The 2026 College Planning Report Reveals Important Insights on High School Students College Selection Processes & the Role of AI

BOSTON, MA – April 2, 2026

 Encoura®, an industry-leading educational technology, marketing, and research organization, today released the 2026 College Planning Report: How High School Students Explore, Evaluate, and Decide on a College. Based on responses from nearly 1,800 high school students nationwide, the report offers a candid window into the feelings, barriers, and moments of clarity that shape every step of the college planning journey — and a roadmap for institutions seeking to create stronger, more meaningful connections with the next generation of students.

The report is the next edition of the 2024 High School Student College Planning Report, previously published by Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL), which joined Encoura in October 2025. Designed for professionals across marketing, recruitment, advising, financial aid, and student support, the report provides both data-driven insights and practical action steps institutions can take to better meet students where they are.

Two questions lie at the heart of the 2026 College Planning Report: “What if college planning really centered on the student experience? What might change if we paid attention to the feelings, the barriers, and the small moments of clarity that shape every choice along the way?” The answers are designed to help institutions see how they can create meaningful connections with students.

The research examines student journeys through early awareness, first explorations, big decisions, and late-night worries — surfacing insights that challenge conventional assumptions about how institutions engage prospective students.

Five Key Findings:

• 63% of students have used AI tools in their college planning process (from 54% in 9th grade to 68% by 12th grade) — signaling a fundamental shift in how students gather and evaluate information.
• 62% of students would prefer talking to a person (rather than AI) when starting to learn about colleges — underscoring that human connection remains essential even as technology reshapes the planning process.
• 61% of students believe it is possible to succeed without a college degree — a finding that challenges institutions to more proactively communicate the value and outcomes of a college education.
• 52% of students say that personalized outreach makes them feel like a college genuinely cares about them — a direct signal for enrollment and marketing teams on the power of tailored communication.
• 74% of students have seen a college poster, banner, or sign at their high school, and among those, 56% looked that institution up online — demonstrating that physical campus presence continues to drive digital engagement.

“This research went beyond asking what students want — it asked what they are actually experiencing. What we found challenges institutions to move beyond delivering information to genuinely meet students in the moments that matter most,” said Raquel Bermejo, Director of Thought Leadership at Encoura. “In a landscape where nearly two-thirds of students are using AI to plan for college and yet six in ten still want to talk to a real person, the institutions that will differentiate themselves are the ones that know how to meet students where they are.”

The full 2026 College Planning Report is available to the public. Each section of the report opens with key insights and closes with a practical Action Checkpoint to help institutions audit current practices and identify opportunities for improvement.