This week at AcceptU, our internal #results Slack channel has been a place of celebration. Seniors we’ve worked with for years have secured early offers from Stanford, Duke, Rice, Michigan, Tufts and more. Watching those outcomes land never gets old.
At the same time, as CEO, I spend a lot of my time zoomed out – looking across cohorts, college admissions trends and data. And what’s been top of mind for me this week isn’t just the Class of 2026. It’s the students coming up behind them.
The Common App’s report dropped on Monday, and it confirmed what we’ve been seeing across the families we support at AcceptU. The college admissions process is compressing. What used to unfold gradually over junior and senior year is now getting pulled earlier, often quietly, and families don’t always realize it until options start to narrow.
Below are a few trends for 2026 that stand out from my vantage point and what they mean for families with students in grades 8–11.
With Princeton’s announcement that testing will be required again for Fall 2027 entry, the Ivy League is close to unanimous. At AcceptU, we’re already seeing how quickly the wait-and-see approach to the SAT or ACT limits students later. Testing plans need to be established early to have maximum flexibility.
Recent Common App data shows international applications down, but domestic applications up meaningfully. From our side of the table, that means more U.S. students with nearly identical academic profiles competing for the same seats. Strong grades and scores are still essential, but they’re no longer differentiators on their own.
We’re seeing application volume rise at public flagships in a way that changes how families should approach them.
For example, the University of Michigan reported record application volume for fall 2025, including nearly 109,000 first-year applications (~11% increase).
For high-achieving students we advise, schools like UNC, Michigan, and UVA can now require the same level of intention, positioning and demonstrated interest as private universities.
One thing that’s been clear this week: the seniors who succeeded weren’t the ones with the most “perfect” college essays. They were the ones whose applications sounded human. Admissions offices are getting better at filtering out writing that feels sanitized or AI-assisted, and that’s changing how we coach storytelling at AcceptU.
For families with students in 8th through 11th grade, this time of year can feel deceptively quiet. From where I sit, it’s often where paths begin to diverge. The students who stabilize testing early, develop real substance in their interests and plan summers with intention are the ones who get admitted later.
The home stretch is here for seniors.
For underclassmen, the college admissions timeline has already started to move.
Schedule a consultation to discuss your personalized strategy.
Marc is the author of Untangling the Ivy League, a best-selling guidebook on the Ancient Eight. He earned a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Marc chaired the admissions ambassadors at Cornell and the admissions advisory board at UNC.
