I am a minority with a disability yet I feel guilty that I have a little bit higher chance of getting in than those who I believe have more achievements than me.
Disabilities generally don’t improve admissions chances, although overcoming a physical handicap could give a boost. Debates on affirmative action generally don’t last long here before they are shut down. But I am fine with it.
Sorry, but I was a bit thrown because the HEADLINE specifically says . . .
Yet you state . . .
So, I’m wondering, which is it? Are you a white person? Or a minority? And, do you have a disability or not? Much of your post reads like a red-herring, so please be honest and forthright.
FWIW: Let’s set aside the minority issue for the moment and focus on disabilities. Besides tuition, the number one growth concern on college campuses these days is healthcare. And, many students with disabilities are in need of services and healthcare.
Let’s begin the discussion with this article and the quote below: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/18/mental-health-breakdown-when-harvard-fails-its-students.html
Although it is illegal for a college to discriminate against a person with disabilities no matter their race, colleges are faced with a financial healthcare crisis treating their already admitted students. As such, I’m sure an Admissions Office could find another reason to reject a potential student with a healthcare issue (lackluster essays, subpar EC’s, non competitive GPA and test scores etc). Is it Illegal? Yes! Does it happen with frequency? IMHO, yes!
So, I don’t think it’s to any student’s advantage – be they white, black, asian, latino or anything else – to mention their disability in their application, as it might easily lead to an automatic rejection. And that kind of voids part of your thesis and the reason for your post.
Sorry, I am not taking your bait.
I believe in meritocracy, there are many ways to help underprivileged, letting them cut the line is hardly a solution. Improving healthcare, educational reforms and economical conditions provide opportunities to everyone. Affirmative action only helps some.Assuming people can’t do it on their own and need handouts, is a disrespectful notion, not any better than imposing quotas on Asians and saying they need to work twice as hard.
This thread reminded me of California’s 209. Usually they support social engineering but for whatever reason they don’t like affirmative action.
I think Bremners is a minority asking whites for their opinions.
@gibby, you seem to be conflating multiple things. Students are required to have health insurance. Hence significant costs for either physical or mental health issues are not covered by the college. Yes, student health services offers some support. But after a few appointments, students are referred to providers in their community and the college is not covering the cost. And students do pay a small fee at some colleges for visits to health services, and/or a fee in their semester student fees.
Learning disability services are not particularly expensive, either. For example: from what we could tell at accepted student visits, there was ONE person (on the whole campus) at University of Chicago to talk to regarding learning disability support. Now maybe that person has a couple of support staff, but it surely wasn’t evident. At my kid’s LAC, there is a dean who reviews all cases, and a staff person who works part-time on learning disability support activities. How much work is it for someone to review a student’s case, determine if the requested supports make sense, and provide a letter to profs at the beginning of each semester outlining the accommodations a student is eligible for? Typically students then just work with their profs to be allowed to take notes on a computer, get extra time on tests, record lectures, etc.
In addition, a mental health issue is not the same as a learning disability. At all. Mental health issues are depression, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, etc. Learning disabilities are things like ADHD, dyslexia, non-verbal learning disabilities, etc. Your post implies that they are the same. I usually find your posts quite helpful, but I am disappointed in this one.
Hello, I think you are confused. I am asking white people who have no disabilities on their opinion of affirmative action, which allows for underrepresented visible minority groups (obviously with achievements) to have a little bit higher chance of getting in.
Well, then you should have posted on threads which already exist on the topic, as the question has been asked and answered countless times before. If you use the “magnifying glass” directly opposite the orange “new discussion” button at the top of any College Confidential forum , you can search for threads on any topic. Here are just a few threads about Affirmative Action and people’s opinions on the topic.
- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1319602-affirmative-action.html
- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/839595-affirmative-action-at-harvard-you-wouldnt-expect-this.html
- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1424113-there-such-thing-socioeconomic-affirmative-action-advantage.html
- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/759944-affirmative-action.html
- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/684499-affirmative-action-p-sses-me-off.html
- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1625753-affirmative-action-and-college-admissions.html
- https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=college+confidential+afirmative+action&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#safe=off&q=college+confidential+affirmative+action
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread; Affirmative Action discussions are limited to one thread:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1843141-race-in-college-applications-faq-discussion-12.html#latest