Top 5 Takeaways This Month
- Test-optional is becoming test-expected at many highly selective colleges.
- The SAT is gaining momentum, backed by new research and more official practice material.
- The enhanced ACT still lacks a seamless full-length digital practice experience.
- AI is reshaping both admissions essays and classroom expectations.
- International applications are down as U.S. higher education faces growing policy and funding uncertainty.
GRE Gains Ground at Top B-Schools
Across the top 10 business schools in the U.S., GRE submission rates are rising. In 2025, between 27 percent and 54 percent (at #5 Ranked Tuck School of Business – Dartmouth) of applicants to these institutions submitted GRE scores as part of their applications. At all but 2 of these 10 schools, GRE submission rates have risen year-over-year. Moreover, 20 out of the nation’s top 26 B-Schools experienced growth in GRE submission rates since 2023, and nearly every single school saw sizable increases between 2017 and today, with percentage increases of as much as 46 percent (#14 Haas School of Business – Berkeley).
Takeaways: These recent submission trends seem to indicate that the GRE has successfully differentiated itself as a more flexible yet equally valid alternative to the GMAT. While the GMAC’s business school-centric exam is still deeply entrenched in the application for U.S. B-Schools (and just increased its flexibility by incorporating the automatic GMAT Superscore), the GRE can aid business schools in broadening their applicant pools to more readily include students weighing multiple potential graduate school pathways and those from less traditional undergraduate backgrounds.
GRE Rising: Submission Rates & Scores At The 50 Top U.S. MBAs (Poets & Quants) – 8/28/26
New ACT Tests Arrive, but Digital Tools Lag
The ACT has created and unveiled two new practice tests for its flagship exam: 26MC2 and 26MC3. With the introduction of these new papers, the ACT has now released four official practice tests for its enhanced exam – as well as several legacy exams repurposed to fit the format of the revised test. Each of the newest tests includes a figure in one reading passage, a feature that has been seen on some official tests, but not in practice tests until now.
Takeaways: In addition to the paper version of the new tests, the ACT website also features “Digital Interactive Simulation” versions of the tests. Unfortunately, each of these digital tests is broken up by section – as has been the case since the launch of the practice materials for the new exam.
Thus, these tests cannot be taken smoothly in one sitting, and the onus is on the student to score them through a non-intuitive and messy process.
The Enhanced ACT’s paucity of online practice resources remains one of the company’s most glaring (of many) oversights in the rollout of the new test. International students, who are not afforded the option of a paper-and-pencil test, are still without a seamless official way to rehearse the full-length testing experience.
New ACT Practice Tests (Official ACT Website) – August 2026
A Quick Favor from Me
For the first time since 2019, we’re taking a fresh look at Onsen’s website: onseneducation.com
Before we change too much, I’d really value your perspective. What’s already working? What could be clearer? What would you want to see improved?
If you have a few minutes, I’d be very grateful for your candid, anonymous feedback:
Thanks in advance — your thoughts are genuinely appreciated.
Canada Recruits Top U.S. Researchers
On Thursday, 21 Canadian universities announced that they will hire 64 new researchers for this academic year, three-fourths of whom are Americans. 48 of the 64 researchers will leave U.S. institutions, including some of the most prestigious colleges and universities, to join Canadian higher ed. In recent years, the Canadian government has pledged over $500 million CAD in investments toward “strategically important” research fields such as AI.
Takeaways: Canada’s recruitment of U.S. researchers continues a brain drain that began amid federal funding cuts, tightened restrictions on international students, and increased scrutiny of universities under the Trump administration. Canada’s industry minister, Mélanie Joly, lauded her government’s move in a statement to reporters this week. “While certain countries are cutting research and turning their backs on academic freedom, we’re doubling down on science.”
Canada Hires 48 Scholars Away From Top U.S. Universities (NY Times) – 8/27/26
Tulane Adds SAT/ACT Requirement for Pre-Med Pathway
Louisiana’s most selective private university, Tulane University, has announced a new change to its standardized test policy. While Tulane retains a test-optional policy for admissions for the majority of its offerings, which it has held since the COVID-19 pandemic, the university now requires SAT or ACT scores for its invitation-only Pathway to Medicine program for pre-med students. Students in this program who stay in good academic standing through their undergraduate years are automatically admitted to Tulane School of Medicine.
Takeaways: Michael Woodson, assistant dean of admissions for Tulane Medical School, explained that the “additional data point” will help the admissions team identify optimal candidates. “Because Pathway to Medicine is an invitation-only program, offered to the most academically distinguished students in our applicant pool, we decided to return to requiring standardized testing as an eligibility requirement,” Woodson said. In addition to the admissions change, Tulane now considers SAT, ACT, AP and Cambridge International A-Level exams in its determination for academic merit aid. Need-based financial aid or other artistic, athletic or service-related merit scholarships, however, will not be contingent on test scores.
Tulane University introduces standardized tests for academic merit scholarships (The Tulane Hullabaloo) – 8/26/26
UChicago Bans AI in Core Social Sciences
Last week the University of Chicago unveiled its sweeping new Artificial Intelligence policy, which, beginning this fall, will prohibit students from using AI in all of the school’s core social science courses. More specifically, the new policy requires in-person class attendance, prohibits the recording of class discussions and lectures, designates classrooms as device-free spaces (from laptops, cell phones, and wearable AI), and requires students to complete assignments independently without the help of AI tools. The University will allow the use of technology for students as long as that use “doesn’t compromise course objectives or learning goals.”
Takeaways: Officials at U.S. universities are struggling to square the ubiquity of Artificial Intelligence with their teaching missions. While some other U.S. universities are embracing AI technologies, University of Chicago’s device-free stance is among the most aggressive put forth recently. Though UChicago’s policy bars students’ everyday use of artificial intelligence, it does, in certain cases, allow professors the latitude to incorporate AI for “thoughtful experimentation” – on a one-off basis and pending the approval of divisional leadership. The internal memo which announced the new policy characterized the change as “meant to lay the groundwork for higher level study at the College, in the SOSC Core we first equip students to read, write, and think without dependence on AI, just as we equip students to read, write, and think beyond the bounds of conventional views or leading ideologies.”
University Of Chicago Bans AI, Other Technology, In More Courses (Forbes) – 8/24/26
The Admissions Pendulum Has Swung Back
Six years out from the first Covid-era admission cycle, admissions processes at U.S. colleges and universities have evolved considerably. Whereas early-decade admissions policies de-emphasized standardized tests, leaned more heavily on student essays, and pushed diversity, equity, and inclusion to the forefront, the pendulum has swung back around. With the proliferation of AI, the emergence of new research on the efficacy of standardized tests, and pressure from the US government, admission practices and priorities of U.S. colleges look vastly different.
Takeaways: A student’s personal statement is still a key part of the application packet for the majority of U.S. undergraduate programs. That said, many schools have or are in the process of phasing out their institution-specific supplementary essays. Tulane University, University of Georgia, Cornell University, University of Virginia, and Texas Christian University have all recently eliminated or de-emphasized this element of their admissions. Michael Strecker, a spokesperson for Tulane, said that concerns about AI-generated work “were definitely a factor” in this decision. Meanwhile, research released in 2024 by Dartmouth pointed to the predictive power of the SAT and ACT – even more predictive than High School GPA. In addition, the report concluded that submitting test scores at Dartmouth could actually have a positive effect on admissions for students from historically underserved communities. Select institutions have subsequently returned to test-required admissions and that trend has built momentum: all Ivy League schools require or will soon require test scores for admissions. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, on the other hand, have been excised from many institutions. In the wake of the 2023 US Supreme Court decision to end affirmative action, many schools are taking extra care to avoid giving the federal government the impression that they are still engaging in race-conscious admissions.
College Applications Are Changing Again, Thanks to A.I. and Politics (NY Times) – 8/24/26
U.S. International Applications Fall 10%
New data released last week by the Common App points to major shortfalls in international applicants to U.S. universities for the 2025-26 cycle. Among Common App’s 1,146 member institutions, the number of international applications decreased by 10 percent (16,000 students), signaling a notable turnaround from the upward trajectory of the past decade. This latest cycle’s largest downturns came from Africa and Asia, 17 percent fewer and 11 percent fewer applications, respectively. On the flip side, the overall number of U.S. undergraduate applicants increased by about 2 percent to 1.5 million. Certain historically underrepresented populations saw growth as well: Black applicants, rural applicants, and applications from students living in ZIP codes below the national median income level all increased by 8 percent this cycle; applications from students from small towns saw a 9 percent increase.
Takeaways: This steep drop in international applications owes to several factors, but perhaps the most impactful is the direction of the U.S. federal government over the last two years. The Trump administration’s “America first” policies have raised serious questions about the security of international students in the United States and have both directly and indirectly deterred many families from considering the U.S. as a higher education option. Further data for the 2025-26 academic year from the Department of Homeland Security points to a 13 percent decrease in international student enrollment – showing that these issues extend beyond just the application process. Furthermore, the DHS projects that there could be 112,000 fewer international students on American college campuses this coming academic year.
International Applications Dropped 10% This Year (Inside Higher Ed) – 8/20/26
Pentagon Gives 30 Universities a China Ultimatum
Last month, the Pentagon made a new threat to cut university funding. 30 top U.S. universities, including MIT, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and Cornell, risk losing federal support unless they conduct a review of and subsequently curtail certain foreign academic partnerships that have been deemed a national security risk. An outsized percentage of the academic partnerships in question are tied to Chinese institutions. Other U.S. schools named in this news release are Duke, NYU, UNC-Chapel Hill, Emory, and various University of California campuses. All colleges and universities named in this letter had until August 31st to comply. Exact next steps as of now are unclear for any who chose not to comply.
Takeaways: This latest dictate marks another in a series of federal actions targeting higher education institutions – and, more specifically, further opposition against colleges’ and universities’ ties to China. According to Emil Michael, the Chief Technology Officer for the Pentagon, “The Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security.” Chinese officials, on the other hand, have repudiated the Trump administration’s portrayal of academic cooperation as a security threat. A Chinese Embassy spokesperson referred to the dealings with U.S. higher ed as rooted in “normal scientific, educational, and academic exchanges.”
Pentagon threatens to cut federal funding to 30 universities over foreign academic partnerships (The Guardian) – 8/18/26
Georgetown No Longer Requires Full SAT/ACT Testing History
Georgetown University has made a key amendment to its standardized testing policy this month. GU still requires that students submit an SAT or ACT score, but its policy now allows applicants to do so without including all of their historical SAT and/or ACT tests. While the official language on the website states that Georgetown does not accept superscores, students can still include more than one SAT or ACT score, and Georgetown will look at the highest scores across those tests through an internal process. The amended policy also states that Georgetown “highly recommends” submission of the science section of the ACT especially for applicants seeking to major in the sciences. Georgetown does not consider the writing portion of the ACT.
Takeaways: This latest update is a significant shift in Georgetown’s admissions policy and removes a key barrier for some students. Georgetown historically required applicants to submit their full testing history, which would prevent some students worried about an uncharacteristically low test score from applying and would keep others from taking multiple SAT/ACT administrations for fear of an off-day. An initial amendment earlier this summer relaxed that rule partway: students submitting only one score no longer had to provide their entire testing history, though those submitting multiple scores still did. This month’s change removes the requirement altogether. The latest simplification to the Georgetown admissions process, along with the school’s adoption of the Common App, should lead to an even larger applicant base in the next admissions cycle.
Georgetown Testing Requirements (Official Georgetown Website) – August 2026
Grim Projections For International Student Numbers for 2026-27 Academic Year
New projections by the NAFSA: Association of International Educators and JB International show that, for the 2026-27 academic year, there will be roughly 112,000 fewer international students enrolled in US colleges and universities. This drop, which represents a departure from the growth trends in recent years, is forecasted to result in as much as 3.4 billion dollars in lost revenue and cost more than 40,000 American jobs. Of the 585 higher education institutions responding to the survey, 63 percent expect a decline in international student enrollment numbers in the upcoming cycle. Conversely, 26 percent of those surveyed expect stability year-over-year and only 11 percent predict an increase.
Takeaways: In order to address the anticipated decline in international students, the NAFSA has advocated that the Trump administration work to alleviate some burdens for these students. Increasing visa interview availability, expediting the overall process, giving visa-seeking students and J-exchange visitors an exemption from the current travel ban, and preserving optional practical training for all F-1 students, the NAFSA argues, will help stem the decline of foreign students – and the financial and cultural benefits they bring. Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA, writes, “All Americans lose when international students and scholars are driven to more welcoming countries. Forfeiting U.S. position as the top destination for global talent hurts students, hospitals, research laboratories, the economies—and carries the real risk that the next big invention will not happen on U.S. soil.”
Projected Loss Of International Students Could Bring A $3.4 Billion Hit (Forbes) – 8/12/26Michigan Pilots Pass/Fail First Semester
The University of Michigan has announced that it will pilot a new grading system for some of its students this fall. First-year students at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts will no longer receive traditional letter grades; instead, they will be given pass/fail-style grades for nearly all classes. School officials explain that the policy is meant as a pressure valve to help students “start strong and curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals.” While students will only see “pass” or “no credit” on their transcripts and first semester grades will no longer factor into grade point averages, letter grades will still be recorded for internal use by the school. These internal grades can help in the determination of academic honors and for compliance recording.
Takeaways: Critics of the University’s new grading system fear that pass/fail grades could have the unintended effect of demotivating students or adding to grade inflation. Others are more direct in their disapproval, claiming that the new system “coddles” students. Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author, believes that while harsh evaluations can be an unpleasant experience for a student, “learning that you can tolerate them and move forward prepares you for adulthood.” Criticism notwithstanding, the University of Michigan is following a precedent that some other highly selective schools already have set: MIT has a very similar policy in place aimed at helping students get accustomed to increased workload and teaching methods they might not be familiar with; Brown University allows its students in many courses the choice between letter and pass/fail-style grading.
To Improve Student Mental Health, University of Michigan Eases Grading (NY Times) – 8/11/26
Will the Test-Required Trend Spread?
While roughly 90 percent of colleges and universities remain test-optional, there has been a marked shift in momentum over the past several years toward a return to a test-required admissions policy in the United States. All eight Ivy League schools either currently require or will soon require SAT or ACT test scores – as do many other highly selective colleges and universities: MIT, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, etc. Some wonder if this trend among highly selective schools will have a trickle-down effect, but, for the time being, many top institutions, such as University of Vermont, University of Michigan, Syracuse, and Texas Tech, have reiterated their commitment to test-optional policies. The University of California system, meanwhile, is under current scrutiny over its admissions standards, and many faculty and other stakeholders have pushed the schools to reinstate SAT or ACT requirements for STEM applicants.
Takeaways: Equity and access have often been at the center of the debate surrounding whether standardized tests should be required for undergraduate admissions. Recent data points to standardized tests, in addition to being more predictive of academic performance at the university level than other metrics, actually helping high-achievers from traditionally disadvantaged groups stand out in admissions. Conflicting research points to little difference in graduation rate whether or not students submit a standardized test score, and detractors of the SAT/ACT, such as FairTest executive director Harry Feder, still argue that standardized exams have intrinsic “class and race discriminatory properties.”
Standardized test performance can reflect class and race disparities – though calling them discriminatory seems groundless. Moreover, phasing out standardized tests doesn’t remove bias from admissions. Doing so would instead shift admissions weight onto factors like essays, extracurriculars, and letters of recommendation, which run into similar socioeconomic disparities, albeit with less means for oversight. Beyond the argument of whether the tests should make a widespread return, the question of if they will remains open. Momentum aside, individual institutional mission will matter as much as data when dictating future testing policy.
Elite colleges are returning to the SAT and ACT. Will others follow? (Higher Ed Dive) – 8/10/26
College Board Adds 270 New Questions
The College Board has unveiled an updated version of its Educator Question Bank, the digital storehouse of official test practice questions. Available to students and educators, the question bank provides free access to over 3,500 SAT questions. As part of this latest update, the College Board added 270 new questions: 150 reading and writing questions and 120 math questions. More than half of the new questions are rated “Level Three,” the most difficult designation. Additionally, the College Board changed the difficulty of 177 existing questions; roughly 25 percent of the difficulty modification was to shift formerly “Level Three” down to “Level Two.” These changes should help provide students with exposure to a greater variety of challenge questions to better prepare them for the official tests.
Takeaways: The Educator Question Bank had most recently been updated in October 2025. This newest change comes at an opportune time: some skills that have been showcased on some of the more recent practice tests and official tests had not been represented in wider practice questions. Digging deeper into some of the adjustments: Reading and Writing questions overwhelmingly make up the share of difficulty changes with 141 R&W questions changing difficulty and only 36 Math doing so. One of the categories with the most new questions is Standard English Conventions with 38 new questions. This is a boon for students: there has been a pressing need for more practice in this category. Among the newer questions are more complex verb questions that can be solved by students identifying independent clauses; these questions appeared in some of the later practice tests but hadn’t yet been part of the question bank. In math there is a greater number of circle questions that can be efficiently solved by completing the square, surface area questions that address 3-D shapes other than cubes and rectangular prisms, and statistics questions that necessitate a deeper understanding of margin of error.
College Board Expands Its Educator Question Bank – (College Board Official Site) – August 2026
58,000 Students Must Retake Mexico’s Entrance Exam
A massive cheating scandal broke this week at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), one of the country’s most prestigious institutions, leading to criminal complaints and public protests. Early this summer, the UNAM admissions exam was made available to take online and at home for the first time ever. A subsequent recent analysis suggests that a large percentage of students cheated. Across exam administrations between 2021 and 2025, an average of roughly 3.5 percent of applicants obtained a score of 100 or more out of 120. This year that figure was 16 percent. In the medicine program, which is among the most competitive such programs in the region, 30 percent of candidates received a score of 100, compared to 9 percent last year. Just shy of 160,000 students took the exam this year; roughly 58,000 will need to retake the exam in person.
Takeaways: Critics point to the format of the exam, along with a messy rollout and lack of a pilot program, as opening the door for cheating. The tests were open for students to take for 17 days, which allowed people to leak and sell test questions. Additionally, the AI-powered webcam meant to monitor candidates was found to have failed to stop fraud: some students were found to have had someone else take the test in their stead; others were reportedly able to use external AI to help them during test administration. Raúl Rojas, an AI and statistics professor at the Free University of Berlin and the University of Nevada, Reno, estimates that roughly 75,000 students cheated on this exam. Beyond the potentially tens of thousands of invalid results, the widespread cheating also skewed the curve of the test, leading some students who didn’t cheat to not make the cut. Samantha Solórzano Alanís, a test taker who characterizes the cheating as an open secret, missed the admissions cutoff by five points, but she would have gotten in in any other year this decade.
Mexican university faces massive cheating scandal after first online entry exam (npr) – 7/28/26
How “Optional” is “Optional”? Data Suggests Growing Bias Towards Tests
Recent years have seen a push toward the return to standardized testing requirements in university admissions with all Ivy League institutions and many other highly selective colleges and universities now using SAT/ACT scores as a mandatory admissions criterion. Still, the vast majority of colleges and universities in the United States are still considered test-optional schools. That said, exactly how “optional” it is to submit SAT and ACT scores varies across institutions. Summit Prep ran an analysis of information provided by the Updated Common Data Set for the 2025-26 admission cycle and found that of the 75 top-100 colleges that reported figures, 51 percent actually became less test-optional – i.e. they increased the percentage of enrolled students who submitted test scores or switched to test-required – than in the previous year.
Takeaways: Among the top 25 colleges in Forbes’s ranking, two — MIT and Caltech — were already test-required at the beginning of the 2025-2026 cycle but 11 more (including Princeton, Yale, and Columbia) signaled this past year that they would become test-required institutions. Of the remaining 12 institutions on that list, four schools – Williams College; Rice University; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Washington University in St. Louis – saw an increase in the percent of enrolled students that submitted test scores. In fact, among the top 25 on the Forbes list, Duke University is the only institution that saw a decrease in this number year-over-year, with 75 percent of enrolled students submitting this year, a drop of 3 percentage points since the 2024-25 cycle. Moreover, for the first time in this decade, more first-year applicants (743,983) reported SAT/ACT scores than did not (685,764). This data paints a clear picture that among the most highly selective institutions the trend toward favoring standardized tests – even at those with optional policies – is real.
Test-Optional Becomes Less Optional (Summit Prep) – 7/29/26
Texas Public Universities Add the CLT
This week, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) greenlit plans to adopt the Classical Learning Test (CLT) as an admissions criterion for public universities in the state. Prior to this decision, two Texas universities – West Texas A&M and Tarleton State – had already been using CLT for scholarship qualifications, while the University of Texas had included a space for students to submit optional CLT scores. Wynn Rosser, Texas Commissioner of Higher Education, announced the change in a letter to university chancellors and presidents, citing a Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute study which had determined the Classical Learning Test to be “of sufficient rigor and reliability to be used as criterion for college admissions” in Texas along with the SAT and ACT.
Takeaways: The Classical Learning Test, which has positioned itself as the Christian conservative answer to the SAT/ACT, has seen a meteoric rise in the last several years, being adopted as an admissions criterion at all U.S. service academies along with state university systems in Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina – and now Texas. While more options for students is generally a good thing, some are skeptical of the CLT, not only for its ideological bent (the sin it accuses the SAT of) but also for a comparatively small data set. In fact, the Texas A&M study that was referenced in the announcement to adopt the CLT characterized the test as showing adequate evidence of readiness at moderate risk. The report pointed to limited Texas-specific evidence and small sample sizes, noting that “the CLT submission was clear, well organized, and promising, but less mature than the other submissions in several areas central to Texas admissions use.” Significantly, the report cited college readiness benchmarks for the SAT (1020 Composite) and the ACT (21 Composite), but could not determine a CLT benchmark. The SAT is still the preferred test in the state; as reported by the College Board, 74 percent of Texas students in the class of 2025 took the exam.
Texas Universities Can Now Consider ‘Classic Learning Test’ in Admissions, Alongside SAT and ACT (The Texan) – 7/24/26
SAT Outperforms ACT and CLT in Predicting Student Success
An independent research study from Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute examined the three leading standardized tests designed for college admissions: the SAT, the ACT, and the CLT. While all three tests reached benchmarks deeming them suitable for use in Texas’ admissions process (leading to the adoption of the CLT among Texas universities this week), the SAT received the highest score in nearly every category evaluated.
Takeaways: While the SAT did not receive a “perfect score” as the College Board claimed in its press release, the report does seem to conclude that “the SAT provides the strongest evidence base of any college entrance exam for assessing student readiness.” The test’s cited reliability, predictive validity, and operational expertise categorized it as a lower-risk assessment and earned it the highest score across all three tests. The SAT’s key limitation as highlighted by the study was a lack of specificity in score reporting and documentation. In fact, one of the only categories in which the SAT fell short of the ACT was reporting and interpretability of scores.
While this study’s results showcase the time and resources the College Board has put into successfully improving its flagship test, the fact that the SAT earns the highest scores here does not necessarily mean it is the right-fit assessment for all students. U.S.-based students – especially those approved for accommodations – should keep the ACT on their radar, as this test could still be a more natural fit for them.
SAT Ranked Best College Entrance Exam in Texas Study (College Board Newsroom) – 7/24/26
Vanderbilt to Require SAT/ACT Again
Vanderbilt University is poised to reinstate standardized testing requirements as part of its admissions process. In a statement released this week, Vanderbilt officials noted that, after a comprehensive review of the test-optional policies which had been put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic, they found standardized testing to provide a valuable tool in helping to “identify students who are best positioned to thrive at Vanderbilt.” The current test-optional policies will stay in place until the school switches over to test-required for students applying for the fall 2029 cycle.
Takeaways: Vanderbilt University is the latest in a series of highly selective U.S. colleges and universities to return to mandating test scores as part of its admissions requirements. As of this writing, all Ivy League institutions require or will be requiring students to submit scores – as do many Ivy Plus institutions. Since the Brown/Dartmouth study in 2024, which found that SAT/ACT scores can be 3.9 times more predictive than high school GPAs and argued that test scores counter-intuitively help create opportunities for underserved students, there has been a clear trend toward test-required admissions.
Vanderbilt to reinstate standardized testing requirement for fall 2029 applicants (Vanderbilt University) – 7/23/26
UC Accelerates Review of Testing Return
After a week filled with equivocation, including reports of a full suspension of its review process, the University of California announced that it would expedite the timeline in determining whether its system’s schools will reinstate standardized test requirements for admissions. According to UC Board of Regents chair Maria Anguiano, the Academic Senate is expected to submit its recommendations regarding testing requirements during the upcoming academic year, by no later than June 2027. At this time, the board will vote on whether to return to requiring SAT or ACT scores. The original timeline for the University of California’s Academic Senate to provide recommendations had been fall 2027 for implementation in 2028, but earlier this week the Senate decided to revise its timeline, ultimately deciding to move up the decision-making process.
Takeaways: In May of this year, University of California professors put forward an open letter to the University of California system and the people of California demanding the reinstatement of SAT/ACT math requirements for applicants to STEM majors across all University of California schools. This open letter garnered over 3,000 signatures from faculty members. The ensuing attention brought about by this letter, including a New York Times editorial titled “A Great University Undermines Its Mission,” has put pressure on the UC Board of Regents to genuinely consider whether standardized test requirements are a necessary part of the admissions process. The New York Times article cites former UC president Janet Napolitano who was once a proponent of test-blind policies. She calls it “a worthwhile experiment” but now favors a return to testing. “As the results come in, it is increasingly clear that the experiment needs to be revisited.”
UC Expedites Timeline for Determining Whether to Restore Testing Requirement (Inside Higher Ed)
UK Universities Cut Thousands of Humanities Posts
In recent years, British universities have seen a spate of job cuts for staff and faculty in the humanities and social sciences. This trend has reduced educational opportunities for students planning to concentrate in such disciplines as English literature, anthropology, classics, journalism, and business and management. The British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences, has released data showing that, from December 2023 to December 2024, approximately 4,000 academic posts across these fields were eliminated. Social work was hit the hardest, but at least 10 of these disciplines saw staff and faculty cuts of at least 5 percent.
Takeaways: While cuts to humanities and social science programs at more high-profile institutions have been met with scrutiny, the vast majority of this job loss (nearly 97 percent) has occurred at universities not associated with the Russell Group, the association of top public research universities in the country that includes the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London. Because the cuts have fallen almost entirely outside this highly selective group, they are disproportionately affecting the future job prospects of students with already lower economic mobility.
Justine Greening, education secretary under Theresa May, urged universities to consider the impact such changes would have on underserved students: “Having a range of university courses accessible to a wide range of students from all backgrounds is essential for social mobility.” Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of Universities UK, a higher education advocacy organization, said that while financial difficulties are leading to difficult choices, “In an age of AI, we’ll value the understanding of how humans think and act more, not less, in the future.”
Humanities among degrees being ‘extinguished’ by hard-up universities (The Guardian) – 7/14/26
Ph.D. Admissions Fall 15%
Recent data from 55 of the nation’s top research universities revealed that the number of students admitted to Ph.D. programs in the fall of 2025 dropped by 15 percent year-over-year. This downturn, which is spurred in great part by the unpredictability of federal funding during the Trump era, threatens America’s capacity to produce new science. Fewer doctoral students will directly lead to a reduction in the number of teachers and mentors for undergraduates; moreover, this decrease could lead to fewer researchers in the workforce across scientific disciplines. According to Toby Smith, a senior vice president at the Association of American Universities, “We are at risk of losing a whole generation of new talent because of the reduction in the capacity to support those students.”
Takeaways: Federal policy has introduced significant instability across the post-graduate landscape. In addition to federal funding for research institutions being in perpetual jeopardy, the administration has instituted cutbacks to agencies such as the National Science Foundation, put up numerous hurdles for international students wanting to study in the U.S., and has heavily scrutinized admissions and hiring practices at Ph.D. and medical programs. While White House spokesperson Liz Houston characterizes President Trump as “committed to keeping America the world leader in scientific innovation,” critics of the current government’s policies believe that they have led to “a loss for our nation.” According to MIT president Sally Kornbluth, “When you shrink the pipeline of basic discovery research, you choke off the flow of future solutions, innovations and cures — and you shrink the supply of future scientists.”
Decline of Ph.D. Admissions Could Imperil a ‘Generation of New Talent (NY Times) – 7/7/26
College Success Support for Incoming First-Year Students
A resource we’re sharing from a colleague — Onsen has no financial relationship here.
Jennifer Gershberg is a former college professor and current college success consultant who helps students make the transition from high school to college. She offers both 1-on-1 College Success Consultations and an asynchronous College Bootcamp for incoming first-year students, focused on the practical skills students are usually expected to figure out on their own:
- Time management in college
- Effective study methods
- Preparing for different types of college exams
- Managing test anxiety
- Using study groups effectively
- Building strong relationships with professors
Her individual consultation includes a brief parent intake followed by a 60-to-90-minute student session with personalized, actionable recommendations. Students who prefer a self-paced format can access the same core material through the online bootcamp.
Jennifer previously taught at the University of Maryland, where she received multiple teaching awards, and is a graduate of Cornell University and George Washington University Law School.
1-on-1 College Success Consultations
Also This Month
Brown’s president is stepping down. Christina Paxson, Brown’s 19th president and the longest-tenured currently serving Ivy League president, will leave at the end of the 2026-27 academic year, having extended her tenure to navigate a federal funding freeze and a $50 million settlement with the administration. She oversaw Brown’s return to requiring standardized testing. No successor has been named. Reuters – 8/3/26
A bipartisan bill would ban legacy preferences. The reintroduced Merit-Based Educational Reforms and Institutional Transparency Act would prohibit preferential treatment for applicants with alumni or donor ties, though it would still permit consideration of demonstrated interest. Experts doubt it passes — an earlier version failed in 2023 — but the direction of travel is clear without legislation: Education Reform Now found 24 percent of four-year colleges still consider legacy status, down from 29 percent in 2022 and 49 percent in 2015. Higher Ed Dive – 7/31/26
The SAT turned 100. The 1926 exam ran 97 minutes across nine subtests and drew just over 8,000 test takers. The current version runs 2 hours and 14 minutes of testing time and is projected to draw more than 2 million this year. A century in, the arguments about it have barely changed. The Harvard Gazette – 7/20/26
Written by
Zachary Adler
Since 2010, Zach has been helping students achieve their college readiness goals, specializing in all sections of the SAT, ACT, PSAT, and SHSAT. Prior to joining Onsen, Zach worked for a global investment firm, as well as in various roles in the education space. He has served as a youth mentor and has run college readiness information sessions for students in under-resourced communities. Additionally, Zach is a writer and filmmaker. He is an International Baccalaureate scholar and a graduate of Boston University.