Despite the record number of Asian-American students Harvard University admitted to its class of 2027, experts warn that falling admissions for most other minority groups could be a problem.

According to NBC News, the admissions of these students took place “as the Supreme Court continues deliberations on a lawsuit brought against Harvard by a right-wing group that alleges race-conscious admissions discriminate against white and Asian students”.

An organization called Students for Fair Admissions has filed lawsuits against the two universities, Harvard and the University of North Carolina, alleging racial discrimination against Asians in the application review process. The cases were originally dismissed in 2014 and in November last year were heard by the court.

In a breakdown of the incoming class released by the university last week, Harvard revealed that 29.9% of admitted applicants are Asian American. It’s a 2.1% jump from last year’s number.

“There are a couple of possible reasons for this," said Julie Park, an associate professor at the University of Maryland who studies racial equity in high education. One could be an increase in Asian American legacy admits, which favors children of Harvard alumni in the admissions process. It also coincides with a population growth of Asian American young adults and high school graduates in the U.S. generally”.

The Supreme Court is currently preparing a decision on Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a lawsuit that alleges the Ivy League university‘s race-conscious admissions process discriminates against Asian applicants, according to NBC.

After the court heard the case in October, advocates fear the conservative majority might mean the end of affirmative action. Students of color at both Harvard and the University of North Carolina, also being sued by Students for Fair Admissions, have spent months protesting and speaking out in favor of race-conscious admissions.

“What concerns experts is that, for the second year in a row at Harvard, Black and Latino admits dropped, comprising 15.3% and 11.3% respectively. Native Hawaiian and Native American admits are also down from last year, sitting at 0.5% and 2% respectively”, according to NBC.

“While you have seen growth in the Asian American high school graduate population, it is nothing compared to the growth in the Latinx population,” she said. “So it’s really concerning and illuminating that you’re not seeing that similar uptick in admitted students among the Black and Latinx students. […] That disparity points to some issues”, according to Professor Julie Park for NBC.

Park also cited the university’s high enrollment rate and its emphasis on enrolling athletes, which she said tends to favor white recruits.

“They have these policies that are trying to facilitate equity, but they also have these policies that undermine equity”, she said. “So, you know, I think they really need to take a hard look in the mirror”