The dilemma
Many schools share the Court's opinion that diversity brings educational benefits to the entire student body, and therefore strive to achieve this end in their admissions procedures. However, schools have been left with the dilemma of just how to achieve diversity in a manner that is both efficacious and in conformity with the Court’s definition of “narrowly tailored use.”
Subjective holistic evaluation - the solution?
A number of schools have turned to holistic evaluation of applications in order to achieve diversity in a manner that is consistent with Court rulings. However, traditional holistic methodologies are vulnerable to legal challenge because of their inherent subjectivity. Because of the heavy reliance on subjective human evaluation inherent in such methods, it cannot be proven that they exclude the possibility of racial preferences in their consideration of race/ethnicity – something the court has clearly prohibited.
