Can someone explain affirmative action with an example?

Hi everyone, I've been hearing a lot about affirmative action in college admissions, but I'm not entirely sure what it means or how it works. Can someone explain the concept with a real-life example? I'd appreciate it if it's explained in simple terms too. Thanks!

Affirmative action used to be a practice implemented by colleges and universities to address historical discrimination and promote diversity in their student bodies. It aimed to provide underrepresented groups, such as racial and ethnic minorities, with better access to higher education by considering race as one of several factors in the admission process. However, in June 2023, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, and colleges are no longer allowed to practice race-conscious admissions. They can still consider how race may have impacted a student as an individual but cannot make decisions based on race alone.

Before the ban, here's an example to help illustrate the concept: Imagine two students – Student A and Student B – who both apply to the same college. Student A comes from an underrepresented minority group, while Student B does not. Both students have similar academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and qualifications. In an attempt to increase diversity on campus and provide opportunities to underrepresented minorities, the college might have chosen to admit Student A over Student B due to their race/ethnicity as an additional factor that could contribute to the overall diversity of the campus.

It's important to note that affirmative action never meant that students with significantly lower qualifications were admitted solely based on their race or ethnicity. It was a way to consider race among other factors to create a more inclusive and diverse learning environment.

Since the ruling against affirmative action, colleges have shifted to considering other aspects like socioeconomic background, geographic location, and personal challenges faced by an applicant. They can still consider how race might have impacted a student's life experiences, but it is no longer used as a direct factor in admission decisions.