But unlike their past half-century of predecessors at colleges and universities with selective admissions, they gained their places at their new schools without explicit consideration of race or ethnicity—the result of the Supreme Court rulings in June 2023 outlawing affirmative action in undergraduate admissions (see “The Supreme Court Rules,” September-October 2023, page 14). Critics of affirmative action, including the litigants who brought the cases the Court decided last year, have long claimed it is discriminatory and admits lesser qualified (or even unqualified) candidates. These results, like those at Duke and Virginia, may run counter to earlier expectations that without affirmative action considerations in holistic admissions reviews, white and Asian American enrollments would rise as a share of the student body. Princeton has also developed considerable momentum in attracting lower-income and first-generation students; significantly increasing transfer admissions; and—last year—boosting financial aid to a new level. As the most prominent defendant in the affirmative action litigation, the College has a large target on its back.