RACE-CONSCIOUS ADMISSIONS AND COLLEGE ACCESS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE IN THE POST-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ERA

This systematic review compiles empirical evidence regarding race-conscious college admissions policies and their effects on college accessibility for historically underrepresented racial and ethnic minority students in the United States, especially following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and UNC, which effectively terminated the consideration of race as an explicit criterion in college admissions. The objective of this study is to analyze the historical impact of race-conscious admissions on access to selective higher education, the effects of prohibitions on such practices on enrollment trends, and the alternative strategies that have developed in their absence. A thorough literature review was performed across peer-reviewed journals and academic databases, resulting in the identification of 68 empirical studies published from 2000 to 2024. Studies were included if they concentrated on U.S. undergraduate admissions and examined race-conscious policies or their absence. The results show that policies that take race into account greatly increased the number of Black, Latinx, and Native American students at selective colleges. On the other hand, race-neutral options like percentage plans, socioeconomic preferences, and targeted outreach had mixed results and often failed to achieve the same level of racial diversity. The review also highlights the institutional, legal, and political limits that affect how policies are made. This synthesis offers essential insights for policymakers, institutional leaders, and scholars aiming to enhance equitable college access within a legally restricted framework. The paper concludes by identifying the implications for future research, particularly regarding intersectional methodologies and the employment of proxy measures for race.