Virginia Tech officially ends affirmative action, legacy admissions policies
In compliance with the recent Supreme Court ruling, Virginia Tech indicated it will stop considering a student's race in the admissions process.
The school will also remove 'barriers' like legacy admissions and the early decision option, citing the need to aid 'underrepresented and underserved students.'
Virginia Tech announced it would eliminate considerations of both legacy status and race in its application process starting in the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.
“Each summer, the university reflects on the last admissions cycle and adjusts procedures in advance of the next one,” a school statement reads. “For this coming admissions cycle, changes include discontinuing the early decision option, formally eliminating legacy as a factor, and complying with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to remove race and ethnicity as an explicit factor in the admissions decision process.”
[RELATED: Another college drops its legacy admissions practices]
The university instead plans to pursue initiatives intended to attract minority students, such as “lowering barriers to admissions” and “creating effective pre-college programs.”
Legacy admits represent 20% of the incoming class, with an additional 12% being legacies, the statement notes.
Additionally, Virginia Tech will end its early decision option for high schoolers and move its early action deadline forward to Nov. 15 in order to remove “unneeded pressure,” streamline the application process, and “[level] the playing field” for all students.
In left-wing circles, early admissions are often seen as a boon to wealthy, white applicants.
President Tim Sands announced the Virginia Tech Advantage during last October, a plan to make the school more affordable for low-income students.
The university’s incoming class for fall 2022 was 40.4% “underrepresented minority students and underserved students,” which the school indicated was a “key milestone” in its strategic plan.
In 2019, Virginia Tech launched its official strategic plan to: “Increase representational diversity,” “Increase cultural competency,” and “Address critical societal issues impacting humanity and equity.”
[RELATED: Colorado bans legacy admissions at public schools to combat ‘systemic inequity’]
“We know that diverse environments are the most powerful learning environments,” Vice President for Diversity and Strategic Affairs Menah Pratt said after the ending of legacy admissions. “Our commitment to an inclusive university community prepares our graduates to engage with the world and its most pressing problems.”
Campus Reform has reached out to Virginia Tech, Pratt, and Sands for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
