4 Ways Recent Executive Orders May Impact College Admissions—What You Need to Know

On Monday, April 21st, Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the US, announced it has filed suit against the Trump administration. Harvard is just one of several top universities facing the loss of billions in federal funding. Cornell, Northwestern, Brown, Princeton, Columbia, and Penn have also seen significant funding cuts and freezes, with Columbia agreeing to policy changes proposed by the current administration in order to preserve federal funds. 

However, these schools are not the only colleges that may be impacted. The 2023 ruling in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC Chapel Hill case ended the practice of affirmative action, barring the consideration of race as a factor in college admissions. And, since January 2025, several Executive orders and a Dear Colleague letter issued by the current administration have extended this ruling further and called for changes that may have broader effects on the admissions process. While it’s still uncertain how colleges will respond to these orders, here are four potential impacts they could have on the upcoming 2025-26 college admissions cycle.

1. Standardized Test Score Requirements

   Some colleges have maintained test-optional policies in their admissions processes since the pandemic, including Columbia, Princeton, and Texas A&M. However, in the Dear Colleague letter, the current administration argues that test-optional policies could be “proxies for race” and encourage colleges to give preference to certain groups. Universities nationwide, facing pressure to eliminate all traces of affirmative action, may reinstate test-required admissions policies for the 2025-2026 cycle, following Stanford’s lead.

   
   

2. Supplemental Essays

   When the 2023 ruling barred the consideration of race in application review, Chief Justice John Roberts noted in his ruling that colleges may consider a student’s racial identity as described in their personal essays, as long as it was tied to a personal quality. The January Dear Colleague letter disagrees. It states that schools may not use essay topics or extracurriculars “as a means of determining or predicting a student’s race and favoring or disfavoring such student.” This could mean that colleges may eliminate supplemental essay prompts related to diversity or other aspects of student backgrounds entirely. This announcement comes months before colleges begin releasing their supplemental essay prompts for the next cycle, and students will have to wait until their release before fully understanding the effects of this consideration.

   
   

3. Loss of Scholarships

   Recent Executive orders have banned the consideration of race for any scholarships. This means that students can expect scholarships that consider race as a factor in any way to no longer be awarded. This could have serious consequences for students who depend on scholarships to make college affordable, and could potentially decrease college enrollment in the next admissions cycle. Students should start researching scholarships they may be eligible for based on merit-based factors now to ensure they are prepared for the financial responsibilities of a college education.

   
   

4. Cuts to the Department of Education

   President Trump promised on the campaign trail to eliminate the Department of Education to the fullest extent allowed by law. So far, the department has laid off half of its staff with the possibility for more lay-offs and funding cuts in the near future. The Department of Education manages trillions of dollars in student loan debt and awards, oversees the Pell grant system, and updates and administers the FAFSA each year. While the administration has promised the continuation of the Pell grant system and that the FAFSA will be maintained through any transition, with limited staffing and the potential for reallocation of the resources it provides, the future of programs managed by the department is up in the air.

Conclusion

B2A and students across the country are waiting to see how colleges will react to recent Executive orders in the 2025-2026 admissions cycle. For now, students should focus on crafting the most competitive application profile possible. Securing stellar test scores, researching scholarship opportunities early in the admissions process, and joining new activities should be top priorities for all high schoolers, especially rising seniors. 

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