I shared some of your confusion, Rex.

From reading Kristal's account, it sounded as though she emphasized her background of growing up in a single-parent, multi-generational Black extended family, and explained how that has shaped her life differently. Presumably, the admissions committee took that into consideration when reviewing Kristal's application.

That's the way affirmative action SHOULD work. But, from what limited knowledge I have of the recent SCOTUS ruling (I haven't gotten my hands on the Majority Opinion to read it in full, yet), colleges would still be able to do this.

I must be missing something. I don't see at what point in time it was confirmed for Kristal that her racial heritage was weighted any more heavily, based on what was/wasn't revealed to her, in and of itself, outside of how she personally testified about the intertwined relationships between her racial and socioeconomic identities.