In her 2024 State of the State address, New York Governor Kathy Hochul introduced the Top 10% Promise, a policy offering New York students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class direct admission to the State University of New York (SUNY) system. "Access to higher education," she said, "has the potential to transform the lives of young New Yorkers and change the trajectory of a student's life. Through these bold initiatives, critical steps are being taken toward ensuring every New York student can continue their education, build their professional career, and pursue their dreams." This policy is now in effect. Hochul's initiative comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 strike-down of affirmative action in "Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College" ("SFFA"). "Percent plans"--admissions policies that grant a certain percentage of each high school's senior class direct admission to a state university system on the basis of high school GPA--are nothing new. Texas, California, and Florida all implemented some version of a percent plan for admission to their public university systems in the wake of state affirmative action bans, beginning in the late 1990s. Because these policies offer a top certain percent of each high school's graduating class access to a state's university system, they have been considered by both Democrats and Republicans to be merit-based and race-neutral alternatives to racial preferences. This brief considers the legislative history, mechanics, and efficacy of the nation's three original percent plans, focusing particularly on Texas's top 10% law. The author examines the consequences of the Lone Star State's percent plan for racial and geographic diversity and academic performance at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University (Texas A&M).