The share of Asian students at Brown University has risen this year following the Supreme Court’s strike down of affirmative action policies, according to data released by the university on Friday.
Asian enrollment in Brown’s incoming class increased from 29% to 33% compared to the fall of 2023, according to the university’s demographic data for the 2024-25 academic year. The Supreme Court deemed race-based admissions unconstitutional in June 2023 in a landmark decision, forcing universities to scrap affirmative action policies that discriminated against White and Asian students.
The share of Black, Hispanic and White students at Brown all decreased compared to the previous year, while the percentage of students declining to state their race increased from 4% to 7%. Among the 3,289 new students that entered Brown’s campus for the fall semester, 9% are Black, 10% are Hispanic and 43% are White. (RELATED: Elite Universities Ranked Lowest For Free Speech, Report Finds)
“Brown’s commitment to a diverse campus community in every sense remains unchanged, and the first step in admitting a diverse class is ensuring that talented students of every background apply,” Brown associate provost for enrollment and dean of undergraduate admission Logan Powell said in a statement. “Expanding race-neutral strategies to encourage outstanding and increasingly diverse incoming classes will remain our priority moving forward.”
Students and others gather at Harvard University’s Science Center Plaza to rally in support of Affirmative Action after the Supreme Court ruling on July 1, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
Brown changed its application process to reflect the Court’s ruling, replacing an essay prompt with one that asks students to detail “how an aspect of their growing up inspired or challenged them, and what unique contributions that experience would enable them to make at Brown.” The university will also reinstate a requirement for students to submit standardized test scores starting with the class of 2029, which will be interpreted “in the context of a student’s overall record, background and opportunities.”
“While some applicants focused on experiences related to their identity, others wrote about a range of topics in response to the new essay prompt — everything from the impacts of climate change and global conflict on their lives, to personal experiences and work in their own communities,” Powell said. “Ultimately, our goal was to provide applicants ample opportunity to detail their talents, skills, experiences and ideas as they sought a college education that best fits them. We admitted a class that is academically talented and reflective of the wide range of perspectives and experiences essential for a learning and research community.”
Asian students routinely outperform all other races on SAT tests, reaching an average score of 1219 compared to 1082 for White students, 943 for Hispanic students and 908 for Black students, according to the College Board’s 2023 annual report. Many universities that scrapped standardized test requirements during the pandemic and have since reinstated them.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had a similar increase in Asian enrollment in its freshmen class due to the ruling, reporting a rise to 47% compared to 41% in 2023.
Powell did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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