WASHINGTON — A new report from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) finds that many of America’s most selective colleges are expanding opportunities for low-income and working-class students in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision ending race-based admissions. The report concludes that universities are increasingly turning to “economic affirmative action,” giving greater consideration to applicants from disadvantaged economic backgrounds, as a new pathway to maintaining diverse campuses.
Authored by Richard Kahlenberg, Director of PPI’s American Identity Project, and policy fellow Aidan Shannon, the report, “The Rise of Economic Affirmative Action: Universities are Finding New and Better Paths to Diversity,” examines admissions data from the 2024 and 2025 admissions cycles following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The analysis finds that many feared a dramatic collapse in campus diversity after the ruling, but those predictions have largely not materialized.
Instead, universities appear to be adapting their admissions practices. The report finds that minority enrollment declines at many selective colleges have been modest, while a growing number of institutions are enrolling higher shares of economically disadvantaged students.
A new analysis by PPI shows that the share of students receiving Pell Grants increased at 15 of the 18 highly selective institutions with publicly available data. In 10 of those schools, the share of Pell Grant recipients rose by more than 20%.
“These early results suggest that universities are finding new ways to sustain diversity without relying on racial preferences,” said Kahlenberg. “Expanding opportunity for low-income and working-class students is not only legally viable, but also a fair and broadly supported way to build diverse campuses.”
The report also finds that universities have begun adopting a range of strategies to increase socioeconomic diversity, including:
At the same time, the report argues that more work remains to ensure that selective colleges serve as engines of social mobility. While the rise in economic diversity is encouraging, most elite institutions still enroll fewer low-income students than the national average for Pell Grant recipients.
PPI’s analysis recommends that colleges and policymakers take additional steps to expand opportunity, including:
The report also urges policymakers to encourage greater socioeconomic diversity through targeted incentives and accountability measures, such as adjusting taxes on large university endowments and requiring institutions to disclose more detailed data on student income backgrounds.
“The shift toward economic affirmative action is a promising development for both fairness and social cohesion,” said Kahlenberg. “Policies that expand opportunity based on economic disadvantage can bring students of all backgrounds together while strengthening public support for higher education.”
Read and download the report here.
Founded in 1989, PPI is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Find an expert and learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Follow us @ppi.
###
Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org
