Wellesley’s class of 2028 saw an increase in Asian and white students and a dip in Black and Latine enrollment since the Supreme Court barred universities and colleges from considering race in admission.
Compared to the class of 2027, the last class admitted under race-conscious admissions, the percentage of both Black or African American and Hispanic students dropped by 4% respectively. This year also saw a 3% increase in the share of both white students and Asian American students.
5% of the class of 2028 identifies as African American, 30% as Asian American, 10% as Hispanic or Latino, 1% as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders and 31% as white, according to the first-year class demographics released by the admissions office.
In an email to the College community on Sept. 5, President Paula Johnson and T. Peaches Valdes, dean of Admission and Financial Aid said they acknowledged the “decrease in the number of underrepresented minority students” “in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling prohibiting consideration of race and ethnicity in college and university admissions.”
Demographic shifts in elite colleges post-affirmative action
Wellesley’s report comes as some of the College’s peer institutions also reported drops in minority enrollment.
MIT’s newly admitted class saw a significant drop in the percentage of Black students, dropping from 15% to 5%. At Amherst College, Black students only made up 3% of the class of 2028, compared to 11% from the previous year.
The effect of ending affirmative action on Asian American populations remains mixed across US campuses. Asian American enrollment increased from 40% to 47% at MIT. However, some colleges, such as Smith College, Yale University and Tufts University, saw a decline in the percentage of Asian American students enrolled this year.
The Wellesley News compiled all the publicly available reports of demographic information published by the admission office.
The data finds that Asian students now comprise 30% of the newest class, the largest share in the College’s history. While Black or African American students saw the lowest percentage since the class of 2025 admitted 11% of Black students in 2021.
Students who opted not to answer the optional race question in their application were not included in this chart, and some students reported two or more races may imply the percentages above do not add up to 100.
Admission Office’s efforts to promote diversity
In the emailed message sent on Sept. 5, President Johnson and Dean Valdes reiterated the College’s efforts to expand the College’s outreach and recruitment of applicants.
They said the admission team increased their attendance in regional and national college fairs and participated in multiple group travel cohorts in order to reach “a broad and diverse applicant pool”.” Other initiatives include visits to community-based organizations, high schools, and continued partnership with the College Alumnae Association.
Wellesley continues a test-optional policy for applicants applying in fall 2025 under which students can choose which scores to include from their standardized tests including the ACT and SAT tests.
Contact the editor responsible for this story: Sazma Sarwar
