Affirmative action ruling: There will still be a place to highlight race, ethnicity when applying to college

When the Supreme Court last month struck down race-conscious college admissions policies, it didn’t prohibit students from discussing, in applications, how race impacted their lives, presenting a new legal landscape that experts said could elevate the role of application essays.

The court on June 29 ruled that race can't be a factor in college admissions and forced institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies. 

The ruling “has made the importance of students truly sharing their experiences critical,” said Jill Orcutt, global lead at AACRAO Consulting, a division of Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

Here's how students can better navigate an evolving college admissions process in light of the court's decision.

What does the ruling mean for prospective students and campus diversity?

Rising high school seniors applying to college in the fall will be the first to feel the impact of the ruling, even as there is still uncertainty over how it will play out in admissions.

"The full implication of ... [the] decision is still not something we fully know yet," said LI Test Prep's Jeff Eisenberg, a college test prep and essay guidance tutor.

The impact could vary depending on where a prospective student plans to attend college. Nine states already had banned race-conscious admissions practices, but not New York.

Most colleges and universities, including many on Long Island, admit most applicants, according to the Pew Research Center. More than half of the four-year colleges said race had no influence in their admission decisions in a 2019 survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

The more selective colleges are expected to face greater fallout from the court's decision.

What about long-term effects?

Angel Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, said after the ruling that it "is going to have some pretty serious implications for diversity on college campuses for years to come.”

Pérez cited the University of California as an example.

Within two years after a statewide affirmative action ban in 1996, Black and Hispanic enrollments fell by half at the system’s two most selective campuses, Berkeley and UCLA. The university system went on to spend more than $500 million on programs aimed at low-income and first-generation college students.

Today at UCLA and Berkeley, Hispanic students make up 20% of undergraduates, higher than in 1996 but lower than their 53% share among California's high school graduates. Black students, meanwhile, have a smaller presence than in 1996, accounting for 2% of undergraduates at Berkeley.

The decision "is going to make it a lot harder and a lot more expensive for institutions of higher education and admission officers to bring in a diverse class,” Pérez said.

Will students be able to mention race in their college applications?

Yes.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts wrote “nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”

Roberts, however, cautioned that “universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today."

Students could offer their experiences of overcoming discrimination or being driven to attain a particular goal motivated by their heritage or culture but must tie it to their determination or unique ability to contribute to the university, he said.

“In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race,” Roberts wrote.

How can high school students highlight their racial or ethnic background?

Pérez said his organization is working on offering guidance in the coming weeks on legal parameters and how high school counselors can advise their students.

“There's going to be different ways that students will be able to express their entire lived experience in holistic college admission,” he said. “The complexity is how that's actually going to get operationalized in an admissions process.”

Race in relation to a student’s lived experience could come up in essays or perhaps short questions an institution could ask in the common application, he said.

Orcutt, who has evaluated admission applications, said she would encourage students to write about overcoming adversities even if they consider them normal or trivial.

“A student might not believe that moving to the United States as a young child, not being an English speaker, learning the language and then learning the U.S. educational system, might be a barrier or a challenge that they overcame to attend an institution,” she said. “Understand that that's not necessarily what the average person’s experience is, so it's important to write about your experience.”

Scott Gibney, a college admissions consultant with Gibney Solutions LLC in Northport, said personal recommendations offer another opportunity to provide background on some of the challenges minority students may have faced during their school and personal lives.

What makes a compelling application essay?

Simply writing about a racial or ethnic background alone isn’t enough, said Bethany Goldszer, a college admissions consultant with Stand Out College Prep, of Holbrook.

“I always tell students, ‘You want to write about a unique experience about yourself, so when the admissions officers are reading it, they remember you,’” she said. “‘You have to dig deeper. How you grew up could be the setting, but it doesn’t have to be the story.’”

Gibney said some of the essay prompts in the common application lend themselves to writing about the challenges presented by a racial or ethnic background.

However, he stressed the importance of carefully reading and answering all parts of the question and taking time to reflect on personal reactions and growth in response to real challenges encountered in life.

Colleges use an essay to bring an applicant to life, he said, and “want it to be meaningful, authentic to the applicant." 

What else can students do to better prepare for college?

Goldszer said she believes the ruling will change the way some colleges meet diversity goals, but applicants should be clear about what particular colleges are looking for and try to achieve that profile.

She advised that students should take advantage of advanced classes and options, and seek out college preparation programs. 

“The earlier the better, but definitely by ninth grade they should be thinking about financial aid workshops and college prep workshops,” she said. “New York State offers so many great free SAT and college access programs.”

High schools also should do their part to invest more in educating their students about available prep programs and make sure students who qualify are aware of fee waivers for SAT exams and college applications, she said. 

With AP