<p>So "Blinc" I have basically gleaned from this thread that you will assume that every successful black person you meet is actually incapable of performing and merely a result of a flawed system. You spend so much time arguing the inferiority of black students so if you want that to stop, do something. Stop with your studies and your posts telling us minorities that we simply will never be as smart as white people, and go out and try to make a difference in the community. Maybe then AA won't need to exist because black students will perform on par with white students.
But it's nice to see these threads because I know what I am up against. As a black woman I will be seen as doubly incapable and doubly inadequate. I will have to work much harder than I white man has to work in order to prove myself. But I will, and rest assured blinc, I, and other successful minority students, will help our communities move forward.
Oh and btw, thank you again for that nice 350 point increase but as I got rejected from colleges with a 2550, I am going to have to say that affirmative action really is a strange system altogether.</p>
<p>I think the initial idea behind AA was a good one, but i'm not so sure that it's living up to its intended result.</p>
<p>Consider for a moment: If a single middle class black person and a single middle class white person went to the same elementary school, had the same family income and financial background, and were for all intents and purposes entirely equal economically and educationally, would colleges after seeing this information during admissions still give extra merit to the black person's test scores over the white's?</p>
<p>I'm guessing yes, they would, but maybe someone else has some facts to support or deny that. There seems to be a correlation between income and education, so one would assume that a large portion of the blacks applying to the top colleges come from middle to high class income families (as I believe is also true for whites). If that is also true, wouldn't these select blacks essentially have the exact same educational opportunities as whites whose families fall into that same income bracket?</p>
<p>That being the case, it seems that AA with colleges is having about the opposite effect that it was intended to. Instead of giving opportunities to the impoverished minorities who truly need them, it is instead, for a large part, giving them to wealthy minorities who it would appear already have the financial and deducational advantage as the average white person. Thoughts?</p>
<p>Again, the original point of AA was not just for economic mobility, but also for social and cultural integration. That being said, I dont know where you get the assumption that it is only middle and upper class minority students who benefit from this program. Even if that is true (which I dont believe it is), colleges are still seeking to help integrate minorities into American society. Thus, there could be only minority millionaires who attend college, and AA the purpose of AA would still be getting served, as long as those who are in the colleges are better integrated with their White counterparts. People who are quick to say that AA is failing need to realize that the purpose of this program was not just to make minorities economically equal with whites, because if it were, schools would make it known that minority students whose families have an income of X or below would get admissions preference.</p>
<p>I think you're representing person as two numbers; two dull numbers: GPA/SAT. However, person is something more complex, a human's life is not completed in two numbers. And after that approach, - Hey, that 3.45/1570, where's he going?, - you're asking why do adcoms care about GPA that much?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Thus, there could be only minority millionaires who attend college, and AA the purpose of AA would still be getting served, as long as those who are in the colleges are better integrated with their White counterparts.
[/quote]
This is where I start to have problems. If a minority has had the exact same economic/educational/social advantages growing up as a white person up until their college years, is it truly fair that they should be given an automatic advantage in college admissions simply due to skin color/heritage when they possess less qualifications than said white person?</p>
<p>I suppose you could say that I am of the centrist view on AA. I feel that a minority coming up from an impoverished or poor social (and thus educational) background should definitely be conferred an extra advantage. I also, however, feel that a white person who has been in that exact same unfortunate situation should be given that same equal advantage too.</p>
<p>In my opinion, skin color/heritage should have no (or at least very little) place in college admissions. If a person, whether minority or otherwise, has had an extremely harsh upbringing that hampered their education due to financial conditions, social conditions, or even heritage, it should be accurately reflected in their background information and compensated for, but it should not be based on their skin color alone. Other factors should be considered, and that should be among the least of concern in the non-politically correct world.</p>
<p>If a minority grew up in an almost entirely white middle-class town, with middle-class income parents, and went to the exact same school as every other white student, and for all intents and purposes had an identical education and upbringing as them, how can giving them an extra boost in college admissions be construed as fair? I don't think it can, and this is why I feel that admission leighway shouldn't be given based merely upon race alone. Knowing someone personally who more or less fits that description exactly in my home town, this is where my thinking is coming from.</p>
<p>I feel that the employment situation is different though. I don't think there is a much better way of remedying discrimination when hiring other than with AA. Whether or not AA in the workplace is doing the job well enough or too well, though, is another matter entirely.</p>
<p>"I don't think it can, and this is why I feel that admission leighway shouldn't be given based merely upon race alone."</p>
<p>-My quote about the millionaires was one to show the general theory behind AA. If you believe that college admissions officers only look at a persons race when assessing whither to use AA, then you are being pretty naïve. Again, it is the colleges which decide who is more or less qualified for admission. So, when White students argue that their spots were taken by less-qualified minorities, they are being both presumptions and silly. If college admissions were only numbers, then colleges would publish the minimum admissions statistics, and only accept people who were thus "qualified" to be admitted. I also don't see how you can be against AA when applied to college admissions, but support it being used for employment.</p>
<p>Ok i found this Alexander Cain person on facebook and asked him how he thinks he got into cornell because i saw his profile on the princetonreview website?</p>
<p>He responded</p>
<p>Quote:
wow and to think i thought no one read it what i think got me in was 1st being black and my extracurricals that reflect my interests in writing</p>
<p>I then asked more african americans, for my own benefit since I am african american what their GPA and SAT scores were....they responded by saying:</p>
<p>Person 1
Quote:
Lets see.....I applied to the college of arts and sciences. "They say Cornell is the easiet ivy to get into but the hardest to get out" My gpa was 4.1 but i was only like 34 in my class. My sats were horrific like 1170/1600. Dont feel discouraged because cornell doesnt really look at sat scores for Blacks. I did have alot of extracurricular activities tho. Definately apply here, im here now wit the rest of the blk folks in the freshmen class and everyone is mad cool. Its pretty much as diverse as its gona get and the campus is too gorgeous.</p>
<p>Person 2
Quote:
Hey... i applied to arts and sciences, my gpa was like 3.7 or 3.8, and i dont like to tell my SAT scores... they werent as great as i hoped them to be.</p>
<p>Person3
Quote:
hi to u to ****. hotel school, unwighted 3.5, wiegthed 4.9, and an 1110 on my SAT. u wanted to know this why?</p>
<p>Person 4
Quote:
Thanx, i don't know you either.GPA depends on ur school, colleges don't put much emphasis on gpa. They factor in what classes you toook, i.e. AP, Honors etc. SAT scores are just a factor also. Hope that helps you. r u interested in Cornell? anymore questions feel free to ask.</p>
<p>Person 5
Quote:
3.9 and 1890</p>
<p>Wonderful... and my GPA was 4.0 and SAT 1560... What's the point? I'm sure I (or anyone else) can just as easily go on facebook and find Black students with higher SAT scores..... Although what you did is somewhat interesting.</p>
<p>the point is that these african americans had moderst GPAs and SATs like this guy did....Cornell looks beyond numbers it seems</p>
<p>Well, your sample is kind of small, but interesting nonetheless.</p>
<p>For some reason I find that really depressing. By the way, what about the whites and others who got in with "poor" scores? No one ever seems to seek them out.</p>
<p>they usually have legacy or are recruited athletes. Race matters and i can't believe you are tryin to imply that it doesn't. Go look at stuy's profile sheet or something and you'll see...</p>