Tag: minority

  • HHS Ends Minority Biomedical Research Support Program

    HHS Ends Minority Biomedical Research Support Program

    The Health and Human Services Department has terminated the Minority Biomedical Research Support program, which provided colleges and universities grants to increase the number of minority faculty, students and investigators conducting biomedical research.

    In a notice published Monday in the Federal Register, HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the cancellation is to comply with two anti–diversity, equity and inclusion executive orders President Trump signed in January on his first two days back in office, plus the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action in college admissions decisions. The change is effective Sept. 25.

    “The MBRS program prioritizes racial classifications in awarding federal funding,” including by relying on “‘minority student enrollment’ to determine applicant eligibility,” Kennedy wrote. And, though the Supreme Court ruling focused on university admissions, Kennedy wrote that “the principles identified in Students for Fair Admissions also apply to the federal government and require repeal of the MBRS program.”

    STAT reported the move earlier. Rochelle Newman, a University of Maryland psychologist who used the grant to pay undergraduate researchers and train them, told STAT that “cutting of these programs means that an entire generation of students will end up being lost to science.”

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  • House Minority Leader Jeffries giving marathon speech criticizing GOP tax cut bill (PBS News Hour)

    House Minority Leader Jeffries giving marathon speech criticizing GOP tax cut bill (PBS News Hour)

    US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) gives a marathon speech, calling out the destructive path that House Republicans are going down. This is a Bill that undermines the United States of America and its national security.  It is also a threat to democracy.  Folks should listen to every minute of this historical speech. 

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  • College Applications Rise, Especially From Minority Students

    College Applications Rise, Especially From Minority Students

    The number of students applying to college rose 4 percent this admission cycle, and applicants submitted 6 percent more applications over all, according to a new report from the Common App. 

    The increase was fueled by an especially large spike in the number of underrepresented minority applicants, which rose by 12 percent compared to non-URM applicants’ 2 percent increase. In addition, applicants from families below the median income level rose 8 percent, compared to 3 percent from above the median.

    The increase could reflect the Common App’s addition of more community colleges and open-access institutions to its platform, expanding to include more institutions that primarily serve low-income students.

    One striking finding in the report: Domestic applicant growth exceeded that of international students for the first time since 2019. Domestic applicants increased by 5 percent while the number of international applicants declined by 1 percent.

    In addition, the number of applicants submitting test scores in 2024–25 grew by 11 percent, outpacing nonreporters for the first time since 2021. Some schools began returning to mandatory test requirements this application cycle, abandoning test-optional policies adopted during the pandemic.

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  • Rise in college applications driven by minority students

    Rise in college applications driven by minority students

    The number of first-year applicants this cycle is up 5 percent over January of last year, according to a new report from Common App, and overall applications rose 7 percent.

    The growth was buoyed by a sharp uptick in underrepresented students: Latino applicants increased 13 percent, Black applicants by 12 percent and first-generation applicants by 14 percent. Asian applicants rose by 7 percent, while the number of white applicants didn’t change.

    A Common App analysis also found that the number of applicants from low-income neighborhoods increased more than those from neighborhoods above the median income level—by 9 percent, compared to 4 percent. And the number of applicants who qualify for a fee waiver is up 10 percent so far.

    Geographically, applicant trends seemed to follow broader demographic trends; they surged by 33 percent in the Southwest, with a 36 percent boost in Texas alone, while every other region remained relatively stable. The Western region saw applicants decline by 1 percent.

    In general, students are applying to about the same number of schools as last year, with only a 2 percent increase in applications per student. Public institutions have received 11 percent more applications, while private ones have received 3 percent more.

    For the first time since 2019, domestic applicant growth outpaced that of international applicants, with the former increasing by 5 percent and the latter slowing to 1 percent. Certain high-volume countries experienced steep declines: The number of applicants from Africa fell by 14 percent, and Ghana in particular saw a 36 percent decrease. Applicants from other increasingly popular source countries for international students surged; Bangladesh, for instance, saw 45 percent growth.

    The number of applicants who submitted test scores was about even with the number who didn’t. For the past four years, since test-optional policies were implemented in 2020, no-score applicants have significantly outnumbered those who submitted scores, but institutions returning to test requirements may be swinging the pendulum back.

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