An End to Affirmative Action: Effects on Prospective Students

Race-conscious affirmative action policies in higher education have existed in the United States since the early 1960s. During the civil rights movement, colleges and universities began to consider race as a factor in admissions. However, all that changed with the Supreme Court issuing a long-awaited decision ending affirmative action on June 29, 2023. Nevertheless, what does this mean, and how does this impact applying students?

What is affirmative action in education?

The policy of affirmative action in higher education was the consideration of race when reviewing student applications, and usually applied to students of African, Hispanic, or Indigenous ethnicities. In highly selective institutions, applications are reviewed holistically. They consider factors including academic achievement, extracurricular activities, essays, and recommendations. Nevertheless, race was sometimes a tipping factor in whether or not a student was to be admitted. Admissions officers often kept in mind the diversity of the class they were hoping to build. In a broader sense, affirmative action helped provide equity in many colleges, as students who did not have equal opportunities in education were given an edge they otherwise might not have had.

However, the Supreme Court has set many limits on affirmative action policies throughout the past few decades. In a landmark case in 1978, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Allan Bakke, a white man, filed a case against UC Davis for guaranteeing students of color 16 out of 100 application spots for the university’s medical school after his application was rejected. The Supreme Court then declared that this type of quota system was unconstitutional and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. So, while colleges and universities could no longer use racial quotas, they could still consider race a factor among many others.

How are applicants affected by the end of affirmative action?

Although the ban ended legal affirmative action in education, many institutions around the US still value building diversity in a class. This means that admissions officers will still look to accept students of different backgrounds and cultures, even without using quotas or race as a determining factor. However, the Supreme Court decision has greatly affected this year’s applicants. 

Many studies (Colin and Cook, 2023) have shown that previously eliminating affirmative action in some states has led to declining enrollment of Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous people, especially for selective colleges and universities. Nevertheless, maintaining diversity is essential for students of color and those who benefit from their classmates’ differing perspectives and experiences. Particularly, students of Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous backgrounds have faced significant challenges and overcome obstacles to be where they are in society today. Their unique perspectives allow for better cultural understanding to counter societal issues of bias, prejudice, and injustice. Therefore, it is likely that colleges and universities will begin to adopt other methods to maintain diversity.

Instead of race-based affirmative action, some schools may decide to implement class-based affirmative action. Doing so ensures that students from less affluent socioeconomic backgrounds with fewer opportunities still have an equal chance in admissions. This approach may help maintain diversity but would be less effective than regular affirmative action. While socioeconomic status is closely tied with race, lower-class White families also exist in large numbers, and without the distinction of race, people of color are not guaranteed to be positively affected by class-based affirmative action.

Another method would be ending legacy preference in the admissions process. White students generally benefit the most from legacy preference, which can lead to the systemic exclusion of students of color. Ending legacy admissions could help make the application process more equitable for all students, as institutions that had eliminated legacy preference found an increase in first-generation students admitted.

Differing views on affirmative action

As an Asian-American, this topic has been greatly intriguing as the implications of affirmative action have been highly controversial. A survey conducted by Pew Research Center found that around 53% of Asian-American adults who have heard of affirmative action think it is a good thing, while 19% say it is a bad thing, and 27% do not know whether it is good or bad. On the other hand, 76% of the surveyed Asian Americans believe that race or ethnicity should not be a factor in college admissions decisions.

Before the elimination of affirmative action, I was not especially aware of this policy in higher education, as I felt it did not apply to me. Nonetheless, research has led me to believe that these policies affect every prospective student regardless of background. Asians are often seen as the “model minority” and become the standard that other minorities are held against. This type of perspective is used as a racial wedge and can lead to extreme division among racial minority communities in the United States, particularly when society compares Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous students against Asians. Thus, affirmative action provides educational opportunities for disadvantaged students which can help break barriers between Asian-Americans and other minorities when students are exposed to different racial backgrounds.

In general, many people believe that affirmative action will still be necessary as long as racism and prejudice exist, and it is one of the only ways to eliminate opportunity gaps made by race, class, language, and gender. Others believe that race-based affirmative action is less effective than some think. While race often goes in hand with socioeconomic status, there are also White and Asian students in underfunded communities who also have fewer opportunities, and there are people of color who are extremely wealthy and receive excellent education.

In reality, while affirmative action may be a policy to help bring equity and diversity to higher education, we are not solving the root problem but are merely putting a Bandaid on a broken leg.

No solution is perfect, and colleges and universities, especially highly selective ones, may see a decline in racial and ethnic diversity. Even so, institutions are likely to promote inclusivity by providing their students with an environment filled with different experiences and backgrounds. However, it is crucial to remember that while affirmative action ensures representation for underprivileged students, the root problem stems much deeper from within society.

Reference list

Carlton, G. (2020). https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/2020/08/10/history-affirmative-action-college/. [online] www.bestcolleges.com. Available at: https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/2020/08/10/history-affirmative-action-college/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2023].

Colin, E. and Cook, B.J. (2023). The Future of College Admissions without Affirmative Action. [online] Urban Institute. Available at: https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/future-college-admissions-without-affirmative-action [Accessed 20 Oct. 2023].

Friedersdorf, C. (2023). 11 Reader Views on Affirmative Action. [online] The Atlantic.

Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/07/reader-views-on-affirmative-action/674688/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2023].

Najarro, I., Pendharkar, E. and Walsh, M. (2023). What Is Affirmative Action? How a Supreme Court Decision Could Impact K-12 Schools. Education Week. [online] 20 Jun. Available at: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-affirmative-action-how-a-supreme-court-decision-could-impact-k-12-schools/2023/06 [Accessed 20 Oct. 2023].

Ruiz, N.G., Tian, Z. and Krogstad, J.M. (2023). Asian Americans Hold Mixed Views Around Affirmative Action. [online] Pew Research Center Race & Ethnicity. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2023/06/08/asian-americans-hold-mixed-views-around-affirmative-action/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2023].