John Taylor, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and developer of the "Taylor Rule" for setting interest rates | Stanford University
John Taylor, Professor of Economics at Stanford University and developer of the "Taylor Rule" for setting interest rates | Stanford University
Stanford University has released preliminary enrollment data for its undergraduate Class of 2028. This class is the first to be admitted following last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision on race-conscious admissions in higher education.
Despite maintaining diversity across various dimensions, Stanford noted a decline in the representation of Black students and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic/Latino students compared to last year’s entering class. The university plans to continue and expand outreach efforts to recruit a diverse student body through legally permissible means.
"Stanford is committed to diversity broadly defined because we believe diversity of background, perspective, and experience is essential to our work of research and education," said Stanford Provost Jenny Martinez. "We followed the law in admitting this year’s class, and it is an amazingly accomplished and inspiring class. It also is very difficult to observe the declines in representation among some of our communities. We are committed to working aggressively to continue seeking diversity through legal means, including through the further expansion of our outreach to high-achieving students from underserved populations, and fostering community for our students here on campus."
Stanford's fall quarter began last week. Typically, the university does not issue enrollment data until the Common Data Set publication several weeks into the quarter. However, due to national interest following the Supreme Court's decision, Stanford has provided preliminary data this year.
The university reported its preliminary data using two methodologies for this fall's first-year class of 1,704 students:
1. The federal government's reporting methodology includes a "two or more races" category for domestic non-Hispanic students who report being of more than one race.
2. The "check all that apply" approach shows each individual race reported by domestic multi-racial students. This method results in totals exceeding 100% as students can identify multiple races.
In both methodologies, international students are counted as part of the total:
| Federal Race/Ethnicity | 2023 | 2024 | Check-all-that-apply 2023 | Check-all-that-apply 2024 |
|------------------------|------|------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 1% | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| Asian | 26% | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Black or African American | 9% | 5% | 12% | 7% |
| Hispanic or Latino |17% |15% |17 % |15 % |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander |\<1%\|\<1%\|2%\ \|\<1%\|
| White |\21%\|\22%\|\39%\ \|\38%\|
\Two or More Races |\8 %\|\8 %
/a\ n/a
Unknown/Decline-to-state |\4 %\|\8 %\|\4 % \8 %
International |\14%\14%
Total |\100%%124%
All figures are preliminary and may differ from official data provided later this year in the Common Data Set.
"The shifts we have seen are not surprising based on the experiences of other universities that eliminated race-conscious admissions practices prior to the Supreme Court ruling," Martinez said. "But they provide an important moment for Stanford to reaffirm institutionally the centrality of diversity to our mission and the importance of continuing to pursue diversity broadly defined through accessible means."
Stanford’s Office of Undergraduate Admission had prepared for the possibility of such a Supreme Court ruling long before it occurred by pursuing legal, race-neutral strategies like expanded outreach programs aimed at attracting diverse backgrounds.
"We are going to be working harder than ever in communities across the country to identify competitive students and make them aware of the extraordinary opportunities available at Stanford," said Richard H. Shaw, dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid.
Stanford will also maintain support for accessibility through its need-based financial aid program. Families with annual incomes below $100,000 do not pay tuition, room, or board at Stanford; families earning below $150,000 with typical assets do not contribute toward tuition.
An internal review process will evaluate other potential changes following the Supreme Court ruling while ensuring compliance with holistic admission practices that consider each applicant as a whole person without access racial/ethnic data fields during evaluation.
Beyond race and ethnicity considerations within preliminary data show continued diversity across many other dimensions among Stanford's new first-year cohort.
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