Without affirmative action, elite colleges are prioritizing economic diversity in admissions

Prestigious U.S. colleges are enrolling record numbers of low-income students, a strategic shift that has gained momentum following the Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action in higher education last year.

At Princeton University, this year’s freshman class includes more students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds than ever before, with one in four eligible for federal Pell grants—scholarships reserved for students with the most significant financial need. This represents a dramatic increase from two decades ago when fewer than one in ten Princeton students qualified for such assistance.

“The only way to increase socioeconomic diversity is to be intentional about it,” Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber said in a statement. “Socioeconomic diversity will increase if and only if college presidents make it a priority.”

The trend extends beyond Princeton. According to an Associated Press analysis of 17 highly selective institutions that have released new enrollment data, almost all saw increases in Pell-eligible students between 2023 and 2024. Most recorded consecutive years of growth, with none experiencing significant decreases over the two-year period.

Yale, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have all set enrollment records for Pell-eligible students since 2022. At MIT, the number of low-income students in the freshman class has surged by 43% over the past two years, with economically disadvantaged students now comprising more than a quarter of this year’s entering class.

MIT officials attribute this growth to the institution’s policy of providing free tuition for families earning less than $200,000 annually. “MIT has always been an engine of opportunity for low-income students, and we are dedicated to ensuring we can make an MIT education accessible for students from every walk of life,” said Stu Schmill, MIT’s dean of admissions.

Amherst College in Massachusetts has taken similar measures, making tuition free for students from families in the bottom 80% of U.S. earnings. The college also began covering meals and housing for those below the median income and eliminated preferences for children of alumni and donors in admissions decisions. These changes have helped push low-income enrollment to one in four new students this year.

Simultaneously, Amherst has intensified recruiting efforts in underserved areas. “When we go out and talk to students, it’s not in the fanciest ZIP codes,” explained Matthew McGann, dean of admissions. “It’s in places where we know there’s a lot of talent but not a lot of opportunity.”

The most dramatic increase occurred at Swarthmore College, where Pell enrollment jumped from 17% to 30% last year. While many institutions delayed scholarship decisions due to problems with a new federal financial aid form, Swarthmore used alternative data to assess applicants’ financial needs, allowing them to offer scholarships while students were still awaiting decisions from other schools.

This focus on socioeconomic diversity comes as many college leaders seek to maintain campus diversity following the Supreme Court’s ruling against race-conscious admissions policies. Since Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous Americans experience the country’s highest poverty rates, officials hoped that prioritizing economic diversity would help preserve racial diversity.

However, the results have been mixed. Despite increasing economic diversity, many elite campuses have seen decreases in racial diversity. At Swarthmore, Black enrollment fell to 5% of its freshman class this year, down from 8% the previous year.

“In a race neutral environment, those numbers are likely to drop,” acknowledged Jim Bock, Swarthmore’s admissions dean. “Not all minority students are low-income, and not all majority students have significant financial means.”

The emphasis on socioeconomic factors has also drawn scrutiny from the federal government. The Trump administration has suggested that prioritizing students based on income or geography constitutes a “racial proxy” that violates the Supreme Court’s decision against affirmative action.

In a June letter, Trump officials accused UCLA of implementing “race-based admissions in all but name,” criticizing the university for considering factors such as applicants’ family income, ZIP code, and high school profile—information that colleges have traditionally weighed in admissions decisions.

Despite this pressure, college leaders believe their approach is legally sound and necessary for creating opportunity. Richard Kahlenberg, a researcher at the Progressive Policy Institute who advocates for class-based affirmative action, called the latest Pell figures “a significant step in the right direction.”

“Economic diversity is important in its own right,” Kahlenberg said. “It’s important that America’s leadership class—which disproportionately derives from selective colleges—include people who’ve faced economic hardships in life.”