Before the Supreme Court ruling striking down race-conscious admissions, we asked student photographers at seven very different schools to show us what community looks like on their campuses — some that have long practiced affirmative action and some that don’t. Taken together, they create a fuller portrait of diversity in higher education in America.

Aziza Mamadaliyeva, 26, transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, as a junior.

‘Transfer students have a little bit different background compared to regular students who get accepted by having good resources during their life. A lot of students there come from privileged backgrounds. They stick to their community.’

Alexia Godinez-Thompson, 21, a rising senior at Howard University, found the H.B.C.U. a welcome change from her high school in Raleigh, N.C.

Marleigh Belsley, 22, will be entering her senior year at Harvard University.

Hosbel Hernandez, 29, worked full time while attending LaGuardia Community College, which he graduated from in June.

Kaleb B. Autman, 21, will be a senior at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he is one of 790 Black undergraduate students in a school that has 35,184 undergrads.

Ethan Copps, 22, recently graduated from Middle Tennessee State University, which he chose for its affordability, film program and proximity to his hometown.
Just about an hour from Nashville — one of the fastest-growing cities in America — Middle Tennessee State University is a popular public option for in-state applicants, who make up 90 percent of its undergraduate class.

Andrew Jogi, 22, graduated in May from the University of New Mexico.
With over half of its student body identifying as Hispanic, the University of New Mexico is considered a Hispanic-serving institution, or H.S.I. Although H.S.I.s make up 17 percent of higher education institutions nationwide, they serve two-thirds of Hispanic college students in America.