Most universities are ignoring the Trump administration’s insistence that diversity-themed essays in student applications violate the Supreme Court’s prohibition on race-based admissions.

About 19 campuses removed or reworded diversity essay prompts this fall after the Department of Justice invoked the high court’s June 2023 ruling in new diversity, equity and inclusion guidelines, the admissions consulting firm College Transitions estimated.

Hundreds of others made no changes to their diversity essays, according to multiple sources.

“There are limits to federal pressure in certain areas, like essays,” said Melanie Haniph, founder of College Admissions for Parents, a website that guides families through the application process. “I don’t think the government really wants to wade into legislating how a student characterizes themselves in a college essay and how individual admissions officers interpret it.”

Private schools that have adopted the Trump administration’s guidance on diversity essays include Brandeis University and Texas Christian University. Some leading public campuses, including the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan, also have complied with the administration’s policy.

“Numerous institutions have acceded to state and federal demands that violate longstanding practices, even when they are not compelled to do so by law,” said Tim Cain, a professor of higher education at the public University of Georgia, which has abolished the essays.

Meanwhile, Yale, Harvard and Duke are among the majority of universities that still ask applicants to reflect on personal identity topics in optional or required essays.

The Common Application, a single online form that more than a million students use to apply to roughly 1,000 colleges, allows students to discuss their personal backgrounds, identities and interests in one of its main essay prompts.

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