Higher Ed Insider
- Nathan Hurwitz
- Jul 9
- 6 min read
HIGHER ED INSIDER · FROM THE BLOG
Edition 2026-12
February 16–20, 2026
$368MHARVARD ENDOWMENT TAX
$280MYALE ENDOWMENT TAX
$217MPRINCETON ENDOWMENT TAX
363STANFORD LAYOFFS
19%INT'L ENROLLMENT DECLINE
44%BORROWERS WITHOUT PRIVATE LOAN ACCESS
Dear Parents and Guidance Counselors,
This was the week the federal endowment tax stopped being an abstraction and started showing up as layoff notices. Stanford cut 363 positions. Princeton signaled cuts of five to ten percent across departments. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton together are now writing checks to the Treasury worth the better part of a billion dollars combined — and that money has to come from somewhere.
At the same time, the Department of Justice opened a new front against Harvard on admissions practices, international enrollment kept sliding, and Oregon's public university system began a restructuring that families in the Pacific Northwest need to understand. None of these stories exist in isolation. Together, they describe an academic year in which the financial and political pressure on universities is translating directly into decisions that affect the classroom experience your student will actually have.
— Dr. Nathan Hurwitz, College Admissions Consultant · Hurwitz Consulting
TOPIC 01 · INSTITUTIONAL FINANCE
The Endowment Tax Bill Comes Due — And Campuses Are Cutting Staff
Stanford eliminates 363 positions and Princeton signals 5–10% budget cuts as elite universities absorb a new federal tax on investment income
The expanded federal excise tax on university endowment income, aimed at the wealthiest private institutions, is no longer a line item buried in a budget footnote. It's a driver of real personnel decisions. Stanford announced 363 layoffs this week, citing the combined weight of the endowment tax and reduced federal research funding. Princeton told department chairs to plan for cuts in the 5 to 10 percent range. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton collectively owe the Treasury an estimated $865 million between them this year alone.
For families, the immediate question isn't whether these universities can absorb the hit — their endowments remain enormous by any historical standard. The real question is where the cuts land. Early signals point toward administrative staff, some graduate program seats, and slower hiring in departments that don't generate outside research funding. Undergraduate financial aid budgets have so far been protected at every institution that has spoken publicly, and that's worth watching closely as the year continues.
This is a story about institutional priorities under pressure, and it's one every family targeting a top-20 research university should be tracking — not because the tax will show up on a tuition bill this year, but because it's already reshaping how these schools staff themselves.
DR. HURWITZ'S TAKE
I've watched universities absorb funding shocks before, but rarely this many at once. The schools that protect financial aid and undergraduate teaching while cutting administrative overhead will come out of this stronger. The ones that cut corners on the student experience to preserve prestige research lines will lose families' trust — and applicants. Ask direct questions on campus visits this spring about what's actually being cut.
ACTION CHECKLIST
If you're touring a top-20 research university this spring, ask directly what percentage of the operating budget comes from the endowment and how the new tax is being absorbed.
Confirm in writing that financial aid commitments are protected for multi-year awards, not just this year's incoming class.
Watch for hiring freezes in departments your student is interested in — fewer new faculty can mean fewer course sections down the road.
Key Sources: Inside Higher Ed, Chronicle of Higher Education, university financial disclosures
TOPIC 02 · FEDERAL POLICY
DOJ Opens New Admissions Inquiry Into Harvard
The Department of Justice's latest action signals that admissions oversight of elite institutions is intensifying, not fading
The Department of Justice has opened a new inquiry into Harvard's admissions practices, requesting detailed data on how the university evaluates applicants in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling ending race-conscious admissions. This is not the first time Harvard has been asked to show its work, but the scope of this request — and the pace at which the administration is pursuing it — suggests admissions offices at every selective university should expect similar scrutiny.
For families, the practical effect is a slower, more heavily lawyered admissions process at institutions under investigation, and increased caution in how those schools discuss diversity and fit in official materials. It also means the criteria admissions officers are willing to discuss openly on campus tours and in webinars may narrow, even as the underlying evaluation process becomes more data-driven and defensible.
WHAT WORKS
Increased transparency requirements may eventually make admissions criteria clearer for applicants.
Universities under scrutiny tend to document their processes more rigorously, reducing arbitrary decision-making.
WHAT DOESN'T
Legal uncertainty can slow decision timelines and communication from admissions offices.
Schools may become more risk-averse in discussing how they actually build a class.
Key Sources: Department of Justice press releases, Reuters, Chronicle of Higher Education
STARTING EARLY? THIS IS FOR YOU.
Get Dr. Hurwitz's free Parent Starter Kit — a practical first-step guide for families just beginning the college search.
TOPIC 03 · INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
International Enrollment Drops 19% Amid Visa Tightening
New visa restrictions and heightened vetting are pushing prospective international students toward competitor countries
New international student enrollment is down 19% year-over-year at reporting institutions, driven by tighter visa vetting, longer processing times, and public uncertainty about U.S. immigration policy. Graduate programs in STEM fields — historically among the most dependent on international enrollment — are seeing the sharpest declines, with ripple effects on research staffing and teaching assistant availability.
For domestic families, this shift has a counterintuitive silver lining: at research universities where international graduate students filled a large share of PhD and master's seats, domestic applicants may find modestly improved odds and more available funding in some programs, particularly in engineering and computer science.
ACTION CHECKLIST
If your student is applying to STEM graduate programs, ask directly about how declining international enrollment has affected funding and TA availability.
Consider that domestic competitiveness may be shifting favorably in certain research-heavy fields.
Key Sources: Institute of International Education, NAFSA, university admissions offices
TOPIC 04 · STATE SYSTEMS
Oregon Restructures Its Public University System
A consolidation plan for Oregon's public campuses previews the kind of system-level restructuring other cash-strapped states may follow
Oregon's public university system announced a restructuring plan this week that consolidates administrative functions across several regional campuses and shifts some academic programs to shared, cross-campus delivery. State officials framed the move as a cost-saving measure necessitated by declining state appropriations and enrollment softness outside the flagship campuses.
Families with students considering regional public universities in Oregon — or in any state facing similar budget pressure — should treat program continuity as a genuine diligence question, not an assumption. A major your student is excited about today could be delivered differently, or from a different campus, by the time they're a junior.
ACTION CHECKLIST
Ask admissions and department contacts directly whether a program of interest is affected by any current or planned restructuring.
For regional public universities generally, ask how enrollment trends over the past three years have shaped program offerings.
Key Sources: Oregon Public Broadcasting, Chronicle of Higher Education, Oregon university system communications
TOPIC 05 · FEDERAL OVERSIGHT
Trump Administration Expands Demands for Campus Admissions Data
A broader federal push for institutional data collection is reshaping how universities report on who they admit and why
Beyond the Harvard-specific inquiry, the administration has issued a broader request for admissions and enrollment data from a wider set of federally funded institutions, part of a stated effort to monitor compliance with the end of race-conscious admissions and related executive orders. Universities have thirty to sixty days to respond, depending on the specific request.
The practical takeaway for families: expect admissions offices to be more guarded in the coming cycle, and expect published data — common data sets, diversity statistics, and admitted-class profiles — to become both more standardized and, in some cases, less detailed than in past years as institutions manage legal exposure.
ACTION CHECKLIST
Don't rely solely on a university's marketing materials for admissions statistics — cross-check against the Common Data Set when available.
Ask guidance counselors whether they've seen any change in how partner colleges are communicating admissions criteria this cycle.
Key Sources: Department of Education communications, Inside Higher Ed
Not Sure Where to Start?
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© 2026 Hurwitz Consulting · hurwitzadmissions.com · nathan@hurwitzadmissions.com · (203) 613-9262
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