Data for the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) incoming class this fall—the first since the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate race-conscious admissions—reveals a drop in the proportion of Black and Hispanic students compared to last year. The reasons for this decline are still uncertain, with possible factors including the court ruling and delays in financial aid.
For fall 2023, Black students constituted 10.5% of the first-year class at UNC. This year, that number has fallen to 7.8%. Similarly, the percentage of Hispanic or Latino students decreased from 10.8% last year to 10.1%. In contrast, the percentage of white students remained stable, rising marginally from 63.7% to 63.8%, while Asian and Asian American students increased from 24.8% to 25.8%. These racial and ethnic categories are self-reported by students, and individuals can select more than one identity.
