5 ways the college search process has changed for Gen Z
Stony Brook University accepts about half of the first-year students who apply, making it one of the harder SUNY colleges to get into. Credit: Stony Brook University/John Griffin
This generation of high school students is navigating a college application process worlds different from the one their parents faced.
Over 1,000 U.S. colleges now accept applications through the Common Application, a standardized online portal. After many universities went test-optional during the COVID-19 pandemic, some are now requiring students to submit SAT and ACT scores again. And students are increasingly applying for early admissions decisions as colleges seek to fill their seats earlier.
Here's how the application and admissions process has changed most significantly:
Many colleges are more selective, including SUNYs
It has gotten more difficult to be accepted into colleges across the board as more students apply for the same number of spots. Increased Common App use by both students and colleges means applying to many schools is easier than ever.
"Instead of applying to five or six, maybe they’re applying for 12 or 15 colleges because there’s no longer these safety schools. There’s not many of those around," said Scott Gibney, a Long Island-based college counselor.
"Just because you have great grades, great SAT or ACT scores, and rigorous courses, that doesn’t guarantee anything. And it’s not a meritocracy. It’s about how you market yourself," said Andrew Lockwood, another Long Island-based college counselor.
Acceptance rates at elite universities have plummeted. When the class of 2007 applied to college, Columbia University received 16,744 applications and 12% were admitted, according to consulting firm Ivy Coach. For the 2023-24 cycle Columbia received 60,248 and accepted about 4%..
Higher competition isn’t only affecting elite colleges; it is also making public schools across the country more difficult to get into.
SUNY schools such as Stony Brook University and Binghamton University are increasingly sought-after by high-performing students, both for the quality of the education they provide and their affordable tuition, college counselors at Long Island public high schools said. But both colleges accepted only about half of the first-year students who applied in the 2025-26 admissions cycle. SUNY Farmingdale’s acceptance rate dropped from 69% to 62% between 2023 and 2026.
Uniondale High School college and career counselor Jessica Kane said some of her colleagues easily earned admission to SUNY schools many years ago, and they have been shocked by how hard it is to get in these days.
"I don’t think that they realize how incredibly competitive it is," she said. "The kids getting into Stony Brook, you’re talking about the highest achieving students on Long Island."
SAT and ACT scores aren't always required on applications
Colleges have long used standardized tests like the SAT and ACT to evaluate applicants, but have changed policies in recent years.
Most schools went test-optional during the COVID-19 pandemic as testing sites became less accessible, meaning students could decide whether they wanted to submit scores. More recently, some colleges are once again requiring students to submit scores, Lockwood said, as a means of differentiating between high-achieving students. Case in point: Jericho High School had a record-breaking 21 valedictorians in 2026. All 21 received an A-plus in every class over four years of high school.
Admissions officers would rather see test scores even if a school is test-optional.
—Andrew Lockwood, Long Island-based college counselor
"That makes it more difficult for these admissions officers to really get a hold on how well someone actually did in high school," Lockwood said.
All eight Ivy League universities are mandating test score submissions this application season for the first time since the COVID pandemic. But more than 2,000 colleges are still test-optional, according to FairTest.
Even students applying to test-optional schools should consider submitting scores for a stronger application, Lockwood said.
"Admissions officers would rather see test scores even if a school is test-optional," he said.
Extracurricular activities and leadership need a strategy
Advisors said colleges increasingly want students who are deeply involved in extracurricular activities and hold leadership positions. But as schools become more selective, the last few years have seen what Lockwood called a "nuclear arms race to do crazier and crazier extracurriculars to show leadership."
It’s not about a well-rounded student. It’s about a student that has a particular interest or interests that are deep.
—Scott Gibney, Long Island-based college counselor
"It’s not about a well-rounded student," Gibney said, with a long, varied list of activities. "It’s about a student that has a particular interest or interests that are deep." That means how long a student has been doing a specific activity, at what level and showing the leadership within.
Other counselors said the importance of extracurriculars is overstated.
Among highly competitive schools with an acceptance rate below 20%, "the fundamentals generally still need to be there: grades, rigor of curriculum, testing," said Akbar Rahel, the director of admissions consulting at consulting firm Prep Expert.
Bucknell University's admissions page explains that while GPA is most important, extracurriculars can "help tip the scale" when students with similar GPAs and test scores are compared.
Artificial intelligence is changing essays
Some schools have eliminated essays from the admissions process because they were receiving responses that were clearly AI-generated. Credit: Unsplash/Christin Hume
As artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent in education, colleges are adapting to students using it in applications. Some schools have eliminated supplemental essays because they were receiving responses that were clearly AI-generated. Personal statements that sound genuine become more impactful, counselors say.
"They’re all starting to sound the same, and we can’t really have proof that they’ve used AI, but the lack of voice is noticeable," said Amy Kirkcaldy, a counselor at advising firm IvyWise and a former Harvard admissions officer. "
Some schools have taken on creative approaches to AI use. The University of Michigan Honors Program, for example, asks applicants to use it to generate an essay on why the program is a good fit for them and then critique the response.
More students are applying early
Gone are the days of a single application deadline. Colleges are encouraging students to apply earlier in their senior year, perhaps for a better chance at landing an acceptance to a highly competitive university. Parameters vary by college, but the new application cycles generally include:
Early decision: Students apply to one top-choice college and the decision is a binding contract to attend if admitted. These deadlines are Oct. 15-Nov. 1 with notifications in mid-December. Some colleges, including New York University, run a second early decision cycle in January. Those accepted are required to immediately withdraw all applications to other colleges and send a deposit to hold their spot.
Early action: Students can simultaneously apply to several colleges for an early admissions decision but have no obligation to attend if accepted. Deadlines run Nov. 1-Dec. 15 with students finding out where they're accepted by January. Students typically have until May 1 to make a final decision about where to attend.
Many colleges’ early acceptance rates are higher than during the regular decision window, which motivates prospective students. "It is a very significant part of the strategic application process," Rahel said.
About half of Vanderbilt University’s admitted students were accepted in the early decision rounds last year, according to Vanderbilt’s student newspaper. Colgate University enrolled 437 of 824 students, or 57% of its class, in the early rounds.
Newsday's Maura McDermott contributed to this story.
