An August 2025 presidential memorandum directed the Education Department to collect more detailed admissions data. The result is a new federal survey that requires selective colleges to report seven years of data on applicants, admitted students and enrollees, broken down by race, sex, GPA, test scores and family income. It was due March 18, 2026. Seventeen states, including Illinois and New Jersey, sued. On April 3, a federal judge blocked the requirement for public colleges in those states. Private colleges, and public colleges in other states, are still covered.
What this means for your student
It won’t change how this year’s applications are read. Over time, if the data is published, families could get a clearer view of how grades, scores and income relate to who gets in.
Sources: White House, “Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions” (Aug. 7, 2025); The Hechinger Report; Ogletree Deakins.