That is what happened at many colleges and universities.
But as schools have released data over the last few weeks, there have been some striking outliers.
At Yale University, for example, the share of Black students stayed the same.
And at Harvard, which was the target of a lawsuit charging it with discrimination against Asian students, the percentage of Asian students was unchanged, against the expectations of the plaintiffs.
They have also raised questions about admissions practices and who will get access to the nation’s most elite campuses in the future.
Black students have been most affected, their numbers declining at most highly selective schools.
Some have refused to release certain numbers, like the percentage of white students.
Schools have cautioned that this is only the first admissions season post-affirmative action.
They are still figuring out their approach, they say, and it could change in the future.
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Based on statistical modeling provided in court, it was anticipated that the percentage of Black students attending highly selective schools would decrease and the percentage of Asian American students would increase when the Supreme Court decided against race-conscious admissions.
In numerous colleges and universities, that is exactly what took place. Still, there have been some startling anomalies in the data that schools have released in recent weeks.
Black student enrollment at Yale University, for instance, remained constant. Their percentage went up at Duke. Moreover, the proportion of Asian students at Harvard, the subject of a lawsuit accusing it of discriminating against Asian students, remained constant, defying the plaintiffs’ expectations.
Experts and admissions officers are baffled by the results. Questions concerning future admissions procedures and who will be able to enroll in the most prestigious universities in the country have also been brought up by them.
Black students have suffered the most, with a decline in their enrollment at the majority of extremely selective schools. However, the decreases are not as significant as some colleges and universities had anticipated, raising questions about whether racial admissions policies were ever justified in the first place and what strategies colleges are employing to attract a diverse student body.
Universities have reported the data in a variety of ways, which complicates matters. A few have provided scant, in-depth details. Some modified the method of adding up the student categories. Some have declined to disclose specific figures, such as the proportion of students who identify as white. Since this is only the first admissions season following affirmative action, schools have issued warnings. According to them, they are still fine-tuning their strategy, so things might change later.
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