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The Wall Street Journal recently released a piece calling this previous admissions cycle "the most confusing, chaotic college admissions season in years." These past few years have seen many changes in the college admissions landscape, and with so many changes seeming to converge all at once, many families have been left confused and uncertain about the future. 

As experts in the education industry and the college admissions landscape, our team at InGenius Prep has worked alongside our students as they navigate industry changes as well as declining acceptance rates. While each admissions cycle presents its own hurdles, these past few years have been unique. This year alone has seen significant changes in how FAFSA is processed, which proved troublesome for many applicants relying on financial aid to make their college decisions. On top of that, changes in affirmative action and test-optional policies across schools from the local level all the way up to the Ivy Leagues have shifted the industry, and many families have been left in a state of confusion.

Changes to Testing Policies

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools changed their testing policies to no longer require SATs and ACTs to be included with students' college applications. The COVID-19 pandemic upended nearly everyone in every industry, and schools adopted test-optional policies to make admissions less restrictive for students who could no longer take standardized tests. 

Over the years, while the worst of the pandemic's effects passed, schools kept these policies in place for their students. But this past season alone, we've seen many schools—such as Yale, Harvard, UT-Austin, and more—revert these policies. 

Yale had stated in their announcement that they were reverting their test-optional policy because it had the opposite of their desired outcome. Data showed that test-optional policies disadvantaged students who would have had better chances at acceptance had they submitted their test scores. UT-Austin stated in their announcement that test scores were an invaluable tool in determining the success of prospective students. While the reasons behind these changes were generally made for students' benefit, it has confused many students and their families as the requirements continue to change and their options become more limited. 

Schools’ constantly shifting requirements have caused complications for families as they have to weigh not only whether they should take tests but which schools they should apply to. Joel Butterly, Chief Executive Officer at InGenius Prep, had this to say about the changing test policies over the years: "In the last several years, the biggest difference has been schools going from test-optional to test-blind and some schools reinstating the SAT… Families are left not knowing whether they should take the test, whether they do need to take the test, and whether they should adapt their school list if they plan to take the test or not... The reality is that, for most applicants, tests ARE optional, but not having them poses a risk of hurting your chances at acceptance." For InGenius Prep, our students have received 708 acceptances from the top national universities with submitted test scores versus the 270 acceptance offers for our students who did not submit their test scores. So, our official guidance is that students, if they have the resources, should take their exams and submit their test scores. 

While many schools still allow test-optional applications, as more schools revert their COVID-19-Era policies, families can expect fewer schools to remain test-optional in the coming admissions cycles. Still, some schools will remain test-optional in perpetuity for students who wish to take advantage of those options. 

Read our blogs covering Yale, Harvard, and UT-Austin's changes to learn more about their updated testing policies. 

Changes to FAFSA 

Finances are often the deciding factor for many families when navigating higher education. With tuition prices continuing to increase, many students rely on financial aid to pursue their degrees and select the best schools for their fields. 

This past year, FAFSA has undergone changes in its application, attempting to streamline the process for families. However, these changes launched with new problems, glitches, and confusions that left many families' financial plans in limbo—issues ranging from the inability for certain mixed-status families to complete the application to electronic signatures simply not working altogether. 

The delays caused by these problems had a ripple effect. The confusion caused uncertainty for many families, and schools had to adjust their financial aid deadlines to accommodate these issues. Many students were left uncertain if they would receive financial aid at all, which influenced their decisions regarding which schools they would apply to. Moreover, these issues disproportionately affected marginalized students, as they are the ones most likely to rely on financial aid in order to pursue higher education. 

EdTech posted data on its website, visualizing the year-over-year change in FAFSA completions across the continental United States. Their graphics showed a 23–46% decrease in FAFSA completions for the 2023–2024 college admissions cycle, with states across the sun belt being the most affected. "The smallest declines in FAFSA completions are those regions already losing college-potential populations the most, and the largest declines are across where the population is growing the most. In many ways, this makes sense with the Sun Belt having the highest percentage of first-generation students (and keep in mind that the location is of the high school, not the college or university, which becomes even more relevant with fully-online programs)." —Phil Hill & Glenda Morgan, Ed Tech. 

Supreme Court Ruling Against Affirmative Action

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action, effectively removing race-conscious admissions from the college application process. This decision overruled the 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, where the court ruled in favor of the University of Michigan Law School's admissions policy, which aimed to achieve diversity by considering various factors, including academic ability and personal experiences, alongside race. The decision emphasized that such policies must be flexible, consider all relevant factors, and avoid quotas or separate tracks based on race.  

The 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College ruled that the admissions programs used by the University of North Carolina and Harvard College violated the Constitution's equal protection clause. Thus, race can no longer be a factor in college acceptance decisions for qualified applicants. 

This is a major upheaval for students, creating even more complications for those with marginalized backgrounds. Some universities have discontinued race-based scholarship programs following the ruling, while others, such as Princeton, are setting financial aid targets to cultivate a more diverse student body.

DJ Rock, a Former Admissions Officer from MIT, now with InGenius Prep, had this to say about this previous admissions cycle: "This year's cycle has been the most confusing and difficult for the most marginalized students. Students from underrepresented backgrounds are questioning how major pieces of their identity may be ignored in the process. Students from low-income backgrounds who need financial assistance to attend college are left confused after the disastrous FAFSA roll-out. And overall, students who experience the most challenges in the application process have been given even more obstacles than before." 

InGenius Prep Student Thrive Amongst the Chaos

With so much chaos and uncertainty, families around the world have turned to InGenius Prep for guidance. Despite the industry shake ups, InGenius Prep students have continued to thrive, with admissions results improving year after year. "Generally speaking, over the last couple of years, the theme has been that every year, things get a little bit more confusing." 

"We are extremely proud of our results this year; they get better every year. From my perspective, the thing that really matters in terms of determining whether a service or program is worth it is how much more likely a student is to get into selective schools, and we find that the students who work with us are 7x more likely on average to get into a very selective school." —CEO Joel Butterly. 

When working with students, we aim to give everyone the best chance at acceptance into their dream schools. And despite the trials and changes that have come about these past couple of years, we continue to see our results grow. This past year alone, our students have received 110 acceptances from Ivy League Schools and over 900 offers in total from the top 50 national US schools—a 40–50% increase from last year. 97% of the students who work with InGenius Prep get accepted into at least one of their target or reach schools, with 62% getting into a top 30 national school. 

When asked about his experience in this previous admissions cycle, Former Admissions Officer Andrew Hazen said, "The thrill of seeing a hard-working student get the decision they worked for and earned is hard to beat. Better still is seeing the enthusiasm and gratitude from families included as well... Many of my students felt uncertain with their school lists as we prepared applications: weighing the risk of reach and "dream" schools with more realistic target or safety institutions is a perennial tough task... However, that work seems all the more important now that results are out and students sit with the reality of those decisions and the new choices that lay ahead for them."

Despite any complications that may come about in future admissions cycles, our team remains optimistic and confident. As time passes, college admissions are generally trending upward, and we at InGenius Prep remain steadfast in our dedication to helping all our students achieve their aspirations for education and careers beyond. To learn more about our programs and join the 97% of students who've been accepted into a top national university, schedule a free consultation call with one of our advisors today!