When Colleges Drop Affirmative Action: Trends in Admissions Policies and Student Enrollment at Selective U.S. Institutions, 1990-2016

Abstract

Scholarship on elite American colleges has identified the rise and persistence of a “diversity imperative” – an institution’s perceived need to enroll racially heterogeneous student bodies to maintain its status in the field. At the same time, a significant proportion of selective institutions have stopped considering race in admissions. To understand the relationship between affirmative action and enrollment, we analyze enrollment trends by race at 973 competitive institutions in states without affirmative action bans from 1990-2016. We find that considering race is associated with an increase in Black and Latinx enrollments at more competitive institutions. At less competitive schools, considering race is associated with a decrease in Black and Latinx enrollments, and an increase in White and Asian/Pacific Islander enrollments. The results indicate that the relationship between affirmative action in admissions and enrollment demographics varies by institutional competitiveness; considering race does not necessarily translate into higher Black or Latinx enrollments or lower White and API enrollments