SEATTLE — The University of Washington’s class of 2028 is the most racially diverse in the institution’s history.
One out of every five freshmen on the 52,000-student Seattle campus identifies with a racial demographic that is historically underrepresented on college campuses, a record high in 164 years of operating, according to university officials. The freshman class is around 7,200 students.
UW, where people of color make up two-thirds of enrollment, also hit this milestone last year and the year prior. Around 16% of freshmen in fall 2023 identified with an underrepresented minority group, compared with 20% this year. Back in 2020, it was around 15%.
The university used the federal government’s definition of underrepresented minority, which includes Black, Native American, Pacific Islander and Latino students, a university spokesperson said. Asian students, who make up a third of the freshman class, aren’t included in the count.
The changes at UW are in no small part due to the growing diversity of America’s youth, university officials said. As of 2023, a slight majority of public school students in Washington are kids of color. Several states reached that milestone years prior.
Seeing these numbers tick up is a positive sign of a closing gap, said Brian Jeffries, policy director for the Washington Roundtable. Research from that organization has concluded that around 70% of jobs in Washington require some level of higher education between 2024 and 2029. But only around 64% of the high school class of 2021 is predicted to earn a credential, a deficit that would surely be helped by addressing the barriers that discourage many students of color and low-income students from attending and completing college.
“They are the populations we need to be focused on,” said Jeffries. “This matters for their own success and our state’s economic success.”
The uptick at UW comes shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action last year. The decision severely limits race-conscious admissions policies at public and private universities, and is anticipated to have a chilling effect on diversity at universities, especially those that are extremely selective.
But state-funded colleges in Washington haven’t been able to factor race in admissions for around 25 years, when a statewide ban on affirmative action went into effect. Though colleges saw an initial decline after the ban was implemented, numbers quickly bounced back, research shows.
To ensure a diverse crop of students, universities like UW have focused on making the decision to apply and attend college easier. They also practice “holistic” admissions, which involves looking beyond a student’s grades and test scores to assess what unique contributions they would bring to the college.
Admissions officers look at factors such as students’ records of community service and leadership, said Paul Seegert, UW’s admissions director. They also look at the challenges students have had to overcome, including being the first person in their family to pursue higher education.
UW, the most selective of the state’s public colleges, also prioritizes Washington residents for admission, which tend to be more diverse than the non-resident pool, according to Seegert. The freshman class was selected from a pool of 74,603 applicants. Close to half of those admitted were Washingtonians, and just under 40% weren’t. Around 64% of those who enrolled on the Seattle campus are from Washington.
While enrollment at many higher education institutions took a nosedive during the pandemic as students dropped out due to financial demands, UW enrollment has been stable. The freshman class in recent years actually has been somewhat larger than normal, Seegert said, partly because some students who deferred enrollment during the pandemic are enrolling now.
