Two Important Shifts in College Admissions This Fall
By Emily Burns, College Consultant
As we move into the new application cycle, there are two significant changes worth flagging for students applying to college this year.
Standardized testing is making a comeback. Six of the eight Ivy League schools — Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, and Penn — now require test scores, with Princeton and Columbia set to follow for the 2027-28 cycle. MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and Georgetown also require scores, as do the University of Alabama (for applicants with a GPA under 3.0) and the public university systems in Florida and Georgia.
If any school on your list is even moderately selective, I would recommend planning to take the SAT or ACT. Test-optional policies have been shifting quickly, and we don’t want your family caught off guard if a school’s requirements change before application season.
At the same time, several schools have scaled back their essay requirements. Georgia Tech, Tulane, UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Georgia, the University of Miami, and the University of Washington have eliminated their supplemental essays altogether. Cornell removed its universitywide essay, Yale dropped its “Why Yale” prompt, and Wake Forest reduced its essay requirement to a single prompt while adding a letter of recommendation.
These kinds of changes are exactly why we don’t build a college list around any single school’s current policy. Here at School First, we build college lists around where your student will genuinely thrive, and then adjust our application strategy to fit whatever each school requires. Policies will continue to change; the right fit for your student won’t.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of experienced college consultants with questions about how these changes affect your student’s specific list and how to prepare the best application for admission!
College Majors You Might Not Know Exist
August's Major Spotlight: Public Health
Have you ever wondered who decides what belongs in school lunches, how communities respond to disease outbreaks, or how cities make drinking water safe? That's the work of Public Health. It's a field focused on preventing illness, improving access to care, and helping entire communities thrive.
Students in Public Health programs blend science with policy, research, education, and communication. They take courses in areas like biology, epidemiology, nutrition, statistics, environmental health, and health policy while learning how to improve the health and well-being of entire populations.
This major could be a great fit for students who:
- Enjoy science but aren't sure they want to become a doctor
- Care about helping others and making a difference
- Like solving big-picture problems
Graduates can go on to work in healthcare, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, research institutions, hospitals, global health organizations, and more. Their work helps prevent disease, improve access to care, and create healthier communities.
Where Can You Study Public Health?
Whether you're looking for a large public university or a private college, there are wonderful options to explore. Here are just a few examples.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: A great fit for students who are interested in research, policy, and improving health on a community or global scale. UNC is home to one of the nation's most respected schools of public health.
San Diego State University: A great fit for students who want to get out of the classroom and into the community. Students work with local organizations, schools, and health agencies while gaining hands-on experience through internships and community-based projects.
Tulane University: A great fit for students who believe learning should go hand in hand with service. Tulane is known for its commitment to community engagement, giving students countless opportunities to work on public health initiatives throughout New Orleans and beyond.
Emily's Take!
I love that Public Health allows students to combine science with service. It's a wonderful option for students who want to improve people's lives but aren't necessarily interested in treating patients one at a time. Instead, they're thinking about how to make entire communities healthier. That's a pretty incredible impact to have.
Have a major you're curious about? I'd love to feature it in a future College Majors You Might Not Know Exist spotlight.