Trump Administration Orders Elite Colleges to Submit New Admissions Data

The Trump Administration has ordered the Department of Education to collect new admissions data from colleges and universities, framing the move as a push for transparency in selective admissions. According to the American Council on Education (ACE), President Trump issued the order on August 11, 2025, requiring institutions to submit detailed statistics on applicants and admitted students.

The new data collection will likely affect highly-selective universities—including Ivy League schools, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Duke, and top liberal arts colleges—by mandating disclosure of applicant pools, admission rates, and demographic breakdowns across multiple categories. While specific reporting requirements are still being finalized, the order signals increased federal scrutiny of elite admissions practices following the Supreme Court's 2023 ban on race-conscious admissions.

This development represents a significant shift in admissions transparency at a time when selective colleges are already navigating major policy changes. The ACE announcement notes that the Department of Education will use the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to collect this information, potentially creating a more standardized public dataset for comparing admissions practices across elite institutions.

For families targeting top-tier universities, this policy could lead to more detailed public reporting on factors like legacy admission rates, geographic distribution of admits, and racial demographics—data that has historically been closely guarded by many selective colleges. The move comes amid ongoing debates about equity and access in elite higher education.