2025 US University Admissions Trends & What They Mean For You
Admissions to top schools in the US for undergraduate studies continues to be incredibly difficult. While the Ivies continue to have single digit acceptance rates, schools like UCLA, NYU, and Northeastern now do too, at 8.97%, 7.70%, and 5.22%, respectively. But if you’re an international student, it can get worse. For schools like UC Berkeley, acceptance rates for international students hover around 3.3%, while Yale’s overall acceptance rate is 4.6%.
While results aren’t fully out for the Class of 2029, what we’re seeing is that many schools like UMich and NYU had record applicant pools this past year. And with test-optional policies fading out, and mandatory SAT and ACT requirements coming back into play for many schools, we’re also seeing that those who failed to properly prep were at a major disadvantage this past cycle. Mandatory testing is back, and so is the need to prepare for the SAT or ACT.
We’re continuing to see that students from top international schools in Hong Kong are getting many of the top university offers for the region. We’re also seeing that our students from top day and boarding schools in the US and UK are doing incredibly well in the admissions process.
Given the competitiveness of US admissions to top schools, as well as the cost of tuition, coupled with the current political climate, we’re also seeing that students are diversifying their options outside of the US for universities in the UK, Canada, and Hong Kong. As the admissions processes across countries are different, there is a certain amount of planning involved in diversifying university options.
Despite the competition, students are still getting accepted at top schools. It’s just that the quality of applicants is increasing, and that means if you hope to stand a chance, you must plan early.
For more information on the admission process and how we can support you along the way, please feel free to reach out to schedule a session with one of our admissions consultants.