Higher education is undergoing an identity crisis. Repeated attacks from the Trump administration, the rise of AI and budget shortfalls have put top universities on the defensive as public sentiment on the value of a college degree sours. But a new trend in company hiring suggests that elite colleges aren’t losing their edge anytime soon.
A 2025 survey of over 150 companies found that more than a quarter, 26%, were recruiting from a brief selection of schools, up from 17% that were doing the same in 2022, according to recruiting intelligence firm Veris Insights, which conducted the research.
Even most of the surveyed companies that weren’t recruiting from a shortlist of universities said they were focusing on “target schools,” while also accepting applications from a list of other schools. That means candidates from prestigious universities that are located close to a company’s headquarters are typically given priority, according to Chelsea Schein, Veris’s vice president of research strategy, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Read more at Yahoo News.
