USA University: Recent news indicates a US government directive that requires colleges to report comprehensive admissions data, including race, sex, GPA, and test scores, to the National Center for Education Statistics. Here’s a summary of what’s going on lately with new admission policies at major U.S. colleges/universities — and what it might mean for prospective international students.
What’s changing — new policies & pressures:
The U.S. federal government has circulated a memo called Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education to several top colleges. Under this proposal, universities would get preferential access to federal funding if they agree to a new set of conditions.
Key demands in this memo include:
Capping international undergraduate enrollment at 15% of the student body.
Restricting any single foreign-country cohort to a maximum of 5% per institution.
Requiring applicants to submit standardized test scores (like SAT/ACT) reverses the trend towards “test-optional” admissions at many schools.
Prohibiting the use of race or sex in admissions or hiring decisions.
Demanding data transparency: Schools must share anonymized admissions data (GPA, test scores, demographic info) with government authorities.
New requirement: Colleges must provide detailed admissions data to the U.S. Department of Education.
Data to be collected: This includes the race and sex of applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students, as well as GPA and standardized test scores.
Reasoning: This policy is intended to provide comprehensive data on admissions practices and is seen by some as a way to ensure race is not a factor in admissions decisions.
Who’s directly affected (especially international students):
The memo is currently targeted at a small group of highly selective / well-funded institutions — including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brown University, University of Pennsylvania (Penn), Dartmouth College, University of Southern California (USC), University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), University of Virginia (UVA), Vanderbilt University, and University of Arizona.
The proposed 15% international-student cap directly impacts global applicants — including Indian students, many of whom apply to U.S. universities.
The 5% per-country limit could particularly affect “overrepresented” source countries (like India, China), making admissions more competitive for such international applicants.
The reinstatement of standardized test requirements means applicants who assumed test-optional settings might need to prepare for the SAT/ACT (or equivalents) again.
Additionally, earlier this year (August 2025), a directive from the government ordered all colleges/universities participating in federal student aid programs to submit detailed admission data (race, sex, GPA, test scores) for applicants, admitted, and enrolled students.
What this means for prospective students:
Increased transparency: The collected data will provide greater transparency into admissions trends at US colleges.
No major internal changes (yet): Individual universities have not announced any significant changes to their internal policies in the past few weeks. However, the new government data collection will put pressure on colleges to be transparent about their admissions practices.
Continued focus on traditional metrics: GPA and test scores remain key components of college applications, and the new policy emphasizes the collection of this data.