Scholarship Scoops
DePaul's Lighting Design, Marshall for All, Questbridge Scholars Announced, UMASS Amherst Offers Some Free Tuition, Western Kentucky Healthcare Workforce Supported.

Transfers Stay Near Home
Northwestern U. Admits City Colleges of Chicago Transfers.

And, of course, News You Can Use.

November 2024

FEATURED ARTICLE
Enrollment Trends: Freshman Enrollment Declined
Total undergraduate enrollment increased by 3 percent but freshman enrollment declined, Latino Enrollment Continues to Grow, Australia Limits International Students...

Financial Matters
FAFSA Update, Holy Cross Expands Low-Income Tuition-Free program. Muhlenberg Offers $2,000 to Students Who Complete the FAFSA, and more.

Updates on the Class of 2028
NYU's Pell-Eligible Population Grows, Stanford Students Speak 76 Languages, Wesleyan's Minority Population Remains Steady.

The Counselor's Corner
Fall Surveys, Reports
Why Is Enrollment Declining?, Nearly 40 Percent of H.S. Upperclassman Have Trouble Finding Reliable Information About College, GPA Less Reliable Indicator, Certificates or College..

Counselor's Bookshelf
The Best 390 Colleges, 2025 Edition by Princeton Review.
Class Dismissed: When Colleges Ignore Inequality and Students Pay the Price,

Curriculum Capsules: Chicago Expands C.C. Engineering, DePaul's B.S. in Robotics, Fordham's Internship Promise, and more.

And, of course, News You Can Use.

October 2024

FEATURED ARTICLE
Admissions Watch: More on Class of 2028 Up Close
Augusta U. Celebrates 200th Year, Babson C. Welcomes Freshmen, Bates C.'s New Students Exhibited Extraordinary Experiences, Baylor Most Diverse in History, and more.

Financial Matters
Damaging FAFSA Reports
FAFSA scheduled for 2025-26 is again at risk of technical and bureaucratic problems,
FAFSA 2025-26 Testing Begins
FAFSA is Still Scheduled for December, Other Financial Matters.

The Counselor's Corner
Enrollment Trands
Black Male Enrollment Plunges, Brown's Minority Population Falls, Connecticut Enrollment Declines Persisted After Pandemic, Direct Admissions Expands, Clarkson Sends Ed Programs to Siena and more.

Counselor's Bookshelf
Forbes' Top Colleges, Forbes released its list of the 500 top colleges, Bluebook Digital AP Exam.

Tuition Tabs: Tuition this fall rose at the majority of the nation's schools but there were a few exceptions.

Last Chapters: One Closure Per Week, Oregon C. of Oriental Medicine and more...

September 2024

FEATURED ARTICLE
Financial Matters: It's All About the FAFSA, The Latest News: The Outlook for 2025-26, FAFSA Fallout, The Impact of the FAFSA Delays So Far on the Class of 2028, The Good News, and more.

A Class of 2028 Sampler: Auburn Admits 46 Percent, BC Admits 14 Percent, Guildford's Lush Trees and Red-Brick Buildings Leave Indelible Impressions, Gonzaga's Most Diverse Class..

Welcome Mats: Carolina on Their Minds, LSU Welcomes New Tigers, Mercer 191st Academic Year, Tulane's "Hullabaloo Hello," Western Kentucky Advice.

The Counselor's Corner: Other Financial Matters, Sibling Deduction Cut Could Affect Many Families, Students More Dependent on Aid, How America Paid for College in 2024, Court Puts Biden Repayment Plan on Hold, and more.

Counselor's Bookshelf: Princeton Review names Virginia No. 1 Public for Financial Aid, Fiske Guide to Colleges lists the 10 most affordable.

New Transfer Agreements: Augustana C. and Rivermont Collegiate Agree on Guaranteed Admission, Maine Transfer Guarantee..

And, of course, News You Can Use.