On June 29, 2023, college admission offices across the country scrambled to release public statements in the face of the groundbreaking Supreme Court Case ruling declaring the unconstitutionality of affirmative action in college admission decisions. This means that the national high school class of 2024 will not have affirmative action and race-conscious admissions policies affecting their path to higher education.
What is Affirmative Action?
Affirmative action is a college admission and employee hiring policy that prioritizes the acceptance and hiring of minorities and emphasizes the equal distribution of opportunity. This policy was implemented as a response to racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination faced by those on the path to higher education during the 1960s civil rights movement. As America continues to shift towards a highly polarized and increasingly conservative political climate, many Americans and politicians no longer agree with the notion that race should be considered a significant metric for admission to higher educational institutions.
According to Katharine Meyer, an educational policy expert, affirmative action enables the education system to contextualize the unequally distributed opportunities that students had during their K-12 experience based on their zip code. Meyer acknowledges that depending on where you live, you may have had less exposure to “high-quality schools” and “the kind of preparation necessary to gain admission.” For years affirmative action has allowed for many FGLI (first-generation and low-income) students to attend college, especially if they were otherwise unable to. What does this court ruling mean for McCaskey, a Title I urban public school with a higher concentration of FGLI students than anywhere else in Lancaster County? The student body may benefit to consider reevaluating the steps they need to take in order to obtain an education in an increasingly stratified society.
Prior to the 2023 affirmative action ban, there had been a forty-year precedent. With the three liberal members of the court in extreme dissent, the six Republican-appointed conservative justices agreed in a majority opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, “The ruling prevents the systematic consideration of race in admissions decisions by colleges and universities. However, colleges and universities may still have some leeway to consider race on a case-by-case basis.” The practice had previously been ruled unconstitutional in University of California v. Bakke because the Supreme Court determined it violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. Prior to the ruling, schools without affirmative action policies had admitted significantly fewer students of color than their counterparts.
However, the court has left the door open for universities to continue taking race into account for individual students, as long as they practice holistic review.
National Impact:
As this is the first college admissions cycle without affirmative action in 40 years, much of the impact is up in the air. We can however take educated guesses to predict what will happen based on data from other colleges that haven’t used affirmative action in years:
- The SAT and ACT, along with most standardized testing, will become de-emphasized as more institutions adopt test-blind policies. Test blind policies were majorly adopted in 2020 as a direct response to the testing disruptions caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some schools have discontinued this policy, but many have opted to keep it if they are looking to maintain some degree of black and Hispanic representation as SAT and ACT scores have the “largest racial performance gaps of any metric used in the admissions process.”
- Geography and college essays will play a more significant role in admissions decisions. Similar to the enduring Texas Top 10% policy in which some schools admit the top 10% of a Texan high school graduating class, other schools may adopt a “place, not race policy” so that a student’s geographic location will have an increased role in college admissions.
- College admissions will be more subjective as admissions offices shift to try to follow the law while maintaining their commitment to admitting a diverse class of students. Statements such as: “The University of Michigan remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering a diverse educational environment,” and “Harvard leadership affirmed the University’s commitment to diversity while declaring it would abide by the ruling.” appeared on college websites just days, and sometimes mere hours, after the court ruling. Colleges are attempting to move towards a “race-neutral” admissions era in which higher preferences are being given towards FGLI applicants. More money is going into offering need-based financial aid and some elite colleges are planning on having a more direct role in nurturing potential students with fly-in programs, virtual events, and college representative visits to urban schools like McCaskey.
- Minority students will see a large drop in admissions chances at many selective colleges, while Asian and white students will see a modest increase. Black students will see the biggest drop in acceptance chances due to the achievement gaps among racial groups, especially among standardized tests like the SAT.
McCaskey Impact & Future Ready Center
Despite any efforts made, the banning of affirmative action will have a significant impact on McCaskey students. Located in the refugee capital of the United States, McCaskey is home to an extremely diverse student population, with 88% being people of color and 88.4% of our students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, a status that indicates a person’s position as economically disadvantaged. Due to our urban zip code and our status as a Title 1 public school, we statistically have more systemic barriers deterring students from reaching college.
In the attempt to contextualize the impact of the affirmative action ban for McCaskey students, our Future Ready Center (Room JP 131 and C132) College and Career Project Specialist Mr. Jago has offered some relevant insight into the ruling. He argued, “The Supreme Court is in effect telling us that a student who has overcome multiple barriers and obstacles to attempt to enter a college should receive exactly the same chance as a student who has received every possible advantage and extra support.”
Our Future Ready Center “exists to provide support to all McCaskey students, but particularly to those who identify as first-generation, who come from a minority-ethnic background, or who are categorized as living in low-income households.” They aid students with the application process: college essays, filling out applications, exploring different post high school pathways, and the financial aid process: FAFSA workshops, scholarship support, financial aid award letter analysis, and direct college financial aid office communication.
In short, “the Future Ready Team will continue to provide support to students regardless of the Supreme Court Ruling, and knowing that colleges remain committed to admitting diverse cohorts of students, “we will continue to encourage McCaskey students to dream big and aim high.”
What Can We Do?
Anticipating a large drop in admissions chances for 88% of our student body, it is important that students take a more active role in preparing for their post-high school plans. For those who want to go into a four-year college or university, it may be worth considering combatting this challenge by altering their college application to reflect the new laws. This can be done by demonstrating sustained dedication and commitment to a specific thing (ex. Sciences by joining our Health Careers CTE program). More focus should also be put into the personal statement as “[students] should tailor their admissions essays into how race has affected their lives” –Shannon Gundy, UMD admissions official. This is why more supplemental essays are reflective of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as many schools ask variations of the same questions regarding adversity, lived experience, identity, and the value of a diverse campus.
Concerned students may opt to take advantage of college access programs designed to help students from low-income families or racial minority backgrounds. One of McCaskey’s biggest strengths is our Future Ready Center. If anything should be taken away from this article, McCaskey students should meet with the future ready center team and aggressively apply for scholarships.
As Mr. Jago affirmed: “Your story and your truth make you an asset to any number of colleges and universities, regardless of the Supreme Court deciding to take life back to the 1950s. You are the future, and the future is here.”
College Resources:
Juniors: Attollo, Thrive Scholars, LEAD Scholars, USC Bovard Scholars, Stanford Medical Youth Science, Questbridge, Scholarships 360
Seniors: Fly in Programs, Questbridge, Scholarships 360
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