More white and Asian students enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill this year, in the first school year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action nationwide — due to lawsuits that had focused on UNC and Harvard University.

New data from UNC shows the school becoming less diverse: The percentage of white and Asian students in this year’s incoming class increased from 88.5% to 89.6%, and the number of Black, Hispanic and Native American students dropped from 22.9% to 19%.

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The numbers add up to more than 100% because some students identify as multiple races or ethnicities.

UNC's vice provost for enrollment, Rachelle Feldman, acknowledged the drop in diversity following the end of affirmative action. She said the university had never admitted unqualified students in the past and didn't do that this year, either.

"Every student in our incoming class has earned their way into Carolina — as every student in the past has," Feldman said in a call with reporters Thursday.

Comparing this year to last year, the biggest increase was among Asian students. The biggest decrease was among Black students.

  • The number of white students increased slightly, from 63.7% in 2023 to 63.8% in 2024. Asian enrollment increased from 24.8% to 25.8%, and Pacific Islander enrollment increased from 0.2% to 0.3%.
    • Black student enrollment dropped from 10.5% to 7.8%, Hispanic enrollment dropped from 10.8% to 10.1%, and Native American enrollment dropped from 1.6% to 1.1%.

      The university also announced that more than 73,000 people applied to be a Tar Heel this year, setting a record. Just 5,624 new students were admitted, meaning the university rejected more than 9 out of every 10 applicants.

      When the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action last year, WRAL reported, about 8% of UNC-Chapel Hill’s entire student body was Black. In the past that's led to concerns that the state's flagship university isn’t representative of North Carolina, where one in every four people identifies as Black or multiracial. But the new ruling paved the way for the student body to go in the other direction and become less diverse.

      The new numbers released Thursday showed that appears to be happening. Feldman, however, cautioned against reading too much into the numbers.

      She also repeated promises UNC officials have routinely made in the wake of the Supreme Court decision — to continue advocating for everyone in the state, no matter their background.

      “It’s too soon to see trends with just one year of data,” Feldman said in a written statement. “We are committed to following the new law. We are also committed to making sure students in all 100 counties from every population in our growing state feel encouraged to apply, have confidence in our affordability and know this is a place they feel welcome and can succeed.”

      She told reporters that the new class features students from 95 of the state’s 100 counties, plus all 50 states. The youngest new student is 16; the oldest is 55.

      “Anyone, from any background, can earn their way here,” she said.

      Affirmative action background

      Colleges had long been banned from having racial quotas. But until this year they were allowed to use race as one of the many characteristics considered when determining whether to admit a student. Other factors include grades, athletic or musical ability, extracurricular activities and whether their parents are alumni or donors.

      The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that race could no longer be one of the factors considered by colleges. It was a party-line vote, with all the conservative justices voting to strike down affirmative action and all the liberal justices dissenting.

      Harvard and UNC, the focus of the Supreme Court’s decision, were chosen due to their background as not only the oldest private and public universities in the country but also their status as among the nation’s most competitive, elite schools. At many colleges and universities, affirmative action rarely came into play since most schools accept most students who apply. But at more selective schools, critics of affirmative action had argued, white and Asian students were being unfairly passed over as the schools sought to increase diversity on campus.

      UNC officials had argued that campus diversity was a good thing, and that affirmative action didn't mean they were accepting students who weren’t academically prepared. WRAL reported last year that in the previous incoming class at UNC, the middle 50% of incoming students scored between 1340 and 1500 on the SAT, out of 1600 possible points. Of those whose high schools reported class ranks, most of the new students had been ranked in the top 10 in their graduating class.

      The Supreme Court's elimination of affirmative action comes amid other efforts by conservatives to crack down on government-backed, pro-diversity efforts. In North Carolina the state legislature voted last year to ban diversity, equity and inclusion trainings, as well as pro-diversity statements on job applications, throughout all of state government including universities. And the legislature's appointees to the UNC System Board of Governors voted earlier this year to no longer require DEI offices on each campus.

      The board ordered each university to report back on how many jobs they eliminate in the restructuring; those reports are expected to be made public next week.