Columbia, Brown, and the New Numbers Game
This summer, the Trump administration struck deals with Columbia and Brown requiring them to release admissions data—test scores, GPAs, and race. Framed as a push for “merit-based” admissions, the move builds on the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision ending affirmative action.
On the surface, it looks like transparency. But for families aiming at the Ivy League, the reality is more complicated. Numbers are only part of the story—and when colleges are pressured to focus on them alone, the system tilts even more heavily toward wealth. Holistic review, which balances scores with qualities like leadership and resilience, risks being narrowed into defending admits by the numbers.
As Ivy Link founder Adam Nguyen told The New York Times: “Equally talented low-income or even mid-income students rarely have access to that level of strategic guidance. Any selective admissions process that ignores income, privilege and structural access while targeting race-based efforts to increase diversity isn’t leveling the playing field. It’s cementing it.”
Consider two applicants with the same SAT score. One spent years leading a national STEM competition, showing initiative and depth. The other took the test with support but has little meaningful engagement. On paper, they look identical; in practice, only one shows the direction and purpose colleges want to admit. That difference doesn’t happen by chance. It comes from years of deliberate choices—courses, testing, activities that grow into leadership—and the guidance to connect those pieces into a story colleges can believe in.
At Ivy Link, we begin working with students as early as ninth grade—when course selection, testing plans, and activities start shaping the long arc of an application. In today’s climate, where colleges may feel pressure to defend decisions “by the numbers,” it’s no longer enough to assume a transcript will speak for itself.
The strategy is twofold: (1) build strong numbers, and (2) make every year of high school part of a positioning plan that signals focus and direction. The applications that rise aren’t just lists of achievements; they connect those achievements into a narrative colleges can recognize and reward.
Plan the academic path with foresight. Each course should reflect rigor and growth, while also setting up the right recommendations later. Transcripts are read not just for grades, but for the judgment behind each choice. (See our blog on Effective Letters of Recommendation.)
Approach testing as strategy, not routine. The key question isn’t only the score itself, but when and whether to submit. A well-timed result can sharpen a student’s profile; the wrong one can dilute it. (Explore our ACT vs. SAT: FAQs Answered by Ivy Link.
Pursue depth, not clutter, in activities. A long list of clubs rarely moves the needle. What matters is pursuing a few commitments that develop into leadership, initiative, and real impact over time. (Read our Guide to Choosing Extracurriculars.)
Shape the application as a narrative. The strongest files answer the unspoken admissions question: Why this student, for this campus, at this moment? That means connecting academics, testing, and activities into a story that makes sense in the eyes of the committee.
Adam Nguyen said it best in The New York Times: the danger in today’s climate is not that colleges will lose sight of numbers, but that they will lose the courage to look beyond them. At Ivy Link, our role is to ensure families are ready for both—the numbers that open the door, and the narrative that secures the place inside.
If you’re navigating these admissions shifts and want to secure every strategic advantage, we invite you to connect with Ivy Link today.
