The Supreme Court’s rejection of affirmative action will change college admissions.
Here’s what to expect.
More Applications for the Same Number of Places
The Supreme Court’s rejection of affirmative action practices was anticipated, which means that savvy colleges have been planning for some time to maintain the class compositions they are known for while staying within the bounds of the law.
The revised methodologies will vary from one institution to the next and also from year to year as colleges discard and replace ineffective strategies. In the short term, the admissions, landscape will be considerably more chaotic, and students will cope by increasing the number of applications they submit.
Legacy Admissions in the Crosshairs
Institutions with stated commitments to diversity and fairness will be under great pressure from students and faculty to curtail or dispense with legacy preferences. The healthier their balance sheets and the more applicants they have to choose from, the likelier it is that they will bow to this pressure.
In short, rich and highly competitive schools—Amherst, Cal Tech, Johns Hopkins and MIT—have already bade farewell to the custom of privileging alumni offspring and more are certain to follow.
Vulnerable Niche Sports
In 2020, colleges dropped over 250 teams from all three divisions of NCAA competition, making it harder to win a college place as, say, a recruited fencer or rower.
More such cuts are likely to follow. The Supreme Court’s ruling is shining light anew on the niche sports that skew admissions favorably towards affluent white applicants. Unprofitable and enjoying less alumni support, they are likely targets for colleges wanting to retain the diversity they enjoy now.
Early Decision: For How Long?
Colleges have been able to goose their yields (number of students accepting among those offered admission) by giving an advantage to students who commit to them via their ED programs. This has skewed admissions towards the more homogeneous subset who worry less about financial aid.
Expect ED programs to convert to Early Action or to be eliminated outright, especially if peer institutions express support for the same idea. The law school boycott of the US News rankings shows this dynamic in action.
Vanishing Relevance of Test Scores
Covid saw test-optional policies instituted at 98% of America’s top 100 colleges and universities. With greater attention being paid to the correlation between higher scores and affluence, the change is likely to be permanent.
Reduction in Enthusiasm Advantage
Demonstrating enthusiasm for a favored institution, e.g., via repeat visits or participation in a campus summer program, has been a time-honored way for applicants to earn “extra points.” Since the strategy has largely been employed by wealthier families, it can be expected to come under scrutiny, as well.
Attestations of Resilience
Applicants will be asked to delineate what, if anything, they’ve overcome in order to achieve what they have so far. The exercise will disadvantage students from both ends of the fortune spectrum—applicants from intact, prosperous families and those who are so battle-scarred by circumstance that they are deemed less likely to make it to graduation.
The Opportunity that is the Personal Essay
Great college experiences are made by great individuals—classmates, roommates, teammates, etc., and admissions officers want to compose classes of people who will make a difference in the lives of their peers.
Your essay is your chance to reveal the one and only YOU. Who are you? How do you look at things? What do you care about?
Our clients have distinguished themselves as future assets to their college and graduate communities by writing essays that are memorable, even unforgettable. That’s what you need to do, too!