{"id":2572534,"date":"2026-02-23T09:03:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T14:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/surprise-basing-college-admissions-on-merit-instead-of-skin-is-good-for-everyone\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T09:09:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T14:09:52","slug":"surprise-basing-college-admissions-on-merit-instead-of-skin-is-good-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/surprise-basing-college-admissions-on-merit-instead-of-skin-is-good-for-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Basing College Admission On Merit Instead Of Skin Helps All Of Us"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsurprise-basing-college-admissions-on-merit-instead-of-skin-is-good-for-everyone%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2572534&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reassesses the impact of the Supreme Court\u2019s 2023 ban on affirmative action in college admissions by contrasting early warnings with newer, broader data. A January 2026 report by James Murphy for class action analyzes 2024 freshmen across more then 3,000 colleges using federal data and presents a more mixed but broadly positive picture for racial diversity. It finds that underrepresented minority (URM) enrollment rose at many less\u2011selective institutions (which account for over 90% of four\u2011year colleges),while White and Asian enrollment remained stable. Highly selective flagship state universities saw notable URM gains\u2014Black freshmen up about 30% at LSU and 50% at the University of Mississippi; Hispanic freshmen up more than 33% at Tennessee and South Carolina.Some growth also occurred at less\u2011selective private schools (e.g., Syracuse University), though there was a small dip in Black enrollment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).<\/p>\n<p>The broader trend suggests the affirmative action ban did not deter URMs from pursuing higher education and that diversity can grow even as preferences end. Murphy acknowledges concerns that pushing URMs into less\u2011selective schools could affect graduation rates and lifetime earnings, given that historically selective institutions have higher outcomes. However, California\u2019s Proposition 209 experience is highlighted as a counterexample: after an initial decline, URM portrayal in UC campuses rose system\u2011wide (Hispanic from 15% to 23%; Asian from 28% to 37%; Black roughly steady), and four\u2011year and six\u2011year graduation rates for URMs rose significantly, attributed to better \u201cstudent\u2013college matching\u201d under race\u2011neutral policies.<\/p>\n<p>The piece notes that the NAACP and political leaders criticized the ruling, but the data imply increased diversity without harming any single group. It argues for a meritocracy-based approach that emphasizes planning, opportunity, and fair competition, suggesting that race\u2011neutral admissions can advance both equity and overall student success.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Following the U.S. Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/22pdf\/20-1199_hgdj.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard<\/em> (2023<\/a>), which&nbsp;banned&nbsp;affirmative action in college admissions, many experts, university officials, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-biden-unveils-immigration-bill-leftwing-activists-call-for-end-to-filibuster-to-ram-it-through\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Biden Unveils Immigration Bill, Leftwing Activists Call For End To Filibuster To Ram It Through\">civil rights advocates<\/a>, and government leaders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/supreme-court\/key-civil-rights-groups-blast-supreme-court-sharply-curtailing-affirma-rcna91829\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warned<\/a> about sharp declines in black and Hispanic enrollment.&nbsp;Yet&nbsp;a new&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/c\/\/Users\/bridg\/Downloads\/The%20Future%20of%20Fair%20Admissions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>&nbsp;suggests&nbsp;that these predictions were overly pessimistic and&nbsp;failed to&nbsp;reflect the full scope of the situation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Unlike&nbsp;early&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcax.com\/2025\/10\/24\/black-enrollment-is-waning-many-elite-colleges-after-affirmative-action-ban-ap-analysis-finds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">analyses<\/a>&nbsp;that concentrated solely on underrepresented minority (URM) enrollment at a handful of prestigious institutions like Harvard and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c8rxvd2z6ldo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MIT<\/a>,&nbsp;James Murphy&rsquo;s January 2026 report for Class Action &mdash; a nonprofit advocating equity in higher education &mdash; examined 2024 freshman enrollment at more than 3,000 colleges and universities using federal&nbsp;data,&nbsp;offering&nbsp;a more balanced view of the enrollment landscape&nbsp;after the Supreme Court decision.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Before anyone accuses the report of being influenced by right-wing bias, it is important to note that Murphy&nbsp;professes his leftist views&nbsp;at&nbsp;the beginning of the report. He&nbsp;believes that&nbsp;race-conscious&nbsp;admissions are necessary&nbsp;for URM students and that the Supreme Court&rsquo;s affirmative action ban harms long-term well-being of URM students. Despite his ideological stance, Murphy deserves credit for&nbsp;not omitting&nbsp;results that contradict his views, even if he&nbsp;attempts&nbsp;to rationalize them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The report highlights a significant trend: Highly selective colleges in the U.S. (which admit only 8 percent of the student population across all four-year institutions) have experienced a decline in enrollment of URM students &mdash; particularly black students. But many less-selective institutions (which account for more than 90 percent of four-year colleges and universities) are welcoming more URM students, leading to a remarkable increase in their enrollment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Flagship&nbsp;state&nbsp;universities&nbsp;especially experienced&nbsp;standout gains: Enrollment of black freshmen climbed 30 percent&nbsp;at LSU and 50 percent&nbsp;at the University of Mississippi; Hispanic freshmen were up more than 33 percent at Tennessee and South Carolina. Less-selective private colleges&nbsp;like Syracuse&nbsp;University also experienced 17 percent&nbsp;growth in&nbsp;black&nbsp;first-year students, and&nbsp;Hispanic&nbsp;freshmen&nbsp;increased 45 percent&nbsp;at the University of&nbsp;Miami.&nbsp;The only exception to this growing trend&nbsp;is&nbsp;a puzzling&nbsp;small&nbsp;dip in black enrollment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The overall increase of URMs at most colleges and universities suggests that the ban on affirmative action did not&nbsp;discourage URMs&nbsp;from&nbsp;seeking&nbsp;and obtaining&nbsp;higher education, as many critics of the ruling warned.&nbsp;Additionally,&nbsp;white&nbsp;and Asian enrollment remained stable during this period,&nbsp;indicating&nbsp;that the rise in URM enrollment&nbsp;resulted in&nbsp;organic growth rather than a zero-sum shift. Even Murphy&nbsp;had to&nbsp;acknowledge that colleges and universities&nbsp;have become&nbsp;more racially diverse than&nbsp;many&nbsp;anticipated&nbsp;after the Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Instead of celebrating this trend, Murphy expressed concern about&nbsp;the cascading effect: The ban on affirmative action has resulted in more URMs&nbsp;attending less-selective schools instead of highly competitive ones. This shift could negatively affect their graduation rates and lifetime&nbsp;earnings. His argument is based on the observation that, historically, highly selective institutions have higher graduation rates than other schools, and graduates from these institutions tend to earn more over their lifetimes compared to graduates from less-selective schools. However, the data from California&rsquo;s experience with the affirmative action ban suggests a corrective for this perspective.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After California voters in 1996 passed&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/California_Proposition_209,_Affirmative_Action_Initiative_(1996)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Proposition 209<\/a>, which prohibited affirmative action in public institutions (including public universities),&nbsp;black and Hispanic enrollment initially fell at&nbsp;highly selective University of California campuses, that is,&nbsp;UC&nbsp;Berkeley and UCLA. Over time, however, UC system-wide Hispanic representation&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoover.org\/research\/restoring-racial-preferences-will-harm-many-who-are-supposed-be-helped\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rose<\/a>&nbsp;from 15 percent&nbsp;to 23 percent&nbsp;by 2014, Asian from 28 percent&nbsp;to 37 percent, and blacks held steady &mdash; boosting overall diversity.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>More strikingly, URM four-year graduation rates jumped from 31 percent&nbsp;pre-Prop 209&nbsp;to 55 percent, and six-year&nbsp;graduation&nbsp;rates&nbsp;surged to&nbsp;75 percent.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w18523\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Research<\/a>&nbsp;by Peter Arcidiacono and his fellow authors attributes much of the improvement&nbsp;to&nbsp;better&nbsp;&ldquo;student-college matching.&rdquo;&nbsp;The researchers argue that the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >past race-based college admission approach inadvertently harmed<\/a> some of the very URM students it aimed to&nbsp;assist&nbsp;by placing them in highly selective institutions where they might struggle to keep pace with the academic rigor. <\/p>\n<p>Such a mismatch often led to URMs&rsquo; lower grades and higher dropout rates. In contrast,&nbsp;race-neutral policies placed&nbsp;URMs&nbsp;in environments matching their preparation, reducing frustration, major switches, and dropouts while enhancing learning and completion.&nbsp;Essentially, race-neutral&nbsp;admissions foster better fits, prioritizing success over symbolic diversity on college campuses.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Murphy&rsquo;s snapshot is early and only focuses on enrollment data alone. Over time, as more data&nbsp;emerges&nbsp;on persistence, graduation, and careers,&nbsp;patterns like California&rsquo;s suggest positive long-term effects&nbsp;for URMs&nbsp;from better matching nationwide.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, the NAACP&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/supreme-court\/key-civil-rights-groups-blast-supreme-court-sharply-curtailing-affirma-rcna91829\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">condemned<\/a>&nbsp;the Supreme Court&rsquo;s decision, predicting it would &ldquo;turn back the clock&rdquo; on racial progress. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/supreme-court\/live-blog\/supreme-court-decisions-live-updates-rcna91671\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accused<\/a>&nbsp;the court of&nbsp;ignoring history and&nbsp;data, and&nbsp;denying opportunities to URM.&nbsp;However, the broader enrollment data now offers a compelling counterargument. Instead of hindering diversity, the end of race-based preferences&nbsp;appears to enhance&nbsp;racial diversity within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-disturbing-reports-of-college-professors-selling-american-secrets-to-china\/\" title=\"5 Disturbing ...s Of College Professors Selling American Secrets To China\">higher education system<\/a>, without disadvantage to any racial group. <\/p>\n<p>This evidence shows that the Supreme Court&rsquo;s ban on affirmative action is not a setback; instead, it&nbsp;facilitates&nbsp;improved outcomes for all.&nbsp;It is clear that a meritocracy-based approach benefits every student.&nbsp;We must shift our focus from ideological conflicts to what truly matters: empowering every student to thrive through preparation, opportunity, and fair competition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Helen Raleigh, CFA, is an American entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She&#8217;s a senior contributor at The Federalist. Her writings appear in other national media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Helen is the author of several books, including &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confucius-Never-Said-Helen-Raleigh\/dp\/1499185278\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Helen+Raleigh+Confucius+Never+Said&amp;qid=1606079469&amp;sr=8-1\">Confucius Never Said<\/a>&#8221; and &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Backlash-How-Chinas-Aggression-Backfired\/dp\/1736008501\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1606006113&amp;sr=8-1\">Backlash: How Communist China&#8217;s Aggression Has Backfired<\/a>.&#8221; Her latest book is &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Not-Outsiders-Americans-political-activism\/dp\/1736008552\">Not Outsiders: Asian Americans&rsquo; political activism from the 19th century to today<\/a>.&rdquo; Follow her on Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase of the article:<\/p>\n<p>Since the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, many warned Black and Hispanic enrollment would plummet. A January 2026 Class Action report by James Murphy, analyzing 2024 freshman enrollments across more than 3,000 colleges with federal data, offers a more nuanced picture. Murphy\u2014who identifies as left-leaning\u2014presents findings that challenge some dire predictions. Highly selective colleges (about 8% of four-year schools) saw declines in URMs, especially Black students, while less-selective institutions (over 90% of campuses) enrolled more URMs, producing a net increase in URM enrollment. Notable gains include Black freshmen up 30% at LSU and 50% at Ole Miss; Black enrollment at Syracuse up 17%; and Hispanic freshmen up 33% at Tennessee and South Carolina. The University of Miami saw a 45% rise in Hispanic first-years. A small dip in Black enrollment at HBCUs is the main exception. Overall URMs rose, while White and Asian enrollments remained stable, suggesting no zero-sum shift and greater diversity overall. Murphy warns about potential downstream effects: if URMs cluster in less-selective schools, graduation rates and lifetime earnings could suffer, though California\u2019s post-Prop 209 experience shows that better student\u2013college matching\u2014rather than race-based placement\u2014improves outcomes. As more data on persistence and careers emerge, trends may reinforce the case for meritocracy and race-neutral admissions as expanding opportunity rather than limiting it.<\/p>\n<p>55-character limit line:<br \/>\nSCOTUS ban on AA raised fears about minority enrollment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":2572535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-Untitled-33.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[41586,60434,53980,74344,55076],"class_list":["post-2572534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-college-admissions","tag-diversity-and-inclusion","tag-education-equity","tag-inclusive-policies","tag-merit-based-admissions"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-Untitled-33.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572534"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572538,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572534\/revisions\/2572538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2572535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2572534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2572534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}