Investigating Race Concepts in the College Essay Production Process after the 2023 Supreme Court Ban on Race-Conscious Admissions

Awarded Scholars:
Sarah Iverson, American University
Project Date:
Mar 2025

In 2023, the Supreme Court banned the use of race-conscious admissions policies in higher education. However, colleges and universities are permitted to consider discussions of how race has impacted an applicant’s life in their college essay. Sociologist Sarah Iverson will examine how college applicants write about race in their college admissions essays and how college preparatory programs advise students to write about race. She will conduct interviews, content analysis, and participant observation for her study.

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RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal of original empirical research articles by both established and emerging scholars.

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