The Impact of Admissions Changes at Amherst and Tufts
In the charming college town of Amherst, Massachusetts, things are feeling a bit different as the new academic year kicks off. The buzz around campus is all about the notable shifts in the diversity of student bodies at two prestigious institutions — Amherst College and Tufts University. Fresh data reveals that both schools have seen a drop in the percentage of Black freshmen enrolling this year, a trend that many believe is linked to the recent Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action in college admissions.
What’s Happening?
Let’s break it down: the Supreme Court made some big waves last June when it decided to end race-conscious admissions policies, stirring up conversations about how colleges approach diversity. Both Amherst and Tufts have reported that this decision seems to be having a real impact. At Amherst College, the share of Black students in the incoming class has fallen sharply from 11% to just 3% this year. That’s a decrease of a whopping 8 percentage points! And it doesn’t stop there—Hispanic student enrollment also went down, from 12% to 8%.
What’s interesting is that, while the numbers for students of color have dropped, the percentage of white students has gone up. At Amherst, for example, white student enrollment surged from 33% to 39%. Not too shabby for that group, right? Asian American student numbers also saw a slight rise, going up from 18% to 20%.
Tufts University Sees Similar Trends
Moving over to Tufts University, they’re not faring much better. For the incoming class of 2028, Black student representation has fallen from 7.3% to 4.7%. Meanwhile, white students have increased in numbers from 46.8% to 49.3%, reflecting a similar trend. Even Asian American students dipped slightly from 20.3% to 19.7%.
What Are the Schools Saying?
Amherst’s Dean of Admissions, Matthew L. McGann, shared some thoughts on this issue. He mentioned that due to the Supreme Court’s decision, “the incoming class is not as racially diverse as recent classes have been.” This sentiment echoes the concerns voiced by many educators and advocates who fear that the ruling could lead to a long-lasting impact on the diversity of college campuses across the country.
MIT Joins the Conversation
But it’s not just Amherst and Tufts feeling the pinch. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently released its own numbers, and the results were equally concerning. Black student enrollment plummeted from 15% to 5%, while Hispanic and Latino student percentages dropped from 16% to 11%. This early evidence raises eyebrows and prompts many questions about what the future holds for campus diversity.
Looking Ahead
As we move deeper into the academic year, it’s clear that the effects of the Supreme Court’s ruling are starting to ripple through these elite colleges. The admissions data from Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, two institutions central to the ruling, are still awaited, leaving many to wonder how they will measure up in terms of diversity.
This year in Amherst and beyond, it seems like there’s a bigger conversation happening about the importance of diversity and representation at our nation’s academic institutions. It’s a conversation that’s likely to grow louder as students, educators, and parents alike consider what it means for the future of higher education.
