Most Americans wouldn’t be disappointed if the U.S. Supreme Court bans colleges from considering race and ethnicity in their admissions process, according to a new Pew Research Center survey published Thursday (June 8).

Half of the 5,079 adults polled said they disapprove of race-conscious admissions, which the high court appears poised to strike down soon in two separate cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Just 33 percent of those surveyed approve of affirmative action to increase racial and ethnic diversity at institutions of higher learning.

The survey, conducted from March 27 to April 2, uncovered differences along racial and political party affiliation lines.

Almost half of Black Americans, 47 percent, approved of affirmative action in college admissions, with 29 percent disapproving of the practice and 24 percent unsure. White and Asian Americans were on the opposite side, with 57 percent of Whites and 52 percent of Asians opposed to  the practice. Latinos were equally divided at 39 percent.

A large portion, 74 percent, of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents disapprove of the practice, compared to 54 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who want colleges to include race and ethnicity in their admissions policy.

Most people, 49 percent, said taking race and ethnicity into consideration makes the admission process less fair. Only 20 percent said the practice makes admissions decisions more fair, and 17 percent said it makes no difference.

In a separate study, most of the 1,680 adults surveyed were open to some level of college affirmative action, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released on May 30.

While 63 percent said the high court should not block the practice, 68 percent of them said considering race and ethnicity should be a low priority in the admission process.

The justices heard oral arguments in the two cases last fall. Many experts predict, given the conservative majority of the current Supreme Court bench and its gutting of Roe v. Wade, affirmative action will be eliminated, making student bodies at top universities less diverse.

In the Harvard University case, a group called Students for Fair Admission accused the school of holding Asian-American students to a higher educational standard than it does African American or Latino students. In the University of North Carolina case, the same group claims the school discriminated against White and Asian-American applicants by favoring the admission of Black, Hispanic and Native American students.