When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of overturning affirmative action in college admissions in June 2023, elite institutions like Harvard and the University of North Carolina bemoaned the inconvenient fact that racial discrimination is unconstitutional. To quote Claudine Gay, then-dean and future president of Harvard University, “Today is a hard day, and if you are feeling the gravity of that, I want you to know you’re not alone.”

In truth, affirmative action was so zealous a rule that colleges were turning away meritorious students who were Asian, Asian-American, or white in favor of less laudable applicants of black or Hispanic lineage. With the new admissions rules in place, the numbers for the 2028 freshman classes are now starting to be revealed.

Let’s start with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Asian-American students increased from 40% last year to 47% this year. White student admissions held nearly steady, with a mere 1% drop. For Hispanic students, the drop was a bit more stark, falling from 16% to 11% this year. For black applicants, the drop was more drastic — from 15% to just 5%.

According to political analyst Rich Lowry, “The MIT figures aren’t so different from Duke scholar Peter Arcidiacono’s estimate of what Harvard’s admissions would look like without affirmative action. Arcidiacono, an expert witness for Students for Fair Admissions in its case against Harvard and the University of North Carolina that went to the Supreme Court, forecast a big increase in Asian-American students, a moderate gain for white students, and a substantial drop in Black and Hispanic admissions.”

This prediction was only partially true for Harvard. Although there wasn’t any change in the percentage of Asian-American students between this year and last year — it held steady at 37% — there was an increase in Latino/Hispanic students from 14% to 18%. The number of black students decreased from 18% to 14%. It’s also worth noting that white students weren’t included in Harvard’s demographic data (at least in the racial/ethnic part).

Several schools saw no significant changes at all — institutions like Princeton, Yale, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Virginia. Princeton, Yale, and UNC actually had a slight drop in Asian-American students.

The student enrollment statistics are all over the board. As the Morning Brew aptly points out, “Like any collection of loose statistics, it’s too early to tell. Some school administrators say it could be years before we see the full effects of the end of affirmative action.” However, the broader point still stands: Affirmative action was a racist (against whites and Asian-Americans) policy. With the restoration of merit as the standard for admission, all can be extremely proud of their achievements, all will be more or less ready for the rigors of the colleges they are attending, and all can rest easy knowing that they truly earned their spot.

Is there a systemic issue for Hispanic or African-American students not to succeed? Perhaps. But it doesn’t lie in the place that leftist ideologues would have one believe. “Racism” is the Band-Aid that covers the real issues holding students back. Those issues include broken families, poverty/class, and abysmal public school education. However, despite all of that, a person possessing a high-caliber mind and gritty determination can still beat the odds and get into the school they want.

The concept of merit and academic achievement has nothing to do with race. Intelligence and drive are cultivated skills, and high achievers will use all the resources at their disposal to climb to the top.

Colleges should set the bar high and let all prospective college students rise to the challenge. That way no one can claim these kids didn’t earn it.