Is LinkedIn Now Playing the College-Evaluation Game? 🍎

From AI in curriculum to essays in admissions, let's see what's getting our attention after Labor Day.

Do you remember feeling nervous or nostalgic while walking your child to school or waiting at the bus stop? Based on what I witnessed last week, it seemed as if things hadn't changed that much.Yet it's now 2025-26, and the college process is ever more complex as schools welcome back (prospective) applicants. From AI in curriculum to essays in admissions, let's see what's getting our attention after Labor Day. 

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What's in a Name? Just Ask LinkedIn!

Just when we've had enough of what the media thinks of colleges, LinkedIn has entered the college-evaluation game. Citing "five pillars: job placement; internships and recruiter demand; career success; network strength; and knowledge breadth," there's yet another source telling you what's best for your student. While Princeton, Duke and Penn top the list of "best colleges for long-term success," we see some smaller, business-focused colleges in the mix ahead of many elites, including Babson (7), Bentley (15), Fairfield (28) and Washington and Lee (29). These colleges can be great choices for particular students who are focused on careers, investment banking and entrepreneurship.

LinkedIn: They get Babson right!

Babson, which features entrepreneurship education, was quick to share the LinkedIn results on its own website, telling the audience how it was recognized for a strong alumni network filled with founders. Its overall acceptance rate: 17 percent.

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Forward-Thinking Universities "Prompt" Focus on AI

Between applications, admissions and campus life, artificial intelligence has resulted in changed perspectives and constant rethinking of priorities and policies across the higher ed universe.

Educating the Community

At Indiana University, students and staff can take GenAI 101. As described in Inside Higher Ed, the course that enables the IU community to "engage in an AI-influenced world with practical takeaways and insights." The chair of AI at IU's well-known Kelley School leads the course, which started last week with IU's president as the inaugural user.

Querying About Balance

Colleges should be engaging students in the AI debates. So how much does this fan of supplemental essays like the prompt for the University of Florida's Honors College?

“As AI continues to advance, however, there is a growing conversation about the need to balance technological innovation with critical thinking, creativity, and human connection - all attributes of an honors education. Reflecting on this, how do you plan to navigate this evolving landscape during your college experience through your academic study, learning opportunities, and extracurricular activities . . .? - U Florida

Encouraging Multiple Perspectives

In the spring, Brown launched two new classes: The History of AI and Reading the Large Language Models, which the university believes will help "add critical and historical context to deep questions surrounding artificial intelligence and large language models." Each is led by a humanities and computer science professor. (It's just so very Bruno!) Cited a professor, “I love seeing students engage with AI from a non-technical perspective, and to see technical students confront arguments about AI that aren’t empirical ones. It serves as a valuable reminder that complicated problems require complicated solutions.”

"While artificial intelligence tools may be helpful in generating essay topic ideas, and in editing or refining students’ writing, the University of Rochester discourages the use of AI to compose application essays or short answer responses. The effect often stifles an applicant’s authentic voice – a key element of what we hope to hear within their personal statement."  - Rochester Admissions

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NIL: The Athlete's Gain is the Institution's Pain

Last week, I spotted an image of Arch Manning in his Warby Parker specs. We get it: college athletes are cashing in. On the hook, their colleges are asking the athletic department to cough up more. As reported in AP News, institutions of higher ed are using "field logos, higher concession prices and more to pay for a new era in college sports." At Tennessee, alma mater of Peyton, Arch's uncle, tickets went up 10 percent. Some Southern universities, including the popular Clemson and South Carolina, are passing on the cost to parents in the form of "athletic fees."

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Supreme Confusion: What's Next for Prompts?

As this time of year, unCommon applicants are finalizing their personal and supplemental essays, satisfying what colleges deem important in their holistic review. And while we can't do much about the political climate, we do need to watch closely to see the future of the essay prompt. Here's a recap:

• This summer, the Justice Department warned against "applicant essays on overcoming hardships."

• In a recent settlement, Columbia and Brown "agreed to not use applicants’ personal statements to 'introduce or justify discrimination.'"

• Just two summers ago, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of race in admissions yet noted: "Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life.” 

ChatGPT: Don't tell me what this means in the long term. We know you don't get it, either.

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Peer-toPeer Counseling: A Model for Success

At Emory University, juniors and seniors are providing a highly valuable service to their peers through its Pathways Center. As described in Inside Higher Ed, Pathways is successfully "uniting five different student-facing offices: career services, prehealth advising, undergraduate research, national scholarships and fellowships, and experiential learning." Students, who may learn about Pathways through Instagram, are receiving timely counseling on everything from pre-health journeys to course selection. Peer mentors believe that they also benefit, not just financially but also by gaining experience and connections themselves. Now that's a win-win!

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ACT Choices Create Confusion (Which Sweetener Do You Prefer?)

"Counselors, the registration window is open and seats are already filling up fast. Help your students lock in their spot before late fees kick in and testing options narrow.” - email from act.org

While we still have students who prefer the ACT, the testing agency has done us no favors. Last week, I listened in as Compass Education explained some of the issues associated with the classic (with Science) and core (no Science) versions. As host and founder Adam Ingersoll explained, "Students want brevity and breeziness." They also might want the ACT since it may easier to pick up more points through prep versus the rival SAT.

Still, there are more questions than answers. How do applicants superscore in and outside the Common App, especially if they've taken both versions? How will they interpret the value of a test when colleges don't agree about the need for the Science section? Boston U, for example, will only consider the ACT if all four sections are completed, but other colleges may be okay with just three sections. Fortunately, as Ingersoll pointed out, colleges don't have a preference for SAT or ACT. Sweet!

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Curriculum Refresh: Back to Nature

Many students put a priority on the planet, and rightly so. With sustainability in mind, SUNY, the New York system, has its own College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). Based in Syracuse, ESF describes itself as "focused on the study of the environment, developing renewable technologies, and building a sustainable future." Students can also take courses at Syracuse University.

Watch The College Tour, which provides more on undergrad programs in everything from Aquatic and Fisheries Science to Landscape Architecture.

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Corporate Partnerships Fuel the Ride for Georgia Tech

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, colleges are looking to Georgia Tech as the model for garnering research funding in this era of government cutbacks. Led by Mark Nolan of the institution's Office of Corporate Engagement, Georgia Tech has spearheaded research partnerships with large organizations such as Hyundai. While students research EVs, Georgia Tech hosts football on Hyandai Field, naming rights for which Hyundai paid $55 million over 20 years. The institution partners with Siemens for AI research. As the article points out, "deals have to be aligned with the companies’ business interests."  

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Happy Back to School to all! When you're looking at your student's syllabi, workload and other tasks, questions related to college are bound to come up. Don't hesitate to check in with questions or to book a meeting.