As the college application and admissions season progresses, affirmative action plays a significant role in the decision-making process. Affirmative action refers to admission practices that consider a student’s background and life circumstances alongside academic achievements and extracurricular activities. In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that colleges could no longer consider race as a factor in admission decisions, with the condition that schools can still consider individual experiences, challenges, and background through application essays. Due to this ruling, many seniors are questioning how fairness in admissions will be defined moving forward.
While some think that everyone is treated equally in the college application process, this is not entirely true. Students from lower-income families often attend underfunded schools across America, limiting college counseling and extracurricular opportunities. There is a real gap between grades and actual academic success. For low-income and first-generation students, balancing school with work or family responsibilities can significantly shape academic success, something grades alone cannot reflect.
For some students, affirmative action is about recognizing the circumstances in which students grow up.
“Affirmative action recognizes the uneven starting points students come from,” said Abhigya Sinha ‘26.
The experience of immigrant students highlights how academic records can mask major differences in access to support and resources. Students may appear similar on paper, with comparable grades or test scores, but the paths behind those numbers often differ significantly. This challenges the assumption that identical outcomes reflect identical opportunities. Treating those varying outcomes as equal can overlook years of challenges that shaped how students reached where they are today.
Not all seniors feel certain about how affirmative action should work. Some view the issue as complicated, believing that while equal opportunity is important, fairness is also needed for students who have not faced the same barriers.
“Equity matters, but fairness matters too, and it’s hard to balance both,” said Maymunah Majumder ‘26.
Some argue that, in certain cases, students who appear more qualified for a specific college may not be accepted because of affirmative action policies, a concern that has fueled ongoing debate. Thus, some have a more critical view of race-based affirmative action, believing that admissions should focus more on individual experiences and socioeconomic background.
“Admissions should be about personal circumstances rather than race alone,” said Chaithanyasri Krishnakumar ‘26. “Socioeconomic background plays a huge role in the opportunities students have access to growing up, and it often gives a clearer picture of the challenges someone has faced.”
That perspective echoes a broader argument in the debate over college admissions, one that emphasizes socioeconomic background as a key indicator of disadvantage. Income level can shape access to tutoring, advanced coursework, and extracurricular opportunities long before students begin the application process. At the same time, focusing only on class risks and income overlooks how bias and structural barriers still affect students’ experiences. Together, these elements make it difficult to determine whether any single metric can fully capture the obstacles that students encounter.
Beyond race and class, other forms of inequality also influence admissions. Although women receive almost half of all bachelor’s degrees, according to the Pew Research Center, they only make up 20% of degrees in fields like engineering and computer science. Students who identify as LGBTQ+ also face added challenges, including higher dropout rates and lower retention in STEM fields. Studies show that transgender and non-binary students are less likely to remain in STEM majors.
The United States Supreme Court ruling states that affirmative action cases are now a thing of the past, as colleges are limited in considering race when making admissions decisions. Colleges now primarily use essays to get a more holistic view of a student’s background, more than just race.
Edison High students hold ambiguous views on affirmative action and its role in college admissions, despite the practice being made illegal.
“At the end of the day, we’re all applying with the same deadlines and hope,” said Majumder ‘26. “But not all of us got the same starting line, and that part hasn’t been figured out yet.”
