HBCUs brace for flood of applications after Supreme Court affirmative action decision
WASHINGTON — College presidents and admission experts are expecting a significant increase in applications at historically Black colleges and universities following this summer's Supreme Court decision outlawing race-based affirmative action policies.
At a time of heightened social divisions with race relations at the forefront, school administrators say the conservative majority court's ruling opens a door for HBCUs to fill a gap for students and their families seeking an educational experience in which Black identity and culture are celebrated.
"We are anticipating that over the next three years, we will likely see an increase in our applications, somewhere between 50 [%] and 100% as a direct consequence of this decision," said David Anthony Thomas, president of 156-year-old Morehouse College, a men's only HBCU in Atlanta whose alumni include Martin Luther King Jr.
Thomas said the institution has already seen an uptick in applications in recent years following protests in response to the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. According to data Morehouse shared with
