Unequal Odds: Race, Resources, and the Road to Elite Universities

By Seoyun Nam, Seungju Lee

If we want a future where every child’s college odds aren’t sealed by their kindergarten ZIP code, we’ll need substantial, sustained measures to close opportunity gaps. Studies on young students reveal what educators have suspected for decades: race and socioeconomic status remain stubborn predictors of academic performance. In New York City, for example, Asian and White students score far higher in reading and math than their Black and Hispanic peers. Gains are being made across all groups, which is evidence that focused programs like phonics-based literacy can help.

The reasons are layered: unequal early childhood education, varying access to high-quality teachers, and the invisible weight of household income. These factors start shaping outcomes before the first homework assignment is handed out.

A decade later, the same students—now with taller frames and longer transcripts—meet the admissions committees of the U.S. top universities. And the gaps are still there, though the plot has a few twists.

These disparities become visible again in the racial makeup of the nation’s most selective universities. The racial demographics of the top three U.S. universities are as follows. In MIT, according to its 2024–2025 Common Data Set (CDS), the undergraduate population is 35.2% White, 30.4% Asian, 15.2% Hispanic, and 6.5% Black. Harvard, in its 2024–2025 CDS, reports 29.7% White, 23.5% Asian, 11.5% Hispanic, and 8.9% Black. Princeton, in its published “Class of 2028” profile, lists 31.3% White, 23.8% Asian, 9% Hispanic, and 8.9% Black. The descending order of racial breakdown is White, Asian, Hispanic, and Black.

Other universities in the top 20 also show similar patterns. CDS reports that at Stanford, Caltech, UC Berkeley and UCLA, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon University, Duke, Northwestern University, New York University, Asian students make up the largest percentage, followed by White students.

The pattern of Hispanic and Black students having the lowest ratios is consistent. Black enrollment, in particular, remains the smallest, as in the CDS reported 0% enrollment at the University of Michigan.

Black and Hispanic students remain underrepresented at the most selective colleges, a fact documented since the 1970s in Bowen&Bok’s “The Shape of the River”. But not all institutions adhere to the same pattern. After the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-conscious admissions, some campuses saw a reduction in Black enrollment, while others, including Yale, Dartmouth, and Northwestern CDS observed a slight increase in representation.

Asian students, meanwhile, have been the consistent overachievers, system-wide enrollment rising from about 2 percent in 1980 to roughly 8 percent in 2020 according to NCES Digest of Education Statistics, 2021; often well above their population share in elite schools. At certain campuses, their numbers have climbed during the post-affirmative action shuffle.

The through line is clear: disparities in academic achievement still echo in college admissions.

However, the variations among universities show that outcomes are not destiny. Differences in policy, targeted outreach, and revised recruitment strategies are the major catalysts. Implementing persistent policy and ensuring equitable resources are essential; if the gap stands, the bridge must be built.