Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2022 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC. v. 
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE FIRST CIRCUIT 

No. 20–1199.  Argued October 31, 2022—Decided June 29, 2023* 

Harvard College and the University of North Carolina (UNC) are two of
the oldest institutions of higher learning in the United States.  Every
year, tens of thousands of students apply to each school; many fewer 
are admitted.  Both Harvard and UNC employ a highly selective ad-
missions process to make their decisions.  Admission to each school can 
depend on a student’s grades, recommendation letters, or extracurric-
ular involvement.  It can also depend on their race.  The question pre-
sented  is  whether  the  admissions  systems  used  by  Harvard  College 
and UNC are lawful under the Equal Protection Clause of the Four-
teenth Amendment. 

At Harvard, each application for admission is initially screened by a
“first reader,” who assigns a numerical score in each of six categories: 
academic, extracurricular, athletic, school support, personal, and over-
all.  For the “overall” category—a composite of the five other ratings— 
a  first  reader can  and  does consider  the  applicant’s  race.    Harvard’s 
admissions subcommittees then review all applications from a partic-
ular geographic area.  These regional subcommittees make recommen-
dations to the full admissions committee, and they take an applicant’s 
race  into  account.    When  the  40-member  full  admissions  committee 
begins its deliberations, it discusses the relative breakdown of appli-
cants by race.  The goal of the process, according to Harvard’s director 
of admissions, is ensuring there is no “dramatic drop-off” in minority 
admissions from the prior class.  An applicant receiving a majority of 

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* Together with No. 21–707, Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Uni-
versity  of  North  Carolina  et al.,  on  certiorari  before  judgment  to  the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.