Policy and Practice in U.S. College Admissions

In this brief, we present responses to a College Board survey administered in the summer of 2025 regarding colleges’ admissions policies and requirements, applicant evaluation processes, and AI use for the 2024-25 admissions cycle (for fall 2025 entering cohort). We explore the pathways that colleges offer for admission, the processes colleges use to review applicants, policies for application materials and how colleges value different application components, and uses of AI in admissions.