This year’s incoming class is the first since admissions decisions were impacted by the Supreme Court’s ban on racial preferences in the SFFA case, and there has been a wealth of intriguing data emerging. Certain prestigious universities such as Yale have found that their “underrepresented minority” demographics have remained relatively stable, despite previous claims in an amicus brief that racial diversity could not be maintained without preferences. Conversely, institutions like MIT and Johns Hopkins have witnessed an increase in their Asian American populations, alongside a decrease in Hispanic and Black students and minimal change in the percentage of white students.
One potential issue to be mindful of is that universities are adjusting how they present the data. For instance, in 2023 Johns Hopkins reported 18% white students, 20% Hispanic, 14% Black, 29% Asian American, 14% international, 2% Native American, and 1% unknown.
Recently, Hopkins released data for the class of 2028, revealing that they now have 34.1% white students. Was this a significant increase due to SFFA? Not quite. According to Hopkins, the percentage of white students actually decreased from 39.1%, rather than increasing from 18%. Meanwhile, the percentage of Asian American students surged from 29% to 46%, while the representation of black students fell from 13.8% to 5.7% and Hispanic students from 20.8% to 10.7%.
What is the explanation for these changes? It appears that in 2023, Hopkins classified students who identified as both white and another race as solely belonging to the non-white category. However, this year they are including students who identified with more than one race in both categories, resulting in a total percentage of 115% instead of 100%. Hispanic students are asked if they are Hispanic first, and then which racial group they identify with. This method will change under new federal regulations. Therefore, a significant portion of Hispanic students may identify as Hispanic by ethnicity and white by race. Additionally, there are students of mixed racial backgrounds who may identify as (Black, Native American, Asian American) and also white.
When comparing the data, it is crucial to ensure that you are comparing like with like. The percentage of students who only identified as white, or who identified as white and another race, has decreased. However, Hopkins has not provided the data necessary to compare the 18% of students who exclusively identified as white in 2023 with the same group in 2024.
If you are interested in understanding how SFFA has impacted university demographics, it is essential to analyze the data accurately.
