@Kyuutoryuu , affirmative action is not necessary. It has been 50 years since the civil rights act and the conditions than necessitated it are no longer present. Several states such as California and Michigan specifically bar race as a factor in their public college admission decisions. The result has been a stronger student body and the minorities admitted are no longer stigmatized. The fact that the OP was rejected from Cal and wait listed at UCLA and Michigan seems to indicate that there is something else hurting him in his applications.