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President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered a new federal crackdown on college admissions practices, requiring higher education institutions to submit detailed data to prove they are not using race as a factor—despite last year’s Supreme Court ruling that banned affirmative action but left limited room for personal context related to race in admissions essays.
The executive memorandum, signed Thursday, accuses colleges of evading the law through “diversity statements” and “hidden racial proxies,” according to the White House. It directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to collect expanded admissions data from schools nationwide, including the race, sex, GPA, and test scores of applicants, those admitted, and enrolled students.
“The persistent lack of available data—paired with the rampant use of overt and hidden racial proxies—continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in admissions decisions in practice,” Trump wrote in the memo. “We will not allow discrimination to be repackaged under the guise of personal statements.”
The move escalates the Trump administration’s ongoing battle with elite universities, which many conservatives view as liberal strongholds. Officials cited recent settlement agreements with Brown University and Columbia University as models for compliance. Those schools agreed to submit detailed demographic data and open their admissions processes to audits in exchange for restored access to federal research funding.
Under the order, schools that fail to provide “timely, complete and accurate” data risk penalties under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, which governs eligibility for federal financial aid. However, higher education leaders say the order could clash with existing legal restrictions.
“Colleges are prohibited from asking applicants about race during the admissions process,” said Jon Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education. “Even if students report their race after enrolling, many choose not to, especially in this climate. So the data the government gets won’t give a full or accurate picture.”
The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision struck down race-conscious admissions but allowed students to discuss how race shaped their lives—as long as it related to qualities like character or resilience. Many colleges responded by adding essays or personal statements, a move conservatives now see as a backdoor to affirmative action.
“Nothing prohibits universities from considering how race affected an applicant’s life,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the 2023 majority opinion, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”
Since the ruling, schools have experimented with race-neutral alternatives to maintain diversity, such as prioritizing low-income students or guaranteeing admission to top students from every high school. The University of California and University of Michigan—both in states with long-standing bans on affirmative action—have implemented outreach programs and academic preparation initiatives targeting underrepresented communities. Still, these measures have seen mixed success.
At UC Berkeley and UCLA, Black student enrollment remains below 1996 levels, making up just 4% of undergraduates in 2025 despite representing a much higher share of California’s high school graduates. Hispanic enrollment has increased but still falls short of population parity.
The Trump administration’s latest directive may not immediately reshape admissions policies, but it underscores a growing federal campaign to pressure colleges into greater transparency—and possibly reshape how diversity is achieved in higher education.
