Updates to Holistic Review Factors
The United States Supreme Court ruled in June that colleges and universities that receive federal funding must change the way they consider an applicant’s race or ethnicity in admissions decisions. Based on that ruling and an exceptionally deep review of the context factors considered in holistic review, the University of Minnesota made the following adjustments to holistic admission review context factors:
Race and ethnicity not a factor
A student’s response to the optional questions on our application about race and ethnicity will NOT be displayed to the admissions committee and will NOT be considered at any point during the University of Minnesota admissions decision process.
Family attendance or employment at the U of M not a factor
A student’s response to the optional questions on our application about family attendance or family employment at the University of Minnesota will NOT be displayed to the admissions committee and will NOT be considered at any point during the University of Minnesota admissions decision process.
Changes to short-answer question
In order to learn more about a student’s lived experiences, add contextual information that will be used in our holistic review, and demonstrate that the University values differing experiences, talents, and perspectives, our application was updated to have all students complete one of our short-answer questions. Previously, this short-answer question was optional. Responses to this question will help application reviewers get to know applicants better; it will not be assessed as a writing sample:
Short-answer question:
The University values diversity, broadly defined to include diversity of experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, and talents. Enrolling a diverse community of scholars interested in learning with and from each other fosters discussion and discovery inside and outside of the classroom. Please share briefly how you might contribute to, or benefit from, our community of scholars. Please limit your short answer to 1,000 characters or approximately 150 words.
As always in our holistic review approach, there has never been one single deciding factor for admissions. We look at the student’s full set of experiences that they provide in their application. We remain steadfast in our educational mission of inclusion and access, to remove barriers to higher education for underrepresented populations, and to ensure that all members of our community have equitable access to the University and its resources. We will continue our recruiting efforts—including special events showcasing our multicultural communities, programs, and resources— that have yielded increased diversity in our freshman and transfer entering classes. We always welcome applications from every student who desires to become a Gopher.
Last updated: September 20, 2023