CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia (UVA) announced Tuesday their admissions officers will no longer see an applicant’s race or ethnicity in a “check box” on applications.
The school also said "legacy" applicants will no longer be able to directly use their parental ties when applying to the school.
Instead of a check box, UVA leaders said applicants will be given a new opportunity to write about a "personal or historic connection" with the university, and how that experience has prepared them to contribute to the school.
It comes two months after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The ruling did not require colleges to curtail or end legacy preferences, but the legacy factor has drawn fresh scrutiny as colleges are seeking to maintain racial diversity without using race-based affirmative action.
The goal of the revised application process, according to University leadership, is to “do our best to understand each applicant as a person, and to evaluate the unique path that led them to apply to UVA,” and to remain aligned with University’s mission statement to develop “talented students from all walks of life.”
