Two Saturdays ago I was standing on the sideline of a U10 tournament when the referee made a call that had nothing to do with the actual game happening in front of him. New offside interpretation, apparently, handed down from the league office that week. Half the parents on our side started shouting before they even understood what changed. I’ll admit it — for about four seconds, I was one of them.
Then I looked at the kids. They didn’t care about the memo. They didn’t know there was a memo. They just adjusted, kept their shape, and kept playing. By the second half, our back line had figured out the new call better than half the parents still arguing about it in the stands.
I think about that sideline a lot when I read admissions news like the batch we got this week. The rules keep changing — on testing, on financial aid, on rankings, on what schools are even allowed to consider. Families who spend their energy shouting at the referee lose ground. Families who adjust, keep their shape, and keep playing come out ahead. So let’s talk about what actually changed this week, and what to do about it — parents and students both, because this is a two-person job in our house and it should be in yours too.
At a Glance
- Testing requirements are splitting again. Miami, Penn State, and Ohio State (Columbus) now require SAT/ACT scores; Columbia, Princeton, and the entire UC system are staying test-optional or test-blind.
- Federal financial aid rules changed on July 1. New Pell Grant limits and parent loan caps mean many families will see a different number than last year — even if nothing in their situation changed.
- U.S. News drops its 2027 Best Colleges rankings this week (September 22), with a brand-new earnings-based ranking factor.
- A federal proposal could strip tax-exempt status from private schools that use race in admissions or scholarships — up to 18,000 institutions could be affected.
Admissions Policy: The Rules Split Down the Middle
The test-optional wave that swept through admissions after 2020 is no longer moving in one direction. The University of Miami, Penn State, and Ohio State’s Columbus campus now require SAT or ACT scores starting with this year’s applicants. Auburn and LSU follow next year. Meanwhile, Columbia has extended its test-optional policy indefinitely, Princeton is staying test-optional through this cycle, and the entire University of California system remains test-blind — meaning they won’t look at a score even if you send one.
At the same time, the calendar keeps compressing. Early Action applications are up 17% nationally this cycle, and schools like Middlebury, Bates, and Bucknell are now filling somewhere between two-thirds and four-fifths of their entire incoming class before Regular Decision even opens.
Financial Aid: New Rules, Same Bill
Provisions of last year’s federal reconciliation law — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — took effect July 1. Students whose scholarships already cover their full cost of attendance now lose Pell Grant eligibility entirely. Students with a Student Aid Index above twice the maximum Pell amount no longer qualify at all. And starting with this year’s FAFSA, foreign income counts toward household income in Pell calculations. Parent PLUS loans are now capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 total per student. On top of that, Federal Student Aid updated the FAFSA specifications guide again just last week — the fine print is still being adjusted in real time.
There is some good news: Texas has extended its statewide tuition freeze through next year, Indiana’s public colleges are doing the same, and Stanford announced it’s holding tuition flat too.
Rankings & Data: A New Number Enters the Chat
U.S. News publishes its 2027 Best Colleges rankings this week, on September 22, and for the first time it includes an “Earnings by Major” factor alongside expanded specialty and value rankings. Last cycle, the top of the list barely moved — Princeton, MIT, and Harvard held the top three national university spots, and UC Berkeley edged out UCLA for the top public university spot. Nearly 79% of the 1,700-plus ranked schools reported their own data, about flat with the year before.
Separately, this cycle’s applicant data shows international applications declining while domestic applications — particularly from underrepresented minority students — continue to climb.
Legal & Legislative: The Arena Keeps Shifting
The biggest story of the week: the IRS and Treasury Department proposed a rule on September 4 that would strip tax-exempt status from any private school — K-12 through university — that considers race in admissions, scholarships, athletics, or other programs, including DEI-oriented initiatives. Treasury estimates it could touch roughly 18,000 institutions and 750,000 students. Public comments are open through November 3, and if finalized, the rule wouldn’t take effect until May 2027 — so nothing changes today, but the direction of travel is clear.
Meanwhile, California became the fifth state to restrict legacy admissions preferences, joining Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, and Colorado — but the law only applies to schools that accept state financial aid funds, which is exactly why Stanford opted out of that aid and will keep considering legacy anyway. And the lawsuit alleging the University of California system still weighs race in admissions remains active in federal court, three years after the Supreme Court banned the practice nationally.
What to Do This Week
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