Is the end of affirmative action also the end of race-based scholarships?

The affirmative action ruling's next victim is financial aid

Affirmative action protest.
(Image credit: Craig F. Walker / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled against affirmative action, putting an end to race consideration in college admissions, the next target could be race-based college scholarships and financial aid. Already, the University of Kentucky and the University of Missouri system have opted to remove race as a factor in their scholarship programs. "Based on our initial understanding, it appears that the court has restricted the consideration of race with respect to admissions and scholarships," explained University of Kentucky president Eli Capilouto on the day of the ruling, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Some schools are opting to push money to scholarships based on socioeconomic status instead, however, "we don't have anything that works as effectively at producing and enhancing racial diversity as race-conscious affirmative action," Kelly Slay, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, told NPR. "Affirmative action bans won't have the reach that ending these scholarship programs will," tweeted former Dillard University President Walter M. Kimbrough.

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Devika Rao, The Week US

 Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.