On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in college admissions. Affirmative action is the process of considering race in evaluating admissions candidates, particularly prevalent at highly selective universities.
Many have been upset with this ruling. President Biden during a White House press conference said that he “strongly, strongly” disagreed with the court’s ruling and urged colleges to seek other routes to diversity rather than let the ruling “be the last word” (AP News). The law has been in place for 45 years and now with this overturning, students who are applying to colleges across the country are left wondering how this will affect their application process and where they will be attending college next year.
Greg Cuddy, a guidance counselor at MHS, answered a few questions regarding what we can expect to come out of this decision. When asked how this might affect the upcoming application cycle for specific applicants, he made it clear there isn’t a straight answer. “It’s [going to] be hard to tell, it’s one of those things where I think we are [going to] have to wait and see how things shake out as we get through the application process.” Generally, however, Cuddy says admissions for the Class of ‘24 won’t be any more unpredictable than that of recent admissions cycles with affirmative action as the process, by nature, is unpredictable.
“One thing I do know,” says Cuddy, “is that this [decision] unfortunately wasn’t a surprise. It’s sort of been something that was brewing for a while, and it was predicted that it may be a decision that the Supreme Court comes to.” That means that “schools were prepared for it and had plans in place,” and will look to implement the planned new admissions formulas so that they can “continue to create diverse campuses and bring students in from various backgrounds.”
Some students may be worried that this will affect their application, but Cuddy assures that this won’t be the case, encouraging students not to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about race-based admissions. “I don’t think [the admissions landscape] is going to change a ton,” he said. “I think that there’s a myth out there that students of color were being accepted into universities, and… were… not necessarily qualified to [be accepted], or [the myth that their] scores [were] way lower than other students.”
Cuddy said, assuringly, “that just flat out is not the case.” He says that what will most likely be impacted is the way that a college reads an application. In order to bring diversity to campus, they will have to turn to writing supplements, extracurricular experience, or letters of recommendation to get a clear look on how racial diversity shapes an applicant, rather than a box that can be checked. In this case, authenticity wins. Cuddy says “the best thing for all students to do is to make sure that their application represents the things that are important to [them].”
It may be cliche, but now more than ever, it’s important advice.
Rami Larned (‘24), a senior in the depths of the college process, felt that ending affirmative action could be a positive change, saying “I like how it’s fighting for equal…opportunities for everyone and how it disregards race, sex, color, religion, and gender identity.” She later mentions “when I toured my top school, I saw diversity: people of color, different races, and different ethnicities,” an aspect of campus she doesn’t see changing. “It showed me that the school doesn’t discriminate. In fact, it tells me that they want diversity and that they…encourage everyone, no matter race, color, or ethnicity, to apply to their school.”
No matter what personal belief seniors hold about this change, there are plenty of resources available. Mr. Cuddy explains that “how colleges are going to read applications is out of our control. What is in our control is putting together the best application for each student, and that’s what all of us are able to do, counselors and students involved, working as a team.”
