Yale, Princeton, and Duke's Admissions Controversy in 2023

In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in SFFA, which prohibited racial preferences in college admissions, elite universities in the United States have experienced notable shifts in their enrollment demographics. While many institutions saw a decline in black and Hispanic student enrollment alongside an increase in Asian-American students, Yale, Princeton, and Duke diverged from this trend. At these three universities, black student enrollment remained stable, while Asian-American enrollment decreased. Yale, however, reported an increase in Hispanic student enrollment, contrasting with flat numbers at Princeton and Duke. Legal scholar Sonja Starr suggests that the enrollment patterns at these universities may not indicate wrongdoing. She proposes three alternative explanations: first, that fewer Asian-American students may have chosen to attend these schools in favor of other elite institutions; second, that a significant number of students at Duke and Princeton opted not to disclose their race, potentially skewing the statistics; and third, that universities can legally pursue racial diversity without relying on racial preferences. Despite these explanations, skepticism remains regarding the consistency of enrollment figures across these institutions. Critics point out that the schools had previously asserted in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court that achieving similar diversity without racial preferences was impossible. This raises questions about whether they were aware of alternative methods to maintain diversity or if they had simply not attempted them before. The implications of these findings are significant, as they challenge the narrative surrounding the impact of the Supreme Court's ruling on college admissions and the ongoing debate about racial diversity in higher education.