| When | Outlet | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | NPR program 1A | The decline of American higher education on the world stage |
| August 2026 | The Hechinger Report | U.S. universities are in decline globally as fewer students come, more scholars leave |
| August 2026 | Washington Monthly | Once Globally Preeminent, U.S. Universities Are Sliding Into Decline |
| May 2026 | University Business | Why families are applying early decision to their second choice |
| May 2026 | Town Topics, Princeton | Local College Admissions Counselor: It’s Never Too Early to Plan a Timeline |
In September 2026, Rona Aydin spent an hour live on the NPR program 1A discussing the decline of American higher education on the world stage, alongside Jon Marcus of The Hechinger Report, the Georgia State University researcher Akshat Namdeo, and Eric Mlyn of Duke University. The conversation turned on why international enrollment is falling and what American universities lose when it does. Her answer came from the families she advises: the students who once applied only to American universities are now building lists that reach beyond the United States, and price is the reason more often than politics.
That argument first appeared in The Hechinger Report in August 2026, in Jon Marcus reporting on the global standing of American universities. Rona Aydin told him that cost had already become the larger reason international students were reconsidering the United States, and that applicants who once would have looked only at American universities “are also thinking about backup countries.” Washington Monthly ran the same reporting as Once Globally Preeminent, U.S. Universities Are Sliding Into Decline.
University Business published Why families are applying early decision to their second choice in May 2026, on what happens when a strong early round is read as proof of demand. Closer to home, Town Topics interviewed her for a piece on when families should actually start planning, which covers testing requirements, demonstrated interest, and why a list built on brand names tends to disappoint.
Oriel Admissions also produces its own admissions research. The College Admissions Transparency Index scores the 50 most selective universities in the United States on how much they actually disclose about who gets in, from plan-level acceptance rates to waitlist outcomes. The methodology and the full table are free to read. Our counselors are introduced on the Oriel Admissions team page.
Rona Aydin speaks with reporters on selective admissions trends, early decision and early action behavior, testing policy, international enrollment, and the figures universities publish and withhold. Oriel Admissions can also run numbers from the Common Data Set filings of individual universities on request. Reach us through the contact page.
Families usually find this page while deciding whom to trust with four years of their child’s work. What reporters call us for is the same thing families get: a clear reading of what selective universities are doing this year, and a plan built for one student rather than a template. If that is what you are looking for, schedule a consultation and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Oriel Admissions is a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy. Our team brings deep expertise across every dimension of the application, and our distinctive 360 approach develops strategy, positioning, activities, essays, and interviews as one coherent whole. To discuss your family’s admissions strategy, schedule a consultation.