Trump orders colleges to prove they don't consider race in admissions
[August 08, 2025]
By ANNIE MA and JOCELYN GECKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Colleges will be required to submit data to prove they
do not consider race in admissions under a new policy ordered Thursday
by President Donald Trump.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of affirmative action
in admissions but said colleges may still consider how race has shaped
students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions
essays.
Trump is accusing colleges of using personal statements and other
proxies to consider race, which conservatives view as illegal
discrimination.
The role of race in admissions has featured in the Trump
administration's battle against some of the nation's most elite colleges
— viewed by Republicans as liberal hotbeds. For example, the new policy
is similar to parts of recent settlement agreements the government
negotiated with Brown University and Columbia University, restoring
their federal research money. The universities agreed to give the
government data on the race, grade point average and standardized test
scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. The
schools also agreed to be audited by the government and to release
admissions statistics to the public.
Trump says colleges may be skirting SCOTUS ruling
Conservatives have argued that despite the Supreme Court ruling,
colleges have continued to consider race.
"The persistent lack of available data — paired with the rampant use of
‘diversity statements’ and other overt and hidden racial proxies —
continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in
admissions decisions in practice,” says the memorandum signed by Trump.
The memo directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to require colleges
to report more data “to provide adequate transparency into admissions.”
The National Center for Education Statistics will collect new data,
including the race and sex of colleges' applicants, admitted students
and enrolled students, the Education Department said in a statement.
If colleges fail to submit timely, complete and accurate data, McMahon
can take action under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965,
which outlines requirements for colleges receiving federal financial aid
for students, according to the memo.
It is unclear what practical impact the executive order will have on
colleges. Current understanding of federal law prohibits them from
collecting information on race as part of admissions, said Jon Fansmith,
senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on
Education, an association of college presidents.
“Ultimately, will it mean anything? Probably not,” Fansmith said. “But
it does continue this rhetoric from the administration that some
students are being preferenced in the admission process at the expense
of other students.”
Because of the Supreme Court ruling, colleges have been barred from
asking the race of students who are applying, Fansmith said. Once
students enroll, the schools can ask about race, but students must be
told they have a right not to answer. In this political climate, many
students won’t report their race, Fansmith said. So when schools release
data on student demographics, the figures often give only a partial
picture of the campus makeup.
Diversity changed at some colleges — but not all
The first year of admissions data after the Supreme Court ruling showed
no clear pattern in how colleges' diversity changed. Results varied
dramatically from one campus to the next.
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President Donald Trump makes an announcement about Apple with Apple
CEO Tim Cook in the Oval Office, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Some schools, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
Amherst College, saw steep drops in the percentage of Black students
in their incoming classes. But at other elite, selective schools
such as Yale, Princeton and the University of Virginia, the changes
were less than a percentage point year to year.
Some colleges have added more essays or personal statements to their
admissions process to get a better picture of an applicant's
background, a strategy the Supreme Court invited in its ruling.
“Nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicant’s
discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, so long as
that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or
unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the
university,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in 2023 for the
court’s conservative majority.
As an alternative to affirmative action, colleges for years have
tried a range of strategies to achieve the diversity they say is
essential to their campuses.
Many have given greater preference to low-income families. Others
started admitting top students from every community in their state.
Prior to the ruling, nine states had banned affirmative action,
starting with California in 1996. The University of California saw
enrollment change after the statewide ban in 1996. Within two years,
Black and Hispanic enrollments fell by half at the system’s two most
selective campuses — Berkeley and UCLA. The system would go on to
spend more than $500 million on programs aimed at low-income and
first-generation college students.
The 10-campus University of California system also started a program
that promises admission to the top 9% of students in each high
school across the state, an attempt to reach strong students from
all backgrounds. A similar promise in Texas has been credited for
expanding racial diversity, and opponents of affirmative action cite
it as a successful model.
In California, the promise drew students from a wider geographic
area but did little to expand racial diversity, the system said in a
brief to the Supreme Court. It had almost no impact at Berkeley and
UCLA, where students compete against tens of thousands of other
applicants.
Today at UCLA and Berkeley, Hispanic students make up 20% of
undergraduates, higher than in 1996 but lower than their 53% share
among California’s high school graduates. Black students, meanwhile,
have a smaller presence than they did in 1996, accounting for 4% of
undergraduates at Berkeley.
After Michigan voters rejected affirmative action in 2006, the
University of Michigan shifted attention to low-income students.
The school sent graduates to work as counselors in low-income high
schools and started offering college prep in Detroit and Grand
Rapids. It offered full scholarships for low-income Michigan
residents and, more recently, started accepting fewer early
admission applications, which are more likely to come from white
students.
Despite the University of Michigan's efforts, the share of Black and
Hispanic undergraduates hasn’t fully rebounded from a falloff after
2006. And while Hispanic enrollments have been increasing, Black
enrollments continued to slide, going from 8% of undergraduates in
2006 to 4% in 2025.
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