Post-SCOTUS Guidance: Navigating Race-Neutral College Applications

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that college admissions must be race-neutral. This means, as clarified by the College Board, that it is not permissible to consider or weigh an applicant's race when making an admission decision, but institutions can consider how an applicant's race has shaped their lived experiences, perspectives, characteristics, attributes, and individual qualities. The ruling is often referred to as post-SCOTUS, while the admission landscape and policies prior to it are called pre-SCOTUS. (We’ve penned multiple articles on this topic, including Part 1 of this post; click here if you’d like more background on this decision and its repercussions over the last year and a half.) For Part 2 of this article series, we’ll focus on guiding college applicants who are unsure about highlighting their race in their applications post-SCOTUS. This decision is directed at admissions offices, not at students. First, it’s essential to understand that this ruling is directed at admissions offices and does not prohibit applicants from disclosing their race if they wish to. I also want to emphasize that applicants are not required to disclose their race if they don’t wish to. Ultimately, the decision about what to share rests entirely with the applicant, and my goal is to empower students to speak their truth in a way that feels authentic and meaningful. As someone who worked in admissions during the first year the ruling was enacted, I believe it’s important to share insights regarding applicants' ability to highlight and celebrate their race, should they choose to. How do applicants highlight and celebrate their racial identity in college applications post-SCOTUS? For applicants who believe their application would be incomplete without highlighting their race, I recommend sharing insights through their college essays. Most applicants will have the opportunity to submit a personal statement and/or supplemental essays as part of their application. College essays give applicants the chance to tell their story and offer a platform to share what is meaningful to them. When discussing race, the goal should be to stay true to the applicant’s story and share who they are. Once applicants identify how they want to highlight their racial identity, I encourage them to provide further insights into how their identity has shaped their perspectives, characteristics, attributes, and authentic qualities. By doing so, the reader will gain a deeper understanding of the applicant, while also learning how the applicant’s racial identity has influenced who they are. Below are a few examples of how an applicant can highlight their racial identity, while also providing key takeaways gained from their experiences. Please note, these examples are not a formula on how a student should highlight their racial identity. Example 1:
An applicant attends a high school where they are one of the few students from a historically underrepresented racial group. This experience has helped the student develop the skill of collaboration by bridging diverse perspectives within their community. Through this ability, the student has partnered with multicultural clubs to organize a community event, providing a space for people to share, discuss, and connect their viewpoints. This essay would communicate to admissions officers that the student's lived experiences have shaped their drive to be a leader who fosters collaborative and inclusive environments. It sheds light on the applicant’s background and offers insight into how these skills would positively contribute to and enrich future college communities. Example 2:
An applicant has a passion for STEM and has noticed their racial identity is underrepresented in STEM communities. This awareness has sparked a desire to make STEM more accessible, leading the student to share knowledge and resources with other students in their community. For admissions officers, the takeaway from this essay would be that the student’s experiences have inspired their advocacy and passion for increasing accessibility in STEM. It highlights how their racial identity will inform their future STEM career while demonstrating a commitment to creating pathways for others. This quality likely aligns with the values and goals of many colleges’ initiatives. These examples demonstrate how applicants can highlight and elevate their racial identity, while also providing insights into how their identity has shaped their perspectives, passions, and skills. After reading the examples above, I hope applicants who wish to center their college essays around their racial identity feel confident in their ability to highlight who they are. I like to remind applicants that if they do not share the information that is important to them, the admissions committee may not learn about these essential aspects elsewhere in the application.