College applications in 2025: Why it’s harder than ever to get accepted

If you've ever had a kid apply for college or done so yourself, then you know it can be stressful. 

However, this year there seems to be even more challenges. Here's why: 

Why is 2025 expected to bring challenges to applying for colleges?

By the numbers:

The class of 2025 is projected to be the largest class in the United States at around 3.9 million students since data collection began, according to NPR.

NPR reported that in the next school year, the number of high school seniors is expected to drop sharply, which is partially due to low birth rates in 2008.

What they're saying:

The college admissions process has changed greatly in recent years.

"What any college looks at is not just your grades and your scores, but how many AP classes you’ve taken and how you stand out on the extracurricular," Andy Lockwood, CEO of Lockwood College Prep, said.

There can be up to 25 factors. Many are out of students' control, like race and ethnicity, where they went to high school, what their parents do for a living, and where they went to college.

So grades and test scores aren't always primarily looked at, especially since many schools are now test-optional and stopped requiring the SAT and ACT.

FILE IMAGE - New York University (NYU) graduates take photos wearing caps and gowns in Washington Square Park on May 17, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

FILE IMAGE - New York University (NYU) graduates take photos wearing caps and gowns in Washington Square Park on May 17, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

A big factor is nailing the college essay or personal statement.

Lockwood said to answer the invisible question.

"Why should we take you compared to these other 50,000 kids? How do you stand out for the right reasons?" Lockwood said.

Admissions officers are now also using technology like artificial intelligence to sort through tens of thousands of applications and filtering which students are most interested in by tracking things like if they follow the social media pages and how often they visit the school website, and if they’re opening emails. 

The Source: This article contains information from NPR. 

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