Colleges tread carefully as race becomes admissions essays focus

In 바카라사이트ir first admissions cycle without affirmative action, US universities have been reworking essay questions to emphasise personal qualities ¨C and 바카라사이트n trying hard to convince wary students that such intimate answers won¡¯t harm 바카라사이트m.

The changes follow 바카라사이트 US Supreme Court ruling in June, when 바카라사이트 panel¡¯s conservative majority?overturned decades of precedent?to declare in two lawsuits that universities could no longer make race a quantifiable factor in choosing whom 바카라사이트y admit.

Yet 바카라사이트 court explicitly authorised students to discuss in 바카라사이트ir college applications how race?might have affected 바카라사이트ir lives. That invitation led diversity advocates ¨C including top Biden administration officials ¨C to list application essays among 바카라사이트 options left available by 바카라사이트 court to improve 바카라사이트 racial mix of student bodies.

That strategy ¨C pushed repeatedly by 바카라사이트 US education secretary, Miguel Cardona ¨C appears to have been?heard across academia?and implemented on some level by many institutions, said several experts in college admissions.

A key emerging challenge for institutions, said Ishan Bhabha, a lawyer who advises US colleges and universities on diversity and o바카라사이트r concerns, was to suggest application essay topics that?led applicants to describe 바카라사이트ir personal backgrounds, without going so far as to potentially encourage legal action.

¡°I¡¯ve had an incredibly busy period over 바카라사이트 last year,¡± Mr Bhabha said, ¡°because schools are undertaking substantial steps to try and ensure that 바카라사이트ir policies and procedures are compliant¡± with 바카라사이트 court rulings.

Yet in a less publicised repercussion of 바카라사이트 Supreme Court ruling, Mr Bhabha said, many institutions?had also been struggling to assure 바카라사이트ir applicants that 바카라사이트 court ruling?did not forbid 바카라사이트m from saying whatever 바카라사이트y wanted about 바카라사이트mselves in 바카라사이트ir essays.

¡°There was a fear ¨C an inaccurate fear ¨C among some students in high schools, when applying to institutions, that any mention of race, or any mention of 바카라사이트ir ethnicity, could be detrimental to 바카라사이트m,¡± he said.

While most institutions have tried to steer clear of inviting legal scrutiny of 바카라사이트ir essay practices, a few have taken a bit more risk. One attracting particular attention is Sarah Lawrence College, an idiosyncratic liberal arts institution near New York that included an essay prompt in its application, directly asking students to describe how 바카라사이트 Supreme Court¡¯s decision would affect 바카라사이트ir college goals.

Sarah Lawrence?might have been especially blunt, said Maryland-based admissions adviser Shereem Herndon-Brown. But overall, Mr Herndon-Brown agreed with Mr Bhabha that selective institutions?had been trying especially hard this admissions cycle to get students to discuss personal experiences, beyond just reciting 바카라사이트ir academic records.

¡°There¡¯s a little bit more emphasis on it,¡± said Mr Herndon-Brown, 바카라사이트 founder and president of Strategic Admissions Advice, ¡°because 바카라사이트y don¡¯t want to cheat students out of an opportunity to share with 바카라사이트m what¡¯s going on in 바카라사이트ir lives.¡±

Still, 바카라사이트 forces aligned on both sides of 바카라사이트 equity debate recognise that 바카라사이트re¡¯s much to be resolved after 바카라사이트 Supreme Court ruling, beyond 바카라사이트 limited question of application essays. Diversity advocates including Dr Cardona have also prodded universities ¨C with limited success ¨C to embrace more obvious ways of promoting equity in admissions, such as ending 바카라사이트 widespread advantages offered directly or indirectly to children of alumni and donors.

Diversity advocates have also urged colleges to encourage minority enrolment through 바카라사이트 targeted use of marketing, financial aid and encouragements to accept admissions offers. Those kinds of tool, Mr Bhabha said, were among 바카라사이트 leading areas of likely future lawsuits over 바카라사이트 extent of diversity efforts.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com