College Application Tips: Big Ten News You Need Now

The Midwest Is Shifting — and Your Application Strategy Should Too

If you're eyeing a Big Ten school, the landscape looks different in 2026 than it did even a year ago. Governance battles, financial aid restructuring, and new curriculum mandates are reshaping what it means to attend a flagship Midwest university. None of this should scare you off — but it should sharpen your research and your strategy.

Financial Aid Turbulence Is Real, and It Starts at the Federal Level

Here's the headline that matters most for your wallet: House appropriators have proposed eliminating federally subsidized student loans as a way to fund the Pell Grant program, according to Inside Higher Ed. The same legislation would cut Work-Study funding significantly.

Subsidized loans are the ones where the government covers interest while you're enrolled. Losing them would shift more cost onto students the moment they graduate — or even during school if the policy evolves. For families already stretching to afford a Big Ten price tag, this isn't abstract policy. It's a direct hit to your net cost.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has ended in-state tuition eligibility for noncitizen residents in Nebraska, per Inside Higher Ed. If you or a family member holds a non-citizen immigration status, check Nebraska's current tuition policy before building your financial model around University of Nebraska.

For juniors and seniors building their college lists, our senior planning resources walk through how to stress-test your financial aid assumptions school by school.

Campus Governance Instability at Michigan State

Michigan State University is navigating a genuine leadership crisis. After the university's president resigned and publicly blamed the Board of Trustees, board members began blaming each other — and now Michigan state lawmakers are pushing to restructure the board entirely, according to Inside Higher Ed.

This matters for applicants for a few concrete reasons:

Leadership uncertainty affects programs. Deans, department chairs, and faculty recruiting all slow down when a president's seat is empty or contested. If you're targeting a specific MSU program, email the department directly to ask about stability.
Financial commitments can shift. Merit aid packages and scholarship programs are approved at the administrative level. A school in governance flux may freeze or revise aid commitments mid-cycle.
Your demonstrated interest signals still matter. Campus visits, info sessions, and direct outreach to admissions counselors are tracked — and they show you've done your homework even when a school is in the news for the wrong reasons.

If MSU is on your list, don't remove it — but do add a question about institutional stability to your campus visit checklist. Showing that you've researched the school thoughtfully can actually strengthen your application narrative.

A New Curriculum Mandate at Iowa — and What It Signals

Starting now, University of Iowa undergraduates are required to take history courses selected by state-designated civics centers, reports Inside Higher Ed. Iowa isn't alone — several Midwest states have moved to give external bodies more say over general education requirements.

For applicants, this is worth understanding before you commit. If you're drawn to Iowa for academic freedom or a specific interdisciplinary program, ask admissions how the new requirement affects your intended major's four-year plan. Some students may find the added civics coursework genuinely interesting; others may see it as a scheduling constraint.

This also connects to a broader pattern: state legislatures across the Midwest are more actively shaping what happens inside public universities. That's a factor worth weighing alongside rankings and campus culture.

What This Means for Your Application

Translating all of this into action:

Rebuild your financial aid estimates now. If your family's plan relied on subsidized loans, model what your net cost looks like without them. The Federal Student Aid website has loan comparison tools.
For noncitizen applicants targeting Nebraska, confirm current tuition policy directly with the University of Nebraska's financial aid office — don't rely on information from last year.
Treat campus governance as a research category. For any school where leadership is in flux, look up whether the provost or president role is filled, and ask your admissions rep directly during a campus visit or virtual session.
Ask curriculum questions before you commit. At Iowa and similar schools with new mandates, request a sample four-year plan for your intended major to see how required courses affect your schedule and elective choices.
Diversify your list geographically. If Midwest public flagships feel uncertain right now, a balanced list might include one or two schools outside the region where financial aid and governance are more stable.

Parents navigating this alongside their students will find our parent resources page useful for framing these conversations at home.

Stay Curious, Stay Organized

The students who handle application season best aren't the ones who avoid complexity — they're the ones who ask better questions. The news coming out of the Midwest right now gives you real, specific things to investigate. Use that.

If you're building your college list and want a structured way to track what you're learning about each school, explore how GoodGoblin works to keep your research organized in one place.