The Supreme Court’s decision to discontinue affirmative action policies for college admissions will not impact race-based financial aid awarded to MU students before June 29, 2023. Scholarships that consider race will no longer be offered starting with the freshman class of 2024. 

The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina on June 29, 2023. On the same day, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said that universities and local governments in Missouri must also end affirmative action policies. 

This Supreme Court decision will not impact the scholarship money awarded to returning students or freshman who start in fall 2023. As long as these students continue to meet the academic criteria for their race-based scholarships, MU will honor the money it awarded students as long as they meet the academic criteria, according to Christian Basi of the MU News Bureau.

Starting with MU’s class of 2028, however, new MU students will not have the opportunity to apply for scholarships that consider race, according to Basi. Basi said that MU may consider more financial aid based on socioeconomic status or other factors that could make attending MU financially difficult. 

MU has never considered race as a factor for admissions, President Mun Choi said at a UM System press conference on June 29. However, according to Basi, 6.4% of the scholarship money MU allots annually is included in scholarships that consider race. Of the $191.3 million awarded annually in undergraduate scholarships, $12.3 million is awarded in scholarships that consider race, Basi said.

In the past, scholarships that consider race have included the Diversity Award and the George C. Brooks Scholarship. MU’s Diversity Award scholarship is automatically awarded to members of underrepresented racial or ethnic groups who meet certain academic criteria like class rank and test scores. Recipients of the Diversity Award receive $3,000 or $21,500 per year for Missouri residents and non-residents respectively. The Brooks Scholarship is a competitive scholarship that considers race as one factor. Less than 20 students were awarded this scholarship for the 2022-23 school year. Missouri residents receive $8,000 and non-residents received $29,500.

Students who were awarded these scholarships before the June 29 ruling will still receive the scholarships as long as they continue to meet the academic requirements.

Only about $1 million is awarded annually in race-based scholarships to MU graduate students. MU will also honor scholarships given to incoming and returning graduate students. 

On June 30, the Missouri Students Association’s Jones-Perkins administration posted a statement on Instagram, saying that they are “deeply disheartened and disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s decision. They added that their administration affirms the students impacted by the ruling and that they will work to foster a supportive and diverse environment at MU.