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- Title
SECRET ADMISSIONS.
- Authors
HARPALANI, VINAY
- Abstract
This article examines secret admissions--an ironic term I use to refer to the mysterious nature of holistic review within universities' admissions policies. In particular, I examine legal controversies that have implicated race as part of holistic review. I consider the prospect for future controversies after the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), which outlawed race-conscious admissions policies. Additionally, I review the history of holistic admissions, and I examine how the secrecy in holistic review has influenced and been influenced by the consideration of race in admissions. My article discusses the pros and cons of flexible, individualized consideration of race within holistic review--a policy that was previously endorsed by the Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003). I emphasize the fact that holistic review obscures both the impact of race on individual admissions decisions and the manner in which various admissions criteria are integrated to make such decisions. I argue that such obfuscation aided Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) in advancing its case from the lower courts to the Supreme Court. I also consider the potential for surreptitious use of race in admissions in a post-SFFA admissions world, which could lead to more scrutiny of holistic review and consequent litigation. I do all of this by reviewing scholarly and judicial discourse on holistic admissions and by sharing various personal anecdotes--from conversations about my research on race-conscious admissions policies to my experiences serving on admissions committees to stories from my students about their college and law school applications.
- Subjects
UNIVERSITY &; college admission; RACE preferences (Affirmative action); AFFIRMATIVE action program lawsuits; RACE discrimination in higher education; UNITED States. Supreme Court; HARVARD College (1780- )
- Publication
Journal of College & University Law, 2023, Vol 48, Issue 2, p325
- ISSN
0093-8688
- Publication type
Article