Application trends following the end of race-conscious admissions

In the 2023–24 application season, Common App studied data from nearly six million U.S. students to see if the Supreme Court’s ban on race-based admissions changed how they applied to college.

Key findings include:

• There were no meaningful changes in how students reported their race or ethnicity compared to earlier trends.
• Application volume, the number of applications per student, application rates to the most selective colleges, and average selectivity of applied-to schools all remained consistent across racial groups.
• The racial and ethnic composition of applicant pools stayed stable, with only a very slight dip in Asian representation among high-achieving applicants.
• Students referenced race or ethnicity in their essays at similar rates as before, with only slight increases among high-achieving underrepresented minority students and American Indian or Alaska Native students.

In short, the report finds that there have been no major changes in application trends or diversity since the admissions ban, at least through the first year after the court’s decision.