Last Updated on September 28, 2026
Quick answer: In 2018, Susan Shifflett, a Former Admissions Officer from Yale at InGenius Prep, discussed the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard lawsuit on CNBC’s Power Lunch. The case challenged race-conscious admissions, and in June 2023 the Supreme Court ruled that colleges can no longer consider race as a factor in admissions.
CNBC Interview: InGenius Prep Comments on the Harvard Lawsuit
With the Harvard lawsuit at the forefront of the news, racial bias and the role of diversity have become the most pressing issues in college admissions today. [1] It is important to understand all of the factors that come into play once you submit your application. Watch Susan Shifflett, one of our Former Admissions Officers from Yale, provide her perspective on CNBC’s Power Lunch segment. See the full CNBC interview here!
As Susan explains in our CNBC interview, the admissions process is remarkably complex. Top schools do not calculate decisions based on standardized test scores and GPAs, but instead have trained admissions officers read all parts of an application holistically. [2] They try to understand a student’s identity, interests, and perspective, and then provide an earnest assessment of all that an applicant might bring to their campus community. Inevitably, there is an undeniable subjectivity to this process, as well as certain factors that applicants cannot control. At the end of the day, admissions deans review the profiles of qualified applicants as they shape an incoming class. They take a step back to view the balance of racial, socioeconomic, and geographic diversity before sending acceptances.
Both applicants and admissions offices need to think critically about the types of diversity within an application. In this increasingly competitive process, it’s crucial that applicants share how they differentiate themselves from other top students. On the flip side, admissions offices also need to consider how they define diversity, and how this notion plays into their final admissions decisions. Watch our CNBC interview for a discussion of these important topics!
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