Credit: From MIT website
The Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE) has praised the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for what it calls positive changes in its admissions practices, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ban on race-based admissions.
The Class of 2028 at MIT will see an increase in Asian American enrollment from 40% to 47%, a 17.5% rise compared to previous figures.
The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to prohibit race from being a factor in college admissions has led to a significant reduction in the representation of Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander students at MIT. The incoming freshman class is now 5% Black, 11% Hispanic, 1% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 0% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, down from a combined 31% in the past four years. Meanwhile, white students remain at approximately 37% of the class, consistent with previous years.
AACE President Yukong Zhao expressed enthusiasm about the changes, stating, “We are very excited to see equal education rights and meritocracy prevail again in America. Selecting and educating the best and brightest will benefit all Americans who strive to achieve their American Dreams.”
The AACE credited the efforts of Students for Fair Admissions and its founder, Edward Blum, alongside over 300 Asian organizations and students who supported legal challenges against Harvard and the University of North Carolina. These actions were pivotal in influencing the Supreme Court’s decision.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth acknowledged the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the institution’s diversity goals, stating, “The class is, as always, outstanding across multiple dimensions. But what it does not bring, as a consequence of last year’s Supreme Court decision, is the same degree of broad racial and ethnic diversity that the MIT community has worked together to achieve over the past several decades.”
Before the Supreme Court ruling, MIT used race-based admissions to find applicants from underrepresented minorities in order to build a diverse student body.
Kornbluth said going forward, MIT will better advertise its generous financial aid and invest in expanding access to science and math education for young students across the country to mitigate their enrollment gaps.
Zero surprises here. Expect schools who were not in favor of the Courts ruling to be less forthcoming about the racial makeup of their incoming classes. Regardless of the feelings of the admissions committees at these schools who actively denied over qualified Asian applicants, meritocracy rightfully takes precedent in academia.