<p>does ethnicity play a role at gt acceptance criteria and if so by what effect does it have on its minority students acceptance rate</p>
<p>No, that is ILLEGAL for public schools to do. Only private institutions may use affirmative action measures.</p>
<p>EDIT: Actually, a Surpreme Court ruling said that you may use it, but not as a "criteria" or some crap like that. Basically, you can use it, but you can't, and not many institutions know how to exactly interpret this ruling.</p>
<p>However, I can still confidently tell you that Georgia Tech DOES NOT use affirmative action.</p>
<p>Once again, runningincircles, you need to get your facts straight.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech is indeed an affirmative action institution.</p>
<p>37.1 Policy on Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action</p>
<p>The Georgia Institute of Technology is committed to affirmative implementation of equal employment opportunity in education and employment. The Institute does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or veteran status in the administration of admissions policies, educational policies, employment policies, or any other Institute governed programs and activities. The Institutes non-discrimination policy applies to every member of the institute community.</p>
<p>Also, there is nothing illegal about the use of affirmative action. Many cities, companies, and other public institutions utilize AA. In fact, the "opposite" of affirmative action is illegal. No company or entity can actively discriminate against anyone if they are receiving any gov't money.</p>
<p>There is a difference in the interpretation of "affirmative action." </p>
<p>However, that is beside the point. To answer the OP's question... minority status has no bearing on admissions. </p>
<p>From an old Tech newspaper article.. "The admissions office said that no preferential treatment is given to female applicants or any other minority population....."</p>
<p>Ummm, sky... affirmative action is giving preferential treatment to specific groups. And, as you said, GT does not give preferential treatment to any group, so therefore they are NOT an AA institution.</p>
<p>Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke, the case which made affirmative action criteria unconstitutional.</p>
<p>You are confusing the definition of affirmative action. </p>
<p>"affirmative action
n.</p>
<pre><code>A policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment."
</code></pre>
<p>Establishing quotas, lowering standards at the expense of others, and other aspects which discriminate against anyone are unconstitutional. There is nothing unconstitutional about "affirmative action" as a principle, only its implementation. This was the interpretation in the more recent Michigan decision. </p>
<p>The only reason I brought it up was because YOU had mentioned affirmative action and the issue of legality.The original poster had made no mention of "affirmative action." He asked of preferential treatment in the admissions process. You can have affirmative action without preferential treatment. Affirmative action, as a principle, only ensures equal opportunity and access.</p>
<p>I find it funny that you still try to contradict me when I posted the official policy of the institute as one that practices "affirmative action." If you were to call the administration, and ask them, they will tell you the same.</p>
<p>Perhaps we are using two different definitions. However, I did address his question by saying they don't use preferential treatment, which is the point of some affirmative action programs I said was unconstitional... Perhaps I wasn't as clear as I liked to have been.</p>