View detailed information about this source submission and its extracted claims.
The 2023 Supreme Court decision eliminating affirmative action has significantly altered college application essays, prompting many Black applicants to focus on racial trauma. This approach has unintended consequences, including increased racial resentment and a focus on victimhood.
Automatically extracted metadata and content analysis.
{ "tone": "analytical", "perspective": "opinionated", "audience": "general", "credibility_indicators": [ "expert_quotes", "data_cited", "author_credentials" ] }
Complete details about this source submission.
{ "source_type": "extension", "content_hash": "ac09d45ff8ce3d6759718aac3aa75525f9b5c9a33875fe2203b1a12ebc3093d5", "submitted_via": "chrome_extension", "extension_version": "1.0.18", "claim_extraction_result_summary": { "total_processed": 21, "attached": 0, "detached": 0, "updated": 21, "target_claim_uuids": [ "9fc89f69-0962-4c39-833e-825ac80b8718", "9fc89f6a-04f3-4218-b82f-25c1be125f09", "9fc89f6b-0277-4513-b8da-7b14944510af", "9fc89f6b-fdef-4554-acf0-88c341f13162", "9fc89f6c-e576-43fd-9d45-886f06c7b59b", "9fc89f6d-e545-45ef-8219-9f813b36d9ec", "9fc89f6e-e4af-4e8a-afc0-7d373a698fbb", "9fc89f6f-ea30-4e22-8f02-f121ca833fb0", "9fc89f70-e197-4e4f-bb04-8413151b0aee", "9fc89f71-d704-4c44-9c4d-6b545f05c780", "9fc89f72-cfde-407c-84eb-9baff2552a1a", "9fc89f73-f040-43c5-b569-63d9f62c1f0e", "9fc89f74-ee73-480a-b7f9-12e335046939", "9fc89f75-dd49-4596-9840-7672507ddc72", "9fc89f76-d122-4187-add5-b8d55a6dc45f", "9fc89f77-ce84-4267-bbbc-f1b246d569b9", "9fc89f78-c5dd-486d-ab12-9d030fb56451", "9fc89f79-cdf0-4733-b966-02438ad777e0", "9fc89f7a-beee-4b89-b5c4-e7d33cdca511", "9fc89f7b-c24d-414e-892b-f60299237faa", "9fc89f7c-c071-4c77-9b67-c0e6302c3300" ], "updated_at": "2025-09-02T19:23:21.023924Z" }, "claim_extraction_result": { "total_claims": 21, "similar_claims_found": 0, "new_claims_created": 21, "processed_claims": [ { "uuid": "9fc89f69-0962-4c39-833e-825ac80b8718", "text": "Harvard College permitted students to begin applying on Aug. 1, and the Common App released its essay prompts way back in February.", "simplified_text": "Harvard College permitted applications August 1 Common App released essay prompts in February", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "College" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f6a-04f3-4218-b82f-25c1be125f09", "text": "Those brief but pivotal essays often make all the difference between acceptance and rejection.", "simplified_text": "College essays often determine acceptance or rejection", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "College" ], "confidence": 0.8, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f6b-0277-4513-b8da-7b14944510af", "text": "The Supreme Court decision two years ago eliminating affirmative action in college admissions fomented considerable uncertainty about the transformed admissions landscape, and the second Trump administration\u2019s recent assaults on higher education have only exacerbated the confusion.", "simplified_text": "Supreme Court decision eliminated affirmative action two years ago Trump administration assaults exacerbated confusion", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Legal", "Education", "Political" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f6b-fdef-4554-acf0-88c341f13162", "text": "President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have repeatedly brandished the court\u2019s decision, seeking to prohibit universities from considering race in any way whatsoever, even though the opinion plainly requires no such thing.", "simplified_text": "Trump Bondi McMahon sought to prohibit universities from considering race", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Political", "Legal", "Education" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f6c-e576-43fd-9d45-886f06c7b59b", "text": "In early August, the Trump administration controversially demanded that all American colleges and universities relinquish data about admitted and rejected applications broken down along racial lines, evidently preparing to decrease further the already-depressed Black enrollment numbers at many of the nation\u2019s pre-eminent educational institutions.", "simplified_text": "Trump administration demanded colleges relinquish racial application data in August", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Political", "Education", "Legal" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f6d-e545-45ef-8219-9f813b36d9ec", "text": "Since the 1970s, conservatives have routinely aimed to eliminate affirmative action in college admissions.", "simplified_text": "Conservatives aimed to eliminate affirmative action since 1970s", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Political", "Legal", "Education" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f6e-e4af-4e8a-afc0-7d373a698fbb", "text": "In June 2023, the Supreme Court delivered that long-sought triumph, when Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion killing affirmative action in a case called Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.", "simplified_text": "Supreme Court killed affirmative action in June 2023 Roberts wrote majority opinion", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Legal", "Education", "Political" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f6f-ea30-4e22-8f02-f121ca833fb0", "text": "The first-year classes that entered many of the nation\u2019s most prominent colleges in the fall of 2024 contained far fewer Black students than prior cohorts.", "simplified_text": "2024 college classes had fewer Black students", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "Statistical" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f70-e197-4e4f-bb04-8413151b0aee", "text": "At M.I.T., for example, Black enrollment plunged to 5 percent from 15 percent of the first-year class.", "simplified_text": "MIT Black enrollment plunged to 5 percent from 15 percent", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "Statistical" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f71-d704-4c44-9c4d-6b545f05c780", "text": "At Amherst, Black enrollment fell to just 3 percent from 11 percent.", "simplified_text": "Amherst Black enrollment fell to 3 percent from 11 percent", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "Statistical" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f72-cfde-407c-84eb-9baff2552a1a", "text": "At Harvard Law School, for example, the number of incoming Black students dropped by more than half, making it the smallest class of Black Harvard 1Ls since 1965, and accounting for only 3 percent of the overall class.", "simplified_text": "Harvard Law Black students dropped by half smallest class since 1965 3 percent of class", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "Statistical" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f73-f040-43c5-b569-63d9f62c1f0e", "text": "The opinion allowed that colleges may award an applicant an admissions boost if a personal essay discusses \u201chow race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise.\u201d", "simplified_text": "Colleges may boost applicant if essay discusses race's effect", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "Legal" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f74-ee73-480a-b7f9-12e335046939", "text": "Some prompts after the ruling overtly instructed applicants to write about race if they so wished.", "simplified_text": "Some prompts instructed applicants to write about race", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f75-dd49-4596-9840-7672507ddc72", "text": "Several eminent colleges admit only about 5 percent of applicants.", "simplified_text": "Eminent colleges admit about 5 percent of applicants", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "Statistical" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f76-d122-4187-add5-b8d55a6dc45f", "text": "The Supreme Court has now expressly instructed that highlighting experiences with racial discrimination is one constitutionally sanctioned method that can furnish students with that elusive edge.", "simplified_text": "Supreme Court instructed racial discrimination experiences can furnish students with edge", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "Legal" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f77-ce84-4267-bbbc-f1b246d569b9", "text": "Shelby Steele\u2019s 1990 book \u201cThe Content of Our Character,\u201d published 12 years after the Supreme Court first legitimated affirmative action policies, is the undisputed ur-text that pursued this critique.", "simplified_text": "Shelby Steele's 1990 book is undisputed text criticizing affirmative action", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Historical", "Political" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f78-c5dd-486d-ab12-9d030fb56451", "text": "In 2024, a Cornell undergraduate of color expressly told the university newspaper that had she applied before the end of affirmative action, she would not have focused her essay on racial identity.", "simplified_text": "Cornell student said she wouldn't have focused on racial identity before affirmative action's end", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education" ], "confidence": 0.8, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f79-cdf0-4733-b966-02438ad777e0", "text": "Teen Vogue has observed that there is \u201can even harsher burden on applicants\u2019 essays,\u201d and that students now \u201care practicing ranking themselves against their peers in a form of trauma Olympics.\u201d", "simplified_text": "Teen Vogue observed harsher burden on applicants' essays students practice trauma Olympics", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education", "Social" ], "confidence": 0.8, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f7a-beee-4b89-b5c4-e7d33cdca511", "text": "The conservative emphasis on American racial progress animated Chief Justice Roberts\u2019s opinion in Shelby County v. Holder (2013), which effectively eliminated one of the Voting Rights Act\u2019s central provisions.", "simplified_text": "Conservative emphasis on racial progress animated Roberts' Shelby County v Holder opinion", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Legal", "Political", "Historical" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f7b-c24d-414e-892b-f60299237faa", "text": "Following the court\u2019s decision, The Washington Post covered Demar Goodman\u2019s evolving college application strategy.", "simplified_text": "Washington Post covered Demar Goodman's college application strategy", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Education" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null }, { "uuid": "9fc89f7c-c071-4c77-9b67-c0e6302c3300", "text": "In his 1994 memoir, Henry Louis Gates Jr., a liberal, distinguished scholar of African American literature and history at Harvard, balked at the notion that Black people must subscribe to the totalizing, all-consuming vision of race that the court\u2019s decision unintentionally promoted.", "simplified_text": "Henry Louis Gates Jr balked at notion Black people must subscribe to totalizing vision of race", "claim_maker": "Justin Driver", "claim_subject_tags": [ "Social", "Historical" ], "confidence": 0.9, "context_type": "Opinion Essay", "similarity_found": false, "linked_to": null, "similarity_score": null } ], "improved_author": "Justin Driver, professor at Yale Law School", "suggested_reeval_at": "2026-09-01 00:00:00" } }
{ "extracted_at": "2025-09-02T19:00:41.276808Z", "ai_model": "gemini-1.5-flash", "extraction_method": "automated", "content_length": 19838, "url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/09\/01\/opinion\/college-essay-post-affirmative-action.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20250901&instance_id=161665&nl=the-morning®i_id=122976029&segment_id=205030&user_id=b25c5730c89e0c73f75709d8f1254337", "existing_metadata": { "author_name": "Justin Driver", "published_at": "2025-09-01T00:00:00.000000Z", "domain_name": "nytimes.com", "site_name": "The New York Times", "section": "Opinion", "publisher": "The New York Times Company" } }
<html lang="en-US" class="story nytapp-vi-article nytapp-vi-story story nytapp-vi-article " data-nyt-compute-assignment="fallback" xmlns:og="http://opengraphprotocol.org/schema/" data-rh="lang,class"><head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <title>Opinion | Applying to College in the Age of Racial Trauma - The New York Times</title> <meta data-rh="true" name="robots" content="noarchive, max-image-preview:large"><meta data-rh="true" name="description" content="The new, higher premium placed on college application essays that focus on racially traumatic experiences produces numerous undesirable consequences."><meta data-rh="true" property="twitter:url" content="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/opinion/college-essay-post-affirmative-action.html"><meta data-rh="true" property="twitter:title" content="Opinion | Applying to College in the Age of Racial Trauma"><meta data-rh="true" property="twitter:description" content="The new, higher premium placed on college application essay...
Applying to College in the Age of Racial Trauma Sept. 1, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET By Justin Driver Mr. Driver is a professor at Yale Law School and the author of the forthcoming book βThe Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education.β For many ambitious high school seniors, the standard end-of-summer blues arrive with an additional layer of intensity, as they reluctantly contemplate how to navigate the daunting application process for admission to elite universities. Harvard College permitted students to begin applying on Aug. 1, and the Common App released its essay prompts way back in February. That means 12th graders who have their aims set high now confront a looming question: What should I write about in my personal statement? Those brief but pivotal essays often make all the difference between acceptance and rejection. While hopeful students compete to gain entry to Americaβs most elite campuses, we should all closely scrutinize this proc...
Detailed status of each processing step.
All claims extracted from this source document.