What's planned
National trends looks at patterns across colleges rather than at one college:
- Each study asks one question and shows the national picture, the same four breakdowns every time (region, public or private, size, selectivity), a takeaway, a method note, and links into Explore.
- Rules: compare the same colleges then and now; say whether a figure counts colleges or students; at least 30 colleges per group; describe patterns, not causes.
- Where it appears: a new Trends page with a card per study, a page per study, and links from college charts.
A first look at Study 1: men and women in admissions
Across 912 colleges with both rates and 1,000+ applicants in fall 2004 and fall 2024:
- Colleges admitting men at a notably higher rate fell from 13% to 6%.
- The shift is concentrated in the Northeast (women admitted at a higher rate: 41% → 56% of colleges) and among moderately selective colleges (38% → 59%).
- The West moved the other way (54% → 39%).
- The most selective colleges show almost no gap.
It's on the roadmap under National trends.