The Supreme Court Overturns Affirmative Action
Well, it has officially happened. On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned race-conscious admissions, otherwise known as Affirmative Action, in a 6-3 ruling. Those familiar with the current state of American politics are not surprised by this ruling. But the ruling has opened the door for a number of questions about the future of college admissions.
How did this happen?
We’ve written about this topic before in much greater detail, but for a little context: This all started with a lawsuit filed by Students for Fair Admission, an Asian-American advocacy group, against Harvard University. Students for Fair Admission claim that race-conscious admissions policies discriminate against Asian-American students in favor of African-American and/or Black students.
How are college admissions going to change?
Many colleges, anticipating this ruling, have already found ways to continue promoting diversity on campus while not explicitly taking race into account. For example, some colleges have shifted their race-conscious admissions policies to focus on admitting first-generation college students, many of whom, statistically, are of Black and Latinx descent. Other colleges have moved to permanent test-optional or test-blind policies as standardized tests have long been criticized for benefitting white and wealthy students.
One theory, proposed by Elissa Nadworny, NPR’s higher education correspondent, is that focus will shift more to the admissions essay. According to the opinion handed down by SCOTUS, race, and how it has impacted life and experience, can still be written about in the admissions essay. So, this is one more workaround for colleges to still consider race while not explicitly considering race. This also puts significant emphasis on the importance of a strong admissions essay.
Will this ruling affect scholarships and financial aid?
This question is difficult to answer at this time. The ruling was very specific in its language pertaining to admissions only. As of now, many colleges are still able to be race-conscious in their offering of scholarships and financial aid packages. Though some colleges, like in admissions, have shifted their focus to first-generation scholarships rather than scholarships based on race.
As we’ve said before, this ruling has opened the door to more questions than it has actually provided answers for. And there will certainly be more questions in the future! While we don’t have all the answers today, we’ll be updating our blog with more information as it becomes available.
In the meantime, check out this Business Insider interview with Ivy Link founder, Adam, wherein he discusses the importance of measurable accomplishments in college admissions. Students of all backgrounds are going to have to do even more to stand out in the coming years.
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