2025-2026 Admissions cycle: What's changed and what's new

From test requirements to essay prompts, the admissions process gets a recalibration

As we’ve been predicting, the test-optional era is losing steam. More and more schools are moving back to requiring test scores, while others are introducing new twists to their early application options. On top of that, the Common App has had a major facelift—both in look and in the way it asks students to share their stories. We’ll keep updating this …