Class of 2025 College Admissions Recap: Trends, Wins, and What's Next

Before we know it, the newest crop of high school graduates will be gearing up for their first year of college. With move-in dates right around the corner, we wanted to share some insight into the most recent college application season with data from our impressive Class of 2025 students.  College Coach experts worked individually with 350 seniors globally. They are participating in challenging coursework and doing well with an average unweighted GPA of 3.71 out of 4.0. For those that engaged in standardized testing, they scored an average of 1421 on the SAT and 32 on the ACT. Our 2025 students were an adventurous bunch, applying to almost 380 colleges and universities, and submitting an average of 10 applications each. 

THE GOOD NEWS:  

98% of our students submitted an Early Decision, Early Action, or Rolling application. It is incredible to see so many students setting themselves up for positive news early in the process. In fact, 89% of these students received at least one acceptance by January! 

THE BEST NEWS: 

100% of our 2025 students had offers of admission. This is why we are so invested in quality counseling for our students. The goal is for them to have options, and we are so proud of them and excited for what’s to come. Well done, Class of 2025! 

WHERE DID THEY APPLY?  

Overwhelmingly, our students are most interested in public institutions, especially the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and many of the University of California campuses. The only private institutions to break into the top ten colleges by applications were Northeastern, Cornell, and UPenn. 

WHERE ARE THEY ENROLLING?  

While a public institution took the top spot, with UW-Seattle enrolling ten students, private universities Syracuse and NYU were next, enrolling eight students each. Enrolling six students each were U of Miami, UPenn, Cornell, and Georgetown. Indiana also enrolled six but, while our students applied to more public institutions, they mostly decided to continue their next four years at private universities.  

TRENDS WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON 

• WOW to Michigan instituting Early Decision! This has long been a most popular Early Action option. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the interest in ED this fall. 

• Applications to Southern schools are still growing. But are students from the East Coast, especially the Northeast, actually enrolling in them? We continue to see students choosing to stay closer to home. 

• With institutions cutting some majors, will we see any impact on student interest? 

• Will application numbers continue to grow at many of the most popular schools in the country? 

• Will more public universities institute a top 10% or guaranteed admission policy to their in-state residents? 

• Will the Big Ten continue to grow market share and add schools? And as they do, what might be the impact on selectivity among some of the schools in the Midwest that have long been a “safer” bet for applicants, like U of Minnesota, Twin Cities? 

• How will colleges adjust their policies in response to advancements in AI? So far, we haven’t seen any schools take big steps to adjust their application requirements, though many do have AI policies if you take the time to look for them! 

College admissions continues to be in flux and responsive to changes in higher education more broadly. College Coach is committed to staying on top of these conversations and providing ethical and truthful content to our students and families. Please engage with us here at the blog and through our podcast as we have rich conversations to help demystify, inform, and find a little joy in the college admissions space.