<p>^Notice, the existence of PEERS…</p>
<p>Engineering has a similar program for URMs, and they have some nice hookups.</p>
<p>Bleh.. Its UCLA, there is no diversity… everyone is the same; “Competitive, fierce, relentless, and willing to cut the ankles of the person next to him/her for an A on the final”</p>
<p>The point is: you’re here. Stop worrying about the past, and make the most of this great opportunity.</p>
<p>if anyone tells you that you got into LA simply because of your race, slap them. You stats are clearly very good and your SAT score is definitely within the range. People just say mean things cause their jealous, so relax, have fun, and prove everyone wrong with your performance at LA!</p>
<p>**“”"SSfren – assuming diversity is a good thing (exposes students to different perspectives, experiences), are you saying that you would sacrifice diversity admits (lets say 300 admits would not have been admitted on stats alone) just to bring the non-diversity admits from 4700 to 5000?</p>
<p>If the goal of the university is to provide the richest learning environment possible, would you sacrifice diversity for more high stat, undiverse admits?</p>
<p>Would you say that the admissions committees at Harvard, Stanford, etc. should not admit slightly lower statted students in order to reach their diversity objectives? that it is not “fair”?“”“” - DunninLA**</p>
<p>So u’re saying we can sacrifice hardworking people for diversity?
Let’s say u have two people, one asian, and another African-American or Latin-American with the same grades, background, and extra curriculars.
You’d give up the Asian, wouldn’t you? Just because they don’t bring “diversity”. Just because there are already thousands of Asians at UCLA.
Uh, that’s racial discrimination.
Diversity isn’t just about color or race. It’s about the individual and their experiences. Why can’t we see that? Why do have to be forced to look at someone’s skin to see if there’s enough diversity. </p>
<p>Is there no diversity in a room full of white people or a room full of black people or a room full of asian people?</p>
<p>^ i agree. diversity doesn’t just have to be about racial or ethnic diversity. a room of all white people or all black people can be diverse-- just because each person is unique in their own way.</p>
<p>uc admissions asks you to write two essays and those essays serve the purpose of telling more about you than just statistics or scores. well written essays reveal a lot about a person’s character and their own experiences in life. that’s what makes it diverse. every individual is different and that’s what makes the campus unique.</p>
<p>your race just might play a minor role, let’s say to give you a bit of an edge, but it does not determine your final fate as an “admit” or a “reject”</p>
<p>SSfren - there are many kinds of diversity: religious, geographic, political, sexual preference, income, neighborhood, etc. </p>
<p>You asked if I’d give up the Asian in preference to a less qualified applicant. Asian and white are the two highest ethnicities at UCB, UCLA. So in reality, admitting a person in order to add diversity would affect an Asian or White applicant the most. Yes, that displacement of an otherwise qualifying asian or white is the consequence of admitting a diversity applicant. Yet, by the same realities, the admitted Asians and Whites also benefit the most from conversations with the diversity admit. So its an even trade if looked at as a System, and not its discreet parts. Ah, you say, who are YOU to decide what a good dish tastes like! Well, that is beyond the scope of this little post, but there is no such thing as a value-less, or unbiased objective. Whenever human beings are involved, values and objectives get messy, are debated, and there is tension. </p>
<p>I am saying that <em>my</em> bias is that a University education is not complete without diversity.. that a critical part of the college experience is meeting people who share with other students the experiences born of their diversity – skin color, religion, econonic, country of origin, etc. This sharing is at the heart of a university education. That is my bias, my value. You are free to disagree. If I am baking a meal and know that I should add 4% of some spice, would you say I’m sacrificing another deserving ingredient? Maybe… adding one does require cutting back on the other (assuming I am limited in the weight of the final meal). But its for the good of the entire dish… the adcom is trying to put out a balanced dish in which the quality of the educational experience is maximized for the total Student population. The dish would falter without the proper mix of spices.</p>
<p>Adcom’s go through this at every top university in the country… they are trying to tweak their Student Body recipe to balance merit of the individual with what that individual adds to the mix on the campus.</p>
<p>I like how UCSD admitted fewer black freshmen than UCLA in Fall 2006 (~1%) and no one protested… :rolleyes:</p>