On June 29, the Supreme Court Ruled 6-3 that the race-conscious admission policies of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution.
The decision means that universities can no longer consider race in addition to other factors when admitting students, ending 40-plus years of affirmative action policies to achieve greater racial diversity at top-tier colleges.
Colleges and universities that consider race do so as part of a holistic approach that reviews every aspect of applications, including grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities. Notably, more than 40% of American universities and 60% of selective schools consider race to some extent when making admissions decisions, according to Harvard's documents filed in court.
Why Academic-Focused Admissions is Challenging
With or without affirmative action, academic institutions must build graduating classes that reflect the community they serve, and it’s clear that academic-based standardized tests are problematic regarding equity and diversity.
Research highlights the bias inherent in traditional, academic-based standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, and MCAT, showing how racialized students and students with low socioeconomic status often score lower than students who are white and/or more economically privileged.
The Black, Latin(o/a/x), and Native groups experience bias from standardized tests administered from early childhood through college. Students with a more socioeconomically privileged background have more money, time, and resources to help them succeed.
While test-based and/or “neutral admissions” seem fair, they are deeply flawed because they don’t consider the student’s context for educational opportunity. Stanford University Professor Sean Reardon identified a gap of over four grade levels in academic performance between America’s most affluent and least affluent students.
“On average white students score one and [a] half or more grade levels higher than black and Hispanic students enrolled in socioeconomically similar school districts,” Reardon explains.
As a result, many colleges and universities recently did away with standardized testing requirements and are turning to holistic admissions. Currently, over three-quarters of colleges are not requiring either of these tests for admission this fall, and more than 400 Ph.D. programs have dropped the GRE.
In race-conscious holistic admissions, test scores and GPAs are looked at alongside other relevant information, including extracurricular activities, professional experiences, awards, and community service.
The key to holistic admissions is not in the unrealistic expectation that admissions officers will be able to evaluate every aspect of a student’s background. Instead, they will see the student as the total of their submitted materials rather than a data point.
“Considering other factors in addition to test scores, such as past accomplishments, work experiences, extracurricular activities, community service, and other types of assessments (such as those offered by Student Select AI), would also likely improve prediction by considering the total candidate more holistically,” Michael Campion, Ph.D., Herman C. Krannert, Distinguished Professor of Management, stated in a recent Student Select AI interview.
Universities Focused on Diversity Turn to Holistic Approaches
Diversity in higher education is still possible without affirmative action. The promise of a “holistic review” has become ubiquitous in higher education admissions, with many colleges now emphasizing that applicants will be considered based on all of their materials.
Even without Affirmative Action, UC Davis School of Medicine’s Class of 2026 is the most diverse medical school in America, next to Howard (a historically Black university), and Florida International (which primarily serves the Hispanic community). This achievement was made by focusing on holistic admission policies, in this case, by considering applicants' socioeconomic status alongside academic testing scores.
Following the ruling, leaders from both Harvard and Brown have reasserted their commitment to fostering diverse student bodies. Harvard University’s admission website states, “Harvard seeks to assemble an extraordinary and diverse class of undergraduate students by conducting a wide-ranging review of every aspect of each applicant’s background and experience.”
Similarly, Brown University asserts: “Brown considers each application holistically and individually, making admission decisions on a case-by-case basis to build a class that is both academically talented and reflective of the diverse range of perspectives and experiences essential for a world-class learning and research community.”
Are Holistic Admissions Really achievable?
In a recent op-ed for The New York Times, Jeffrey Selingo wrote: “Since nearly all these selective colleges promise that applicants will get a holistic review, not one based only on grades or a test score (if submitted), their admissions staffs are under pressure to wade through a rising pile of applications — with their essays, recommendation, and laundry lists of activities — in the same amount of time as before.”
In short, if one defines “holistic review” as full consideration of all aspects of an applicant, it is no small undertaking – especially as colleges receive more applications than ever.
How Can AI Facilitate Holistic Admissions?
Traditional applicant review processes are extremely time intensive, making a truly holistic review for a large group of applicants extremely difficult.
However, leveraging technology to more broadly analyze applicants’ skills and competencies beyond traditional application data points – and to do it faster and more consistently than human raters – can help make a more holistic admissions process attainable.
One promising option involves using explainable AI algorithms – like Student Select AI – that consider various factors, including grades, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, and recommendations. And these algorithms can be validated to ensure absence of human bias, helping to drive a more efficient, equitable and holistic admissions process.
With AI taking over the more tedious, repeatable data-driven tasks, admissions staff can focus their time on a more thorough holistic review of each applicant – this approach also enables admissions teams to better identify candidates with a high potential for success, who may fall short of some of the more traditional qualifications.
“The goal of holistic admissions is to look at the strengths and attributes about applicants that go beyond the traditional admissions criteria, like test scores and GPA. AI provides an opportunity to provide those insights in a consistent, reliable, and unbiased way across all applicants. With Student Select AI, for example, we analyze admissions essays and interviews to provide additional insights that admissions selectors didn’t have access to before,” William Rose, CTO at Student Select AI, said in a recent interview.
“This includes certain skills, competencies, and personality traits that have proven to be predictive of future academic and professional success, which equips admissions selectors with better information to make holistic admissions decisions.”
Is your admissions program ready to move away from traditional success metrics to measure what really matters?
Schedule a live demo today to see first-hand how Student Select AI reduces time-to-decision while providing a holistic, unbiased view of each candidate and ultimately driving better admissions decisions and diversity outcomes.
