The last few months have been a nerve-racking stretch for the more than 1 million high school seniors and their parents receiving decisions about their college applications. According to a January 16 report from Common App, an organization that has more than 860 colleges among its member institutions, applications are up 7% this year (up 3% to private institutions and 11% to public institutions). Hopes spring eternal. 

If you haven’t been on Reddit lately, spend a few minutes and pop in on the /ApplyingtoCollege subreddit. It’s flooded with students (and some parents) expressing woes over the college application process and the admission offers (or lack thereof) from the Ivies and the UC system of colleges.

It’s amazing to me how many excellent students apply to these schools every year, hoping against hope to get an offer of admission only to be rejected from every one of them. With so many colleges and universities in the country, there are other schools that would offer the same education.

College Hopes and Worries Survey

Stress about college applications is very high this year, as are worries about paying for college, according to The Princeton Review^® 2025 College Hopes & Worries Survey.

The 2025 survey was conducted between January 17 and February 24 and completed online by 9,317 respondents: 75% (7,023) were applicants to colleges; 25% (2,294) were parents of applicants.

A complete report on the 2025 survey showing all questions, answer choices, and findings by respondents overall, by students, and by parents is downloadable on PrincetonReview.com in the company’s College Hopes & Worries Survey hub. 

 Dream Colleges

The first question on the survey—”What ‘dream college’ do you wish you (your child) could attend if acceptance and cost weren’t issues?”—invited a fill-in-the-blank answer. Respondents entered in the names of more than 165 institutions as their “dream colleges.” Among them were highly selective schools (including all the Ivies and many other well-known private colleges), flagship state universities, technology schools, nursing schools, and community colleges.

#1 for students was MIT; #1 for parents was Princeton.

Survey Question Responses

Findings based on survey questions with multiple-choice answers indicate:

• Stress about college applications is high.

Asked their level of stress about their applications, 73% of respondents chose answers indicating it to be “High” or “Very high” with 44% selecting “High” and 29% selecting “Very high.” In 2003, the first year of the survey, 56% of respondents reported “High” or “Very high” stress.

• The need for financial aid is very high.

Nearly all the respondents (98%) indicated they were planning to apply for financial aid. Asked how necessary financial aid will be to pay for college, nearly half (48%) chose the answer “Extremely” while 29% chose the answer “Very.” Almost two out of 10 (18%) chose the answer “Somewhat.” Only 5% said aid would be “Minimally” necessary. In responses to a separate survey question that asked their estimates of the cost for their (their child’s) college education, 38% selected the answer “More than $150,000.” 

• Debt is the major worry.

Asked their biggest concern about their applications, 38% of respondents chose the answer “Level of debt to pay for the degree.” Significantly fewer (29%) chose the answer “Won’t get into first-choice college (although more parents (36%) than students (27%) chose this answer). About a quarter of respondents (26%) chose the answer “Will get into first-choice college but won’t be able to afford to attend” and just 7% chose “Will attend a college I (my child) will not be happy about.”

• Nine out of 10 respondents said they (their child) had taken or was planning to take the SAT and/or the ACT.

Asked their (their child’s) admission test-taking plans), 92% of respondents said they (their child) had taken or planned to take the SAT and/or the ACT. Asked their main reason for taking the tests (given that most colleges are now test-optional), nearly half (47%) chose the answer “Scores can distinguish my applications and improve their chances of being accepted.” A third (33%) chose the answer “Scores are considered in scholarship and aid decisions,” and 20% chose the answer “Scores may be required by the college I am (my child is) applying to.”

• The SAT is more popular than the ACT.

Asked which admission test(s) they (or their child) had taken or planned to take, 48% selected the answer “SAT,” while 11% chose the answer “ACT.” However, a third (33%) of respondents chose the answer “Both tests”. 

• The SAT, ACT, and AP transitions to digital tests are viewed as improvements.

Asked their opinion about standardized tests transitioning from paper-and-pencil to digital formats, 72% of respondents chose the answer “I welcome this change and believe digital versions will be improvements” while 28% chose the answer “I would prefer to see these exams remain paper-and-pencil tests.” (The SAT became a digital test in March 2024. The ACT will be offered in both digital and paper-and-pencil formats beginning in April. In May, 28 of the AP subject tests will be administered as digital tests.) 

• Key benefit of earning a college degree? A better job and higher income.

Asked what they consider the major benefit of earning a college degree, nearly half (46%) of respondents chose the answer “Potentially better job and income,” while 29% chose “Exposure to new ideas, places and people,” and 25% chose “The education.”

• Key characteristic of the college applicants will choose? Overall fit.

Asked what best describes the college they are (their child is) likely to choose, nearly half (47%) of respondents selected the answer “College that will be the best overall fit,” while nearly a third (32%) said “College with the best program for my (my child’s) career interests.” Only 11% chose “College that will be most affordable” and only 10% chose “College with the best academic reputation.”

• Distance from home of “ideal” college? Parents and students differ.

Asked how far from home their (their child’s) “ideal” college would be, while 39% of respondents selected the answer “Fewer than 250 miles,” opinions about this differed considerably (and to some extent: touchingly). Among parents, 50% chose “Fewer than 250 miles.” Among students, 35% chose that answer.

• Is college worth it? Yes, say 99%.

Asked simply if they believe college will be “worth it,” 99% of respondents overall chose the answer “Yes.”

Other questions on the survey, and answer choices selected by the plurality of respondents overall on them, were:

• Number of colleges they were applying to? (“5 to 8″–39%)
• Toughest part of their application experiences? (“Completing admission and aid applications”–35%)
• Opinions about the use of AI in applications and admissions? (“Both concerned and excited”–49%; Note: 32% reported “Concerned” and 13% reported “Excited.”)

Advice from Respondents

An optional survey question asks respondents their advice for next year’s applicants and parents. The advice most proffered by students and parents alike on the 2025 survey (as well as on all 22 past surveys) was “Start early.”

Students offered these gems:

• “Listen to what your kid has to say.”
• “It is not the college that makes the student, it is what the student does with their education.”
• “Understand that for some schools that are very hard to get into it’s almost like a lottery system, so don’t take anything personally!”
• “Rejection is just re-direction.”
• “If hundreds of thousands of high schoolers can get through this, you can too.”

Parents provided these wise words:

• “Don’t forget to enjoy this journey with your child.”
• “Let your child guide the process. It’s their path and you’re a guide.”
• “Pick the college that will make them better people. The fit of a school is more important than the name of the school.”

About The Princeton Review

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