In the first school year since a United States Supreme Court ruling effectively ended affirmative action admissions policies, we’re already seeing shifts in who’s filling classrooms in colleges and universities in the Boston area.
Following the six-to-three ruling, advocates of affirmative action feared that the proportion of minorities admitted into colleges and universities would fall, cutting off educational opportunities to those who need them the most. In addition Sampan interviewed and surveyed many area students who expressed dismay at the decision and what it could mean for opportunities for minorities as well as campus diversity in general. This year’s admissions, while too early to signal a trend, already show some changes in demographics, with apparent declines in Black and Hispanic enrollments for the class of 2028.
MIT saw a large reduction in the enrollment of Black and African American applicants, falling from a 13% average from the classes of 2024-2027 to 5% for the class of 2028. Hispanic and Latino enrollment also fell from 15% to 11% for the class of 2028. Conversely, Asian Americans saw an increase from a 41% average for the four prior years to 47% for the class of 2028. It is important to note, however, that these percentages are only from students who self-reported their race, an option that is no longer mandatory.
Harvard Law School’s Juris Doctor program’s first class since affirmative action’s abolishment saw an 8-percentage point decrease in students of color from 51% the year prior to the current 43%. Additionally, twice as many students also declined to report their race, according to The Harvard Crimson.
Other prestigious universities such as Boston University saw less of a change in minority enrollment. Last year the school reported 44% of its students were minority students; this year’s rate fell to 42%. Hispanic students fell to 12% for the class of 2028 from 13%.
The university promised to “set up a task force to implement strategies and maintain diverse classes” in the future.
Tufts University saw Asian American enrollment fall marginally at the school from 20.3% for the class of 2027 to 19.7% for the class of 2028. Black students saw a reduction from 7.3% to 4.7%.
Boston College saw a decrease in Black student enrollment from 7% for the class of 2027 to 6% for the class of 2028 but saw an increase from 13% to 14.4% for Hispanic students. Asian American enrollment also increased from 14.6% to 16.2%.
“Boston College is a predominantly white institution,” one student told the Sampan anonymously, lamenting the lack of diversity. The school did recently open its Messina College to provide opportunity to those from families without advanced degrees.
In an anonymous Sampan survey conducted with around 50 current MIT students and others, the majority disagreed with the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling that effectively dismantled affirmative action programs as they had been implemented.
“While affirmative action wasn’t perfect, it definitely seemed to help start bridging the gap (of inequality),” said one student.
Furthermore, students surveyed generally felt disheartened by the potential of reduced racial diversity. They said generally that more diverse campuses have the benefit of making “each student more aware of their community, nation, and world.”
Some students surveyed did, however, find that they felt comfort in knowing students accepted now completely deserved their place due to merit alone.
A student from Tufts University interviewed by the Sampan on the promise of anonymity, said “(I feel) quite upset and hopeless, given the already bad situation of systemic inequalities in the United States and how they persist in educational spaces” … “this ruling is only going to exacerbate the situation even more.”
It’s not clear yet how the effective “end” of affirmative action will affect enrollments over the long run. Some have argued the ruling would increase Asian student enrollment at the cost of Black and Hispanic enrollment, but it’s not yet clear if that will be the case nationwide of the long run.
In addition, the sample of data Sampan reviewed was only for expensive institutions in the Boston area. And several universities say they are exploring other ways of maintaining diversity on their campus. Northeastern University, for example, has increased outreach in neighborhoods known to be more underprivileged.
“Race and socioeconomic (diversity) are so linked together. Both of them lead to intellectual diversity,” said Natalie DeLaCruz, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion of Northeastern’s student government association. “Both of them are necessary in classrooms.”
