A 2025 survey cited in a report by recruiting intelligence firm Veris Insights finds employers increasingly rely on a narrower set of colleges—often “target schools”—and screen using degree and GPA. The research said 26% of surveyed companies recruited from a brief selection of schools, up from 17% in 2022. The report describes how AI-generated résumé similarity may have pushed recruiters toward using school reputation and credential-based sorting. It also notes that for many firms, recruiting currently concentrates on roughly 30 institutions out of thousands, prioritizing elite options and then schools near company headquarters. For universities, the development raises admissions and career-services stakes: how students’ academic profiles and institutional branding compete in a hiring market that appears to be narrowing its sourcing funnel.