1. Colleges are looking for alternatives to the personal essay

With 1 in 5 teens admitting to using ChatGPT to complete schoolwork, college admissions officers are becoming more vigilant about Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted essays. As a result, many colleges are looking at alternative ways for students to express their unique voices in their applications, and to ensure that those voices are authentic.

Students might see additional application requirements this year, such as portfolios of creative or academic work, interviews, and examples of graded class assignments. “We’ve noticed a trend in colleges like Princeton asking for past writing samples with teacher feedback, as evidence of students’ own writing, thinking, and synthesizing.

Students also might see new requirements for videos and interviews, similar to the optional “video introductions” that colleges like Bowdoin, Brown and the University of Chicago have offered for some time. “Changing the medium of delivery to audio/video ... gives a much better sense of how a student would engage in the classroom, or on campus, than the essay,” writes Rick Clark, director of admissions at Georgia Tech, in his blog.

Some students can now use video recording technology, such as InitialView’s Glimpse, to create and send video-recorded personal statements to colleges. Several colleges host these platforms on their admission websites and invite students to record themselves, sometimes answering randomly presented questions on-the-spot. 

To help students prepare for their moment in the spotlight, some admissions counselors now include on-camera interviewing as part of their college prep offerings.

Even with these new options, it’s unlikely that the traditional written personal essay will go away anytime soon. “Most likely, college essays will remain important, although the nature of essay prompts could change .Specific details of students’ stories may become more important and it’ll be noticeable if those details are missing or not aligned with the applicant.”

2. Colleges and students grapple with AI

As AI becomes more widely used, colleges and students are experiencing the promises and pitfalls of this emerging technology. Some college programs have added AI policies to their applications defining when and how AI can or can’t be used and she expects to see colleges do the same with applications.

I  encouraging students to be careful about how and when they use AI to apply to college. Many agree that using it for research and college list-building is fine but using it for any part of the essay-writing process is not.

“Nothing replaces the way free-writing helps a student get to know themselves, or the deep conversations students might have with teachers or mentors as they explore their writing and define their essay topics.

Colleges, on the other hand, have been using AI to recruit students and even evaluate applications for some time. According to one survey, 50% of college admissions departments are using AI, mostly to review letters of recommendation, assess transcripts, and to communicate with applicants via chatbots or automated messages. The larger the school, the more likely the admissions professionals are to use AI. In addition, 85% of survey respondents said they use AI to be more efficient; 70% said they use it to make more informed decisions; and 56% said they use it to eliminate bias.

There’s no evidence, however, that colleges are currently using AI to make their final admissions decisions – at least for now.

3. Test Score Submission is Declining

According to the Common Application’s January 2024 report, just 4% of its member colleges required test scores in the 2023-2024 application season, down from 5% in 2021-2022 and down from 55% in 2019-2020.

At the end of the 2022-2023 application season, the number of students choosing not to submit test scores was just slightly higher than students who did submit them. However, in 2023-2024, for the first time since the boom in test-optional policies began, significantly more students (12%) chose not to report test scores. As stated in the Common App report, this trend could accelerate in coming years.

4. Direct admissions gains traction

Imagine getting an offer of admission from a college without filling out an application or writing a single essay? With direct admissions, this might be a reality for you. Direct admissions is an alternative application pathway in which colleges send non-binding admission offers directly to qualified students. Students don’t need to submit applications, pay fees, or wait to find out if they are admitted. Instead, a college reaches out to them with an admission offer before they even apply. The states of Texas and Georgia have been operating direct admissions programs for some time, offering automatic admission to their state’s public university systems to students who meet certain thresholds for GPA or class rank.

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision banning the use of race in college admissions, some colleges are turning to direct admissions to meet their enrollment goals and increase diversity on campus, and some are partnering with direct admissions platforms that connect the schools with students who meet their admission criteria.

In the Fall of 2023, the Common Application launched its direct admissions program, which helps 70 participating colleges connect with low income and first-generation students. From the Common App portal alone, more than 300,000 students received direct offers of admission. Direct admissions platforms are now available from companies such as Niche, state governments including Minnesota and Idaho, and individual colleges.

While many see direct admissions as a positive development, some counselors caution students to be aware of its limitations. According to Graham, “Students typically still need to submit applications in order to finalize those direct admissions offers, and the colleges still need to be affordable for the students in order for those offers to be viable. As long as those two pieces come together, then this is a fantastic option.”

5. Students with financial need are having to contend with FAFSA delays

In December of 2023, we saw the debut of a new and improved FAFSA. The new form is shorter than the previous form and the aid eligibility formula provides more aid to low income students. However, changes to the form postponed the release of the FAFSA by almost three months—giving students less time to apply for financial aid and colleges less time to determine their awards.

Colleges had expected to receive students’ FAFSA data by the end of January, but that deadline was thrown into question when the Department of Education announced it needed to make further adjustments to the form and formula.

As a result, students may receive financial aid offers much later than usual and may not have sufficient time to factor them into their college decisions. “Between the glitches with the rollout and the compressed timelines that colleges will have to review student information and provide aid packages to families, there’s a lot of potential for problems,” says Graham. “We might see a drop in the number of first-gen and low-income students starting or returning to college next fall because of these hassles.”

6. Colleges are abandoning legacy preferences

Legacy admissions, which gives an admission advantage to students related to an alumnus, has long been criticized for being elitist and unfair, privileging mostly white, wealthy students. In a move to make their admissions policies more transparent and equitable, several colleges ended their legacy admissions policies, including Wesleyan, Virginia Tech, Occidental College, Johns Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon. At the same time, state and federal lawmakers have written bills banning the practice, and in January, the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into the University of Pennsylvania’s legacy admissions policy for possible violation of the Civil Rights Act. Given these actions, it won’t be surprising if more colleges end legacy admissions this year.

As some of these trends indicate, college admissions is evolving to meet the needs of both applicants and colleges. No matter how the admissions landscape may shift, it’s still important to focus on your academic goals and interests. If you keep your own college priorities in mind, you may be more likely to weather changes to the admissions landscape — and more easily find the colleges that are the best academic, social, and financial fits for you.

It's almost time for college students to move into their dorms and get ready for the upcoming school year. If that's you and you haven't checked "submit my FAFSA" off your to-do list, take care of that ASAP.

As of July 5, less than half of the high school class of 2024 had submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, according to the National College Attainment Network's analysis of Federal Student Aid data. FAFSA submissions from this class are down about 11% compared to last year's, NCAN finds.

It's not just incoming freshmen, though. Returning college students need to submit a new FAFSA every year to be considered for aid.

While it may have been difficult for students and their families to submit a FAFSA at the beginning of this year's application cycle, most of the technical issues have been resolved by now. 

"Fill out the FAFSA. Just fill it out," Jill Desjean, director of policy of analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, tells CNBC Make It.

The deadline to apply for federal aid for the 2024-25 school year isn't until June 30, 2025. But if you're starting school in August or September, you'll probably need to get your school bills — and any applicable aid — figured out by then. 

One of the biggest mistakes many families make is assuming they won’t receive any aid from colleges and universities. Parents frequently put a stranglehold on their child’s college list and tell them that they can only attend an in-state institution because that’s all they believe they can afford. The myth of one price for all is simply not accurate.

The reality is that paying for college is more similar to paying for an airline ticket, i.e., you could be sitting next to someone who paid twice what you paid or, unfortunately, that person across the aisle or in the dorm room next door may have paid remarkably less than you.

Financial aid is more available and abundant than a lot of families realize. This is especially true at the most selective and most expensive colleges. These colleges and universities have exceptionally large endowments. As college tuition has soared beyond the grasp of many families, these institutions have been pressured to raise the income threshold that allows families to receive aid.

Lynn O’Shaughnessy, my go-to guru for all things related to financial aid as well as a best-selling author and nationally recognized higher education expert who shares advice on her blog wwe.collegesolution, illustrated this phenomenon with this example:

“The parents in my hypothetical family have a gross income of $300,000, with $100,000 in taxable assets. (Aid calculations don’t take into account retirement assets, so a family could have millions in retirement accounts without jeopardizing aid.) My couple has one Princeton-bound student and another headed to another university. When I ran the numbers, Princeton would provide the student with a grant of nearly $26,000 for freshman year.”

It does seem remarkable that a family earning $300,000 annually would qualify for $26,000 in need-based aid. It also seems counter-intuitive that a pricier college might end up being cheaper than the sticker price on a less expensive school, but that is why financial advisors recommend that everyone complete the financial aid forms.

Most students heave a sigh of relief after they click on the college application submit button.

Some of these same students find themselves in a panic when they learn that components of their application package may not have arrived at the admissions office.

As a college consultant, I advise all my clients to check the status of their applications. Many schools offer applicants an easy “check status” option on their website. If something appears to be missing, call or email the admissions office to inquire. Most of the time, there is no reason to be alarmed. Usually, the missing item(s) have been received but haven’t been logged in the system.

For each school to which you apply, it’s a good idea to confirm that required recommendations (teacher evaluations and counselor’s report), transcripts and entrance exam scores, and other forms have been sent and received. Also, make sure that you have paid the required application fee.  You may be able to confirm the fee payment on your credit card website.

Some colleges offer merit scholarships that require additional applications and essays. Check the college’s website for deadlines and relevant information.

If you are applying for financial aid, be sure to complete the required forms and applications, such as the FAFSA and CSS Financial Aid Profile. The FAFSA is an essential part of being eligible for state and federal grants. You also cannot obtain a federal student loan without filling out a FAFSA. Many schools have specific financial aid deadlines. Usually, this information is available on the college’s website.

Finally, some colleges and universities offer, suggest or require interviews. These interviews may take place on-campus or in the applicant’s local area. Often the applicant is required to take specific steps to schedule the interview. If interviews are offered, check the school’s website for deadlines and specific requirements.

Follow our checklist upon submitting your college application to confirm that all required materials have been received:

Check List

1.  Application Fee

2.  Teacher Evaluations, Counselor’s Report, Recommendations

3.  Transcript and  Additional Grade Reports  (e.g. First Quarter & Mid Year)

4.  Entrance Exams (if applicable — SAT, ACT, Subject Tests)

5.  Interview (if applicable)

6.  Housing Form (if applicable)

7.  Financial Aid Forms (if applicable)

8.  Scholarship Forms and Applications

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA, is your passport to valuable sources of federal, state and college-based financial aid. But if you don’t fill it out, you could lose out on potential grants, scholarships and low-interest federal student loans. Even more troubling, research shows that high school students who don’t complete the FAFSA are less likely to enroll in college altogether.

That makes recent trends cause for alarm. By the end of the 2020-21 school year, nearly 5% fewer students submitted the FAFSA compared to the previous year, according to a report from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), a group of nonprofit organizations focused on educational equity. That means about 102,000 fewer students have the opportunity to attend college affordably this year.

Here’s why pandemic-era FAFSA completion rates are bad news for students, and how to make sure you don’t miss out on free money for college.

Students graduating from high school in 2021 and planning to attend college in the fall experienced massive challenges in their junior and senior years. Pandemic-related disruptions including remote learning, job losses, health concerns and suddenly limited school-based resources like college counseling contributed to insufficient support for students.

As a result, throughout the 2020-21 school year, fewer students submitted a FAFSA than in the previous year, according to NCAN. That amounts to worse declines than the organization reported for the 2019-20 school year, when the Covid-19 pandemic began. Altogether, between 2019 and 2021, NCAN reports that about 270,000 fewer students filled out the FAFSA than anticipated.

In a survey of parents and undergraduate students conducted earlier this year, Sallie Mae uncovered a similar trend. Only 68% of survey respondents submitted a FAFSA in 2020-21, down from 71% in 2019-20 and 77% in 2018-19, according to its How America Pays for College 2021 study.

The FAFSA gathers financial information from students and parents in order to determine whether the student qualifies for need-based financial aid for college. If you’re eligible for need-based aid, that means you have multiple options to receive grants you don’t have to repay, including Pell Grants and student loans with low interest rates and fees, like subsidized federal student loans.

Even if you don’t qualify for need-based aid, fill out the FAFSA so you can get other types of federal student loans. These include unsubsidized federal loans, which have fewer perks than subsidized loans but similarly low interest rates and flexible repayment terms.

Colleges also use the FAFSA to distribute federal work-study funds and in many cases, institutional aid, meaning scholarships that come directly from the school. These can be awarded based on either financial need or personal accomplishments. Put simply, no one planning to attend college should skip out on the FAFSA.

But that’s just what is happening: When students don’t submit the form, they have far fewer ways to make college affordable if they attend school. And that’s a big “if.” According to NCAN’s research, a high school senior who submits the FAFSA is 84% more likely to enroll in college right away. That likelihood increases to 127% for students from the lowest-income families.

Put another way, when a student doesn’t submit the FAFSA, their chances of attending college the following school year plummets—especially when they’re most in need of financial support.

Some types of financial aid are first-come, first served. These include federal work-study funds and certain school- and state-based grants. The FAFSA opens up annually on October 1, and if you file the form as close to that date as possible, you have a better chance to receive money you don’t have to pay back. (The federal Pell Grant, however, isn’t awarded on a first-come, first-served basis; if you’re eligible, you’ll get the full amount you qualify for, up to $6,495 in 2021-22.)

The federal FAFSA deadline is much later than school and state deadlines. For example, for students attending college in 2021-22, the FAFSA first became available on Oct. 1, 2020. While the federal government doesn’t require you to submit the FAFSA to your college until just before you enroll, states and schools often have financial aid deadlines that are months earlier. As a result, you should aim to submit the FAFSA as close to October 1 as possible, even if you won’t enroll in college until a year or more later.

The FAFSA is available online at fafsa.gov and on the myStudentAid mobile app. To speed up the submission process, create a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) in advance so that you can easily log in, save your work and sign the form. You must submit a FAFSA each year you’re in college, but once you’ve filled it out, you can renew the form thereafter rather than start from scratch.

If you’re a dependent student, your parents will have to submit their financial information, too. You’ll need access to a range of data including tax returns, your Social Security number, proof of untaxed income and more. The Federal Student Aid website lists the documents you should gather beforehand. Once you’ve completed the form, you’ll get a Student Aid Report, which offers a basic picture of the proportion of college costs your family will be expected to contribute.