I have gotten more questions about this in the past month than about anything else. Parents want to know what the changes in federal policy mean for their student’s application, their financial aid, and whether the rules have changed. Here is the honest, practical answer without the noise.
Over the past several months, the Trump administration has taken a series of actions affecting higher education. Some have direct consequences for families applying to college right now. Others are legal battles that have not yet produced final outcomes. Separating what actually affects your student today from what is still in the courts is the most useful thing I can do for you here.
This is not a political commentary. The people asking me this question are not asking because they want policy analysis. They want to know: does any of this change what my student should write in their application, which schools are safe to apply to, or how financial aid works? Here are the answers.
The Admissions Data Collection Order: What Happened and Where It Stands
In early 2026, President Trump ordered the Department of Education to collect detailed admissions data from colleges and universities, disaggregated by race and sex, retroactively for seven years. The stated purpose was transparency and enforcement of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action.
On April 4, 2026, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from collecting this data from public universities in 17 states. The legal challenge is ongoing. This means the data collection order is currently blocked in many states, including California, while litigation proceeds.
What this means for your student right now: nothing immediate. Colleges have not changed their admissions processes in response to this order while it is under legal challenge. The 2023 Supreme Court ruling is already in effect and has been reshaping how colleges evaluate applications since the 2024 cycle. The data collection order is a separate development that has not yet produced a final outcome that affects applicants.
The Supreme Court’s 2023 Affirmative Action Ruling: What It Actually Changed
The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC ended the practice of using race as a direct factor in college admissions decisions. Colleges can no longer admit or deny applicants because of their racial identity as a category.
What the Supreme Court explicitly preserved: students can still write about how their racial or cultural identity has shaped their experiences, perspective, and goals in their application essays. Admissions offices can still consider the substance of what a student writes and what it reveals about the person, even if that writing describes how race or identity has been part of their life.
This means: if your student has a genuine story about how their cultural background, immigrant experience, first-generation status, or identity has shaped who they are and what they want to study, that is still absolutely appropriate to include in a college essay. The ruling changed how institutions can use racial categories as admissions criteria. It did not change whether students can talk about their lives honestly.
Federal Funding Threats and Elite University Investigations
The Trump administration has also threatened or initiated funding reviews at several elite private universities over concerns including antisemitism policies, admissions practices, and other matters. Harvard, Columbia, and other institutions have been involved in these disputes.
For families applying to those schools, the current picture is: those institutions remain fully operational universities. Students are enrolled, courses are being taught, and applications are being reviewed on normal timelines. The disputes between the administration and some universities are primarily about institutional conduct and funding, not about whether those schools will admit students for fall 2026 enrollment.
The practical impact on your student’s application to Harvard, Columbia, or other institutions in federal disputes is minimal. If you have concerns about a specific school, look at what the university itself is communicating to admitted students on its official channels. That is the most accurate source.
FAFSA and Federal Financial Aid: Is It Still Safe to Rely On?
The FAFSA system and federal student aid programs, including Pell Grants and federal student loans, remain active. The Department of Education continues to process FAFSA applications and has confirmed that aid disbursements are proceeding. There have been significant staffing reductions at the Department of Education, which has raised concerns about capacity and processing times, but the programs themselves are still funded and operating.
If your student has filed the FAFSA and is waiting for a Student Aid Index, or if financial aid award letters seem delayed, contacting the financial aid office at each college directly is the right move. Financial aid administrators at individual colleges are your best resource for understanding the current status of your student’s specific aid package.
Should families count on federal aid being available for all four years of college? The realistic answer is that federal aid policy can change with any administration. Pell Grants and federal loan programs have been in place for decades and have bipartisan historical support, but the current political environment creates more uncertainty than average. Planning for multiple financial aid scenarios, including reduced federal aid, is prudent regardless of which party holds power.
The Bottom Line for Families Applying Now
The admissions process for fall 2026 enrollment is proceeding normally at the vast majority of colleges and universities. The legal and political disputes playing out in federal courts and in Washington have not yet produced the kind of immediate, operational changes that alter what your student should write in their application or which schools are safe to apply to.
The changes that have actually taken effect, specifically the Supreme Court ruling against race-based admissions criteria, were implemented starting with the 2024 cycle. If your student applied last year, or if they are applying this fall, admissions offices have already been operating under that framework for two cycles. It is not new.
My practical advice: focus your student on the parts of the application they can control, the essays, the activities list, the academic record, and the college selection itself. The policy environment is uncertain in ways that no family can fully predict. The quality of the application is fully within your student’s control.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Trump change the college admissions process for 2026?
The biggest change to college admissions in recent years was the 2023 Supreme Court ruling ending race-based affirmative action, which took effect for the 2024 application cycle. Trump administration actions since then, including an admissions data collection order, are currently under legal challenge and have not yet changed how colleges review applications.
Can students still write about race or culture in their college essays?
Yes. The Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling ended the use of racial identity as a direct admissions criterion but explicitly preserved students’ right to describe how their identity and experiences have shaped them. Students with genuine stories about their cultural background, immigrant experience, or identity can still include that in essays.
Is the FAFSA still safe to use for financial aid in 2026?
Yes. The FAFSA system remains operational and the Department of Education continues to process applications and distribute aid. Staffing reductions have raised concerns about processing capacity and response times. If your student is experiencing delays, contact the financial aid office at each college directly rather than relying on federal aid administration timelines.
Should families avoid applying to Harvard or Columbia given the federal disputes?
No. Harvard, Columbia, and other universities in disputes with the federal government remain fully operational academic institutions with normal admissions processes. The disputes are primarily over institutional conduct and funding matters. Students admitted to those schools are attending for fall 2026 enrollment as expected.
How has affirmative action’s end changed the college admissions process?
Colleges can no longer use racial identity as a direct admissions factor. Many institutions have shifted their outreach and recruitment strategies and their supplemental essay questions to learn about students as individuals. First-generation status, socioeconomic background, geographic diversity, and personal essays have become more prominent in how holistic review is structured.
Tony Le is a former UC Berkeley Admissions Reader and UCLA Outreach Director with 15+ years of college admissions coaching experience. A full-ride scholarship recipient to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCI, Tony has helped 500+ students gain admission to top universities including Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Columbia. Featured in the Wall Street Journal. Official TikTok College Admissions Educational Partner. Founder of egelloC.
Tony works with a focused group of families each year. Book a free strategy call to see if it is the right fit.