After Race-Conscious Admissions: How to Provide Strategic and Aggressive College Application Advice to Academically Ambitious Black Students
Dear fellow educators, parents, and supporters of academically ambitious Black students,
In June 2023, when the United States Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA) prohibited consideration of race in college admission decisions, many of us were justifiably upset, confused, disheartened, and frustrated. This article seeks to eliminate confusion and strengthen our support of academically ambitious Black students. Our clear, practical advice is focused on two areas: (1) where students should apply to college; and (2) how to help students prepare for college applications.
Where Students Should Apply to College
While the benefits of higher education must be weighed against the considerable costs, please inform your students that, on average, college graduates benefit from higher career earnings, greater civic engagement, and longer lives than people who did not graduate from college. College generally makes sense for students who demonstrate solid academic skills in high school.
Anecdotes abound of high school guidance counselors and teachers who tell students that they are “not [insert college name here] material.” Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, for example, was advised to not apply to Princeton. Thankfully, she didn’t listen. She earned a B.A. from Princeton and a law degree from Harvard. Then she became Michelle Obama — attorney, community leader, First Lady, and global icon. Had teenage Michelle listened to her guidance counselor, who might have been driven by pragmatism, misinformation, animus, or — in the words attributed to presidential speech writer Michael Gerson — the “soft bigotry of low expectations,” her life would probably have turned out very differently (Obama, 2018).
Advise your academically ambitious Black students to consider a wide range of college options, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which cater to the cultural, psychosocial, and educational needs of Black students. Largely because they foster a strong sense of belonging and capability, HBCUs produce approximately a quarter of all Black college graduates in the United States, and research by Cynthia G. Colen and others (2021) document stronger post-college outcomes for HBCU graduates versus Black students who attended other colleges. Like all institutions of higher learning, HBCUs vary in selectivity, academic rigor, political orientation, financial resources, size, culture, and geography. Black students who consider HBCUs should do so confident of these vital institutions’ value and appreciative of the diversity among them.
HBCUs aside, an extensive body of research provides evidence that high-achieving Black students are less likely than high-achieving non-Black students to apply to highly selective colleges, contributing to a lower likelihood of attending one (Hoxby & Avery, 2013). When a student attends a college where their grades and test scores are significantly better than the school’s average, they engage in “undermatching,” which is correlated with lower graduation rates and less favorable labor market experiences (Howell & Pender, 2016). The SFFA ruling was not just about access to college; it was about access to elite colleges — institutions where people are willing to sue for a greater chance at admission. Among students who are admitted to highly selective and well-resourced colleges, those who opt to attend them benefit from higher graduation rates and disproportionately high access to elite firms, graduate programs, and political positions, relative to students who opt to attend less selective institutions (Chetty et al., 2023). It makes sense that people fight for spots at highly selective colleges, given the benefits provided by elite educational experiences. Use SFFA to inspire Black students to pursue great education more aggressively and strategically; they can counter the undermatching phenomenon to improve academic and economic outcomes.
While there are challenges in our K-12 schools, talent and academic prowess are abundant among Black prospective college students, whose families and communities pour care, attention, rigor, confidence, and excellence into them, just like Michelle Robinson’s family and faith community did for her. Many Black students would fit perfectly at highly selective colleges, with or without race-conscious admissions. Beyond strong performance in high school, there is no objective standard for who deserves to be at a particular college. Rare instances of direct admissions notwithstanding, the only way to guarantee that a student will not be admitted to a particular college is for the student to not apply. Please inform aspiring college students that they are desirable to colleges because of their knowledge, skills, accomplishments, perspectives, and experiences. High-achieving Black students have the same rights to elite educational spaces as high-achieving non-Black students.
Since plenty of great college opportunities exist, it makes sense for every applicant to ensure they have enough figurative ping pong balls in the college lottery. The right number of college applications for each student is probably between 7 and 13 (2-4 potential overmatch, 3-5 match, 2-4 potential undermatch). A diversified college application approach like this can help students of all backgrounds to play the college admissions game effectively.
Although the “sticker price” for a college can be intimidating, counterintuitively, the most selective colleges often have a lower net price than less selective colleges. Well-resourced schools can afford to compete for students aggressively by granting need-based financial aid (Harvard, 2024), and they often have the best resources to support enrolled students. Each student should apply aggressively and strategically to a diversified portfolio of colleges, weigh their options, and choose a school they think is a good fit for them.
How to Help Students Prepare for College Applications
College admissions officers evaluate each prospective student based on the story communicated in their application. This section provides a quick primer on how supportive adults like you can help a student craft a compelling, authentic story, starting as early as 9th grade. Guidance counselors, college advisors, and nonprofits like Matriculate and College Advising Corps can provide more detailed guidance.
Generally, five factors help tell an applicant’s story and establish their attractiveness to college admission offices: high school transcript, essay(s), life outside the classroom, recommendation letters, and SAT/ACT test scores. Demonstrated interest is another factor colleges may consider.
High School Transcript
The most important consideration in evaluating an applicant is the list of classes taken and performance in those classes. Admissions officers are often asked if it is better to get an A in Honors or a B in Advanced Placement (AP). The answer that we’ve heard on more than one college tour is that it is better to get an A in AP. Even admissions officers at the most selective colleges do not expect all classes to be the most rigorous ones, like AP or International Baccalaureate (IB), but they do expect some level of curricular rigor, especially for courses related to a student’s intended major and in math. When students can choose elective courses, they should usually align with the student’s intended major and the story of who they are. Admissions officers are impressed by consistently strong grades or grades on an uptrend, so help students avoid academic performance that trends downward or demonstrates volatility.
Essays
College application essays provide an opportunity for each applicant to tell their own story, explain any weaknesses in other parts of the application, and demonstrate strong writing skills. A basic requirement is that each essay must include the correct college name — an essay for “ABC College” should not include a line about why the student has always wanted to attend “XYZ College!” A good application essay will highlight markers of student accomplishment, perspective, experience, and leadership. Essays about leading the Black Student Union or Latinx Student Organization are just as valuable as essays about leading non-identity-based student organizations. These markers of identity should not be hidden in the application process; like other activities, they add value. And, if a college doesn’t want to embrace these aspects of a particular student’s identity, that college is not the right fit. The Supreme Court ruling expressly states that an applicant is allowed to include essays that address how racial identity has impacted their life (Students for Fair Admissions, 2023). At the same time, students should not feel compelled to spotlight or reveal their racial identity in these essays if they choose not to do so. The essay section presents an opportunity for students to present themselves as they want to be presented, tell an authentic story, and distinguish themselves from other applicants.
Life Outside the Classroom
Tell your students that colleges don’t want all their attendees to be from the same place, participate in the same activities, or represent the same culture. Variety adds value to the college experience, so colleges want students from a wide range of backgrounds, with a variety of interests. Irrespective of any court ruling, colleges continue to need and want a diverse student population to reflect the world in which these students will live and lead. Throughout high school, students should aggressively pursue activities they find interesting, important, or necessary. These include not only sports teams, service initiatives, student government, and social clubs, but also religious entities, social justice organizations, affinity groups, jobs, and caregiving responsibilities for loved ones, all of which demonstrate perseverance, commitment, time management skills, and maturity. It’s also important to consider authenticity and quality of engagement with the activities. Colleges are not impressed by laundry lists of activities with no depth. Admission officers want to build a class of accomplished, dedicated, and interesting people who will contribute meaningfully to the social and intellectual life of a college community.
Recommendation Letters
While essays and activities are important parts of a student's story, it is also important to consider what teachers and other adults like you write about the student. The best recommendation letters include narratives that provide insight into the student's character and experiences. Each student should choose recommenders who can write a good in-depth story about them. Typically, a student should get recommendation letters from two core academic teachers and one other recommender who may be a coach, non-core teacher, employer, or other community leader. Students should choose their recommenders wisely and ask for the recommendation letters before the end of 11th grade, well in advance of college application deadlines.
SAT/ACT Scores
Emphasize to your students that the SAT and ACT are important tools to help them get ready for college and get into college. The exams assess fundamental math and reading skills, along with test-taking skills that can be learned through instruction and practice. Appropriately timed, test-specific preparation can help students reinforce and leverage the academic work they have already done. Even in a shifting environment where not all colleges require the ACT or SAT, higher scores can widen the field of colleges and merit-based scholarships for which a student is competitive. Dartmouth College has shown that requiring test scores can help identify high performing students from low-income backgrounds (Leonhardt, 2024), as admission officers use tools like Landscape from the College Board to factor in each student’s socioeconomic and academic environment when making admissions decisions. Such consideration of context is most useful when a student works to maximize scores on the SAT or ACT; admissions officers want more information — not less information — to make informed decisions during holistic admissions review process.
Research by Josh Goodman and others suggests that simply retesting is one of the most effective practices for improving test scores. “Retaking substantially improves SAT scores and increases four-year college enrollment rates, particularly for low-income and [underrepresented minority] students” (Goodman et al., 2018). This research also points out that retesting is practiced disproportionately by White and Asian students and students from households that are not low-income. Students from underrepresented minority groups and low-income households tend to retest less and employ different, delayed approaches to taking the ACT and SAT. Such testing behavior likely contributes to disparities in test scores and underrepresentation at highly selective colleges.
While many test preparation experts recommend that students choose either the SAT or ACT, we recommend that each student prepare for one of the tests, take it, then prepare for and take the other test. Please help your students plan to take both tests once by April of 11th grade. Whichever test yields the better score should be taken two more times by October of 12th grade. Consistent preparation is critical for making sure students maximize their performance on the ACT or SAT, after which they can make decisions about submitting scores to various schools.
Some colleges will accept AP or IB scores instead of SAT or ACT scores because strong performance on these subject-specific standardized tests demonstrates a student's ability to perform well with college-level academic content. At high schools that offer IB and AP classes, educators should do all they can to encourage and support the enrollment of underrepresented students in these courses.
Demonstrated Interest
While the other factors mentioned in this article are more heavily considered by admissions officers, it can also be important for aspiring college students to demonstrate that they are interested in the colleges to which they are applying. Ultimately, a college wants a high percentage of admitted students to enroll. This “yield” is interpreted as a measure of a college’s attractiveness. By demonstrating interest, an applicant signals to the admissions office that they are more likely to choose that college. Not all colleges consider demonstrated interest, but many do. Encourage your students to apply on time, connect with alumni, sign up for mailing lists, open emails from colleges, take virtual tours of campuses and, when feasible, visit college campuses. Within Black communities throughout the United States, faith-based organizations and mentoring groups play a key role in providing college tour experiences throughout high school, which boost demonstrated interest and help students develop a self-image as collegebound.
Conclusion
Helping Black students through the college preparation and application processes will yield diverse generations of leaders in business, politics, the sciences, economics, literature, and every field populated by highly educated people. The Supreme Court’s ruling in SFFA is no match for high-performing and academically ambitious students supported by educators, family members, and mentors who encourage and guide them. We can also create more high-achieving students by providing rigorous school experiences and reinforcing their sense of achievement. Despite public messaging that threatens to quell ambition and belonging among Black aspiring college students, we know future generations of Michelle Robinsons are all around us, eager to excel and awaiting our guidance.
About the Authors:
Kamal A. James is the founder and Chief Educator at JamesEducation.com. Since 2011, he has used the SAT and ACT to promote college preparation and opportunity for students from across the socioeconomic spectrum. He has extensive experience teaching grades six through twelve at public, charter, and independent schools, along with early career experience at Wall Street brokerage firms. Kamal holds a B.S. in Finance from Hampton University, an MBA from Temple University, and an M.Ed. in Higher Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a proud former student of Dr. Irvin L. Scott.
Dr. Irvin L. Scott, a member of the Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty, teaches in the School Leadership Program and Doctor of Education Leadership Program, and has launched and leads Harvard’s Leadership Initiative for Faith and Education (L.I.F.E.), which seeks to explore the intersection of faith and education in the lives of students and communities in a way that leads to better outcomes for America’s most vulnerable youth. Previously, Scott served as Deputy Director for K-12 Education at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, leading the investment of $300 million in initiatives focused on transforming teacher recruitment, development, and remuneration. Scott also led a team to initiate the Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers (ECET2) experience, which has become a teacher-driven movement and can be found in many states across the country. Prior to his Foundation work, Scott spent more than 20 years working as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and chief academic officer, including as Chief Academic Officer for Boston Public Schools. Scott holds a bachelor’s degree from Millersville University, a master’s degree in education from Temple University, and a master’s and doctoral degree from Harvard University. He is the author of Leading with Heart and Soul: 30 Inspiring Lessons of Faith, Learning, and Leadership for Educators, and the following articles on the Social Impact Review: Faith in Public Schools: A Third Way and A New PK-12 Education Ecosystem Framework for a New Normal.