In 2013, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed a lawsuit against Harvard University in the U.S. District Court in Boston. They alleged that Harvard’s undergraduate admission practices violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against Asian Americans. As an Asian American, I was intrigued.
After lower courts upheld Harvard’s limited use of race as a factor in admissions in 2019 and 2020—finding no evidence of ‘discriminatory animus’ or ‘conscious prejudice’—the Supreme Court reversed these rulings on June 29, 2023. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts declared that affirmative action in college admissions is unconstitutional.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action, I thought it would be fascinating to share the latest class profiles from MIT and Yale. Would anything change? I had my doubts. Both are among America’s top universities, with acceptance rates below 7%.
Getting into these schools is extremely difficult. Nevertheless, during my time working in finance in NYC and San Francisco, I became acquainted with many alumni from such prestigious institutions. I also encounter alumni from similar schools in the tech industry and among the parents at my children’s school.
MIT And Yale’s Class Demographics Assumptions
Given that Students for Fair Admissions believed White and Asian American applicants were being discriminated against in college admissions, you might assume the following about the incoming class demographics at MIT and Yale after the Supreme Court’s banning of affirmative action:
1) A decline in Black and Hispanic enrollment 2) An increase in White and Asian enrollment 3) A consistent demographic enrollment trend by race at both universities
If you thought these assumptions were correct, you’d be mistaken! Let’s examine the data.
Yale Demographics Profile Of Incoming Class Of 2028
Here’s what the Yale News reported:
According to the first-year