BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech will no longer consider legacy status when considering potential students following a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to end affirmative action.
Virginia Tech announced plans on Friday that include "discontinuing the early decision option, formally eliminating legacy as a factor, and complying with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to remove race and ethnicity as an explicit factor in the admissions decision process."
“The previous expectation in the early decision plan that students lock in their commitment to Virginia Tech well before the regular decision deadline was not a good option for all of our applicants, particularly those needing financial aid, and created unneeded pressure on students,” said Juan Espinoza, associate vice provost for enrollment management. “By eliminating early decision, we are simplifying our application process and also leveling the playing field for all students, regardless of their household income.”
For the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, the school will bring forward the early action deadline to Nov. 15, with the regular decision deadline remaining on Jan. 15.
The university said the decision to eliminate legacy status was made to evolve the school's approach to admissions, seek innovations and adjustments in order to remove barriers in the applications process and improve access for all students.
“We’ve placed less and less emphasis on legacy in recent years, to the point that it’s not factoring into admissions decisions in any significant way, and yet our legacy numbers have remained really strong,” Espinoza said. “While around 12% of our applications are legacy, they comprise over 20% of the incoming class. This demonstrates that legacy students are applying with all the academic and extracurricular preparation that they need to compete for admission.”
What does this decision mean for the future of universities in OUR area and what their racial and ethnic makeup will look like?