After Supreme Court Ruling, College Applicants Still Write About Race

Walking the streets of England as a Latina teenager, Estefany Cepeda Fana recalled getting “weird looks” around town and even hearing someone call her the n-word. But Cepeda resolved to embrace her multiracial identity as a native of the Dominican Republic. That experience in a study-abroad program became material for her college essay. Cepeda’s essay is one of many this fall that show an enduring — albeit limited — role for race in college admissions despite the landmark ruling from the Supreme Court in June that rejected affirmative action at selective schools.