High school parents, check out this PublicSource report on changes to the college admissions process

Photos courtesy of PublicSource.

We’re entering the first college application season since the Supreme Court ruled race out as a consideration. Universities are looking for new ways to recruit a diverse pool of students, while applicants also adjust their tactics. What do families need to know about all this?

Our friends at PublicSource have published a powerful story exploring these changes. We wanted to share it with you.

One important strategy identified by PublicSource reporter Emma Folts: Essay writing.

“Kendra Wilmer, a rising high school senior, had planned to write her college entrance essay about her struggles as a Black student in a predominantly white school. But on this mid-August morning, she wasn’t so sure. She questioned whether mentioning race in her essay would disadvantage her. “Is it worth it to write it at this point?” asked Wilmer, who attends Oakland Catholic High School in Pittsburgh,” writes Folts.

“That day, she went to a workshop to learn how to perfect her essay. It was organized by the Crossroads Foundation, a nonprofit that provides college readiness programming to students of color and those of low-income backgrounds. Crossroads marketed the annual event differently this year, emphasizing to families that the essay may now carry heightened importance in students’ applications, said Executive Director Esther Mellinger Stief.

“The reason? In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that universities can no longer consider an applicant’s race in the admissions process, a practice sometimes referred to as “affirmative action” which supporters say leveled the playing field for students of color but critics say provided unfair advantages. Students are still allowed, however, to discuss the impacts of their race in their essays, so long as universities consider their stories only as reflections of their ability or character.”

Want to learn more? Continue reading this story right here.