Political Landscape Guiding Competitive University Entrance: Focus on Columbia and Dartmouth Admission Processes
In the realm of higher education, a shift is underway as families consider cultural and political concerns of institutions alongside traditional factors like rankings, costs, and location when planning college visits and applications. This evolution is driven by a series of federal Title VI investigations that have significantly impacted college admissions and campus experiences, particularly at Ivy League schools.
One institution grappling with these changes is Dartmouth College. The college has adopted a policy of "institutional restraint," emphasizing that administrators should speak on behalf of the college only sparingly. Prospective students and their families perceive this policy as a reflection of Dartmouth's values and alignment with their own, influencing their decision to apply or not. However, Dartmouth has declined to join peer institutions in signing public letters condemning recent federal actions related to higher education, a move that has drawn both praise and critique.
Meanwhile, Harvard University remains under investigation for allowing anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination to persist unchecked. A federal investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act found Harvard was "willfully" ignoring antisemitic harassment, including acts such as students being spit on for wearing a yarmulke and subjected to "Heil Hitler" jeers. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concluded that Harvard's indifference to discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students violated federal law. As a result, the federal government has frozen over $2.6 billion in Harvard’s federal research funding since 2023 and pushed for sweeping campus reforms.
Similarly, Duke University is facing a directed investigation related to alleged racial discrimination in law journal selection, admissions, hiring, and scholarships. The scrutiny challenges the use of race preferences in these processes, calling for immediate reforms and assurances of compliance with non-discrimination laws.
These investigations have created significant tensions around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with federal authorities demanding reductions or elimination of race-conscious policies and DEI efforts they deem discriminatory or exclusionary. Universities have pushed back, citing constitutional rights and academic independence.
The impacts on college admissions and campus culture are far-reaching. There is pressure to revise or eliminate race-conscious admissions and hiring practices, increased federal oversight, and conditionality on funding based on compliance with anti-discrimination laws. Campus experiences are shaped by heightened conflict over antisemitism and the role of DEI initiatives. Threats to foreign student admissions at Harvard based on purported hostility to American constitutional values have also emerged.
Other universities facing scrutiny include the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California, Berkeley, and Tulane University, among others. The Biden administration has opened investigations into 100 higher education institutions for violations of the 1964 Title VI Act, alleging instances of antisemitism on college campuses. Conversely, the Trump administration deployed Title VI against 60 different higher education institutions, investigating infractions relating to the abolition of DEI initiatives and select cases of antisemitism.
In response to allegations of antisemitism, Columbia University agreed to pay $200 million to the federal government and submit compliance reports to an externally appointed administrator on July 23, 2025. The University of Kentucky and Tulane University have drawn attention from the Trump administration for their affiliation with the "Ph.D. Project," a nonprofit organization that supports students from underrepresented backgrounds.
As these investigations continue, students are being asked to weigh not just where they'll thrive academically, but what kind of institutional culture they're stepping into and how that decision will reflect on them during the application process. The situation remains evolving, with investigations ongoing and universities responding with both reforms and legal resistance.
In the 2025 college admissions cycle, political climate plays a significant role as students weigh their applications based on an institution's cultural and political stance, such as Columbia University's agreement to pay a $200 million fine for antisemitism allegations in July 2025. Simultaneously, the education and self-development sector finds itself at the crossroads of politics, with universities like Harvard and Duke under Title VI investigations for alleged discrimination, shaping the college admissions political climate.
The investigations into Ivy League schools, including Dartmouth College and Columbia University, and other prestigious institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and Tulane University, have resulted in general-news headlines and further highlighted the impact of politics on education-and-self-development, particularly in the realms of DEI initiatives and Title VI investigations colleges.
