Education Equity Fellow
One of the keys to our success as a nation is our higher education system. Colleges and universities can help students gain skills, foster innovation and creativity, and prepare young people to live, learn, and thrive in our multiracial democracy. The benefits of a college education are clear. Compared to people whose highest degree is a high school diploma, college graduates are:
more likely to have a job and have higher earnings over a lifetime
less likely to experience poverty or incarceration
healthier, and
more engaged with their communities
When colleges and universities treat students as whole people, rather than just test scores, they can ensure that talented young people have equal access to opportunity.
Unfortunately, the benefits of going to college and getting a degree, especially at selective colleges and universities that can be gateways to opportunity, are not shared fairly. Black students and other students of color face unnecessary barriers to their enrollment, many of which are out of the student’s control.
Because admissions officers decide who is allowed into each college and university, the purpose of this Brief is to look into admissions practices. The Brief highlights opportunities to change admissions practices to make them more fair, especially for talented Black students who are often excluded.
Standardized tests underpredict the potential of many students of color and artificially depress the scores of some examinees. Therefore, colleges and universities that emphasize these tests risk overlooking talented students.
During holistic review, admissions staff evaluate the whole student, including students’ talents and records of achievement as well as context about the educational opportunities (or lack thereof) that the student has had. About 95 percent of selective colleges and universities use some form of holistic review. Through holistic review practices, admissions officers try to get a better understanding of the student and their various traits, such as their learning habits, interests in the classroom, personality, leadership potential, athletic talent, geography, and financial assets, among others. If carefully done, holistic review can improve equal opportunity to compete for admissions without reducing the academic or other talents of incoming classes.
Colleges and universities must therefore look into their own admissions practices and how their policies shape access to their school.
Texas and California, among other states, use guaranteed admissions programs (i.e., “percent plans”). Direct admissions programs guarantee admission to the state public universities for the students who graduate in the top of their class from public high schools in the state. Some state colleges have direct admissions programs, which let in top-performing students from their state without an application.
Bans on affirmative action programs and the SFFA ruling did not ban efforts to get talented students to join a college or university class, with the goal of equal opportunity to compete for admission. Some public universities in states that stopped admissions practices that specifically consider race have invested in recruitment efforts aimed at ensuring that students of all backgrounds apply.
Colleges and universities must continue to collect data on the race, class, and gender identities of their applicants and students. This data is key to making sure college application practices meet each college and university’s goals for an inclusive and diverse student body. However, it’s important that this data should not be weaponized to attack schools or pressure schools to limit holistic admissions practices.
Admissions for Democratic Merit Brief
There is no one solution to stopping race, class, and gender biases in college admissions, or to centering the merit of each individual college applicant. However, leaders who value a healthy and diverse society have a responsibility to ensure that talented students of every race, class, and gender have a fair shot. Civic leaders, elected officials, and administrative leaders can encourage and support higher education leaders and hold them accountable to these values. Through this, we can all achieve our vision of democratic merit.
LDF’s Equal Protection Initiative (EPI) works to protect and advance efforts to remove barriers to opportunity for Black people in the economy, our educational systems, and other areas. Learn more about LDF’s efforts to push back against efforts to close educational opportunities and ensure equal opportunity for all.
This report shows how Black educators are vital assets in improving educational outcomes, creating a more positive school climate, and preparing the next generation to create a more just and inclusive society
Access to a quality postsecondary education can play a role in mitigating economic outcomes, which makes affirmative action a powerful tool for promoting intergenerational advantage where it has been severely lacking.
This brief investigates the role of student protests in advancing justice and the impact of subsequent backlash to student protest movements.
