1 year after the end of affirmative action in college admissions, my identity is more important than ever

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.

In spring 2024, Her Campus surveyed 340 Gen Z members on the one-year anniversary of the lifting of race-conscious college admission restrictions. Only half of respondents said they had talked to their friends about affirmative action—we’re here to inspire more conversations.

When I applied to college as a high school senior, the application forms resembled those for nearly every standardized test I’d ever taken in my life. Name. Date of birth. Gender. Ethnicity. Race. Filling out these fields has never had any effect on me, I thought, why should that change now? I didn’t yet realize how much these few questions could impact the course of my college career.

I didn’t realize the significance until the universities I applied to asked me more questions about my family history, educational background, and household income. “First generation” was suddenly a term I seemed to have stamped on my forehead in bright red letters. I learned that my background meant more than just financial support; it was a set of labels that opened doors for me – even ones I might not have otherwise known existed.

As a black student who later attended a predominantly white institution, I’ve seen this reflected in a number of job offers, financial aid offers, and resources that I may not have received had I not been considered whole—with all of my labels—when applying to school. Between high school and college, I went from a stage of not really thinking about my labels to one where I really value them. But now, in the wake of the rollback of affirmative action in college admissions, they unfortunately take on a completely different meaning.

To bring you up to speed, Affirmative Action began in the 1960s as a set of policies and initiatives aimed at increasing the representation of historically marginalized groups in education and employment. Over the decades, it has played a critical role in enabling students from diverse backgrounds to access higher education by promoting diversity and inclusion within academic communities. For many students, myself included, there was a sense of hope and possibility knowing that there were systems in place designed to ensure equal opportunity within academia.

However, on June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court officially struck down the race-conscious admissions policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, effectively ending affirmative action in all college admissions programs. This ruling has caused significant concern on my campus over the past year. Parallel to the implementation of Senate Bill 17 in the state of Texas, which restricts diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public institutions, I have found that the end of affirmative action has sparked a tangible shift in conversations about diversity among student advocacy groups, my own friends, and many minority faculty on campus.

Many of us are worried about the future of equal admissions, and this uncertainty is extremely troubling for me as I plan to apply to graduate school. As a rising junior, I don’t have to apply until spring 2025, but I’ve already begun researching programs that are the best fit for me, my studies, and my comfort level as a Black woman. I’m also very worried about how the loss of affirmative action will impact my application process.

Affirmative Action was critical because it recognized the unique challenges students like me face and considered the inherent value we can bring to institutions. As an African American woman attending a predominantly white institution and the first college student in her family from a single-parent household, my path has been marked by overcoming significant obstacles, from navigating academic environments where I often felt like an outsider to breaking barriers as a minority in predominantly white spaces. These experiences have given me resilience, a strong work ethic, and a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in every field I serve. But without Affirmative Action in my graduate school application, I fear so much of what I bring to the table will be overlooked or lost in the shuffle.

This is why entering graduate school is incredibly daunting. I wonder if my efforts will be enough. Will admissions committees recognize the depth and breadth of my accomplishments in the context of the challenges I have faced? Or will they overlook the unique perspectives I bring because my race can no longer be a factor in their considerations?

It’s easy to question the role my identity plays in my ability to get accepted to a good school. But instead of making me feel worse, these concerns drive me to focus even more on showcasing all of my labels in my graduate school applications. Since I plan to attend an MFA program, my application materials allow me to do so in creative ways and through a variety of mediums. For example, I want to use my creative statement of purpose and portfolio not only to showcase my work, but also to convey the rich, diverse story that defines me. The lack of affirmative action may not allow me to check a box to indicate crucial aspects of my identity, but it cannot stop me from clearly and firmly presenting how my diverse background enriches my potential as a student, artist, and human being.

I hope that those like me can muster similar strength and determination to get through this new era of college admissions. On a larger scale, I hope for a future where equitable admissions is rooted not just in policy, but in a genuine appreciation of the value that diversity brings to the world of education—a world where students of all backgrounds have equal opportunities to succeed, where labels, while recognized as valuable, do not define a person’s entire identity. Because everyone deserves the chance to pursue higher education as their whole, authentic self.