Does this seem FAIR to you?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
41

<p>i like how colleges are scared of hispanic and black activist groups, but they seem to blatantly discriminate against asians/whites.. </p>

<p>AA is the product of hypocrites..maybe our whole education system should be reformed. How? don't ask me, i know zilch about public policy and education policy..all I know is that everyone is starting to see/acknowledge that American kids can not compete academically to other countries..and that's not good.</p>

42

<p>Americans want to keep their low tax rates, so education suffers. We just don't think it's important enough to fund at higher levels.</p>

43

<p>
[quote]
I think AA was partly designed to bring different cultures onto campus so that the school's students wouldn't have a myopic view of the world. In that sense, it's failed. How many 1/4 or 1/8 URMs who have about as much knowledge about their culture as the white kids next check the little box that says "Hispanic" or "Native American" just for the admissions boost? Tons.

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<p>Not only do I not know many 1/4 or 1/8 minorities I am going to go out on a limb and say that they don't make up the MAJORITY of minority applicants. Sure there are always going to be isolate incidents about race but you have to think of things on a bigger issue.</p>

<p>
[quote]
AA is the product of hypocrites..maybe our whole education system should be reformed. How? don't ask me, i know zilch about public policy and education policy..all I know is that everyone is starting to see/acknowledge that American kids can not compete academically to other countries..and that's not good.

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<p>Are you blaming this on AA? I dont see the correlation between the two. Maybe its more so the fact that there are so many BS universities with BS programs that are terrible. Maybe its that public schools have always been underfunded? There are many reasons why schooling in the US is not as competitive as it could be.</p>

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Then why can't we base AA off of social economic issues instead of the average income for each race?

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<p>The last time I check colleges don't ask for that information but it can definitely be added to your essay. There are many factors that go into seeing who is truly disadvantage. Obviously if a person has money issue will be a factor also if a person is a first generation person to go to college in their family, and finally where they go to school.</p>

44

<p>AA is very unfair! merit and only merit should be the only factor in college admission!</p>

45

<p>If only all merit was actually genuine....</p>

46

<p>A meritocracy is a horrible idea. AA should be based solely on income. That is fair.</p>

47

<p>At least for private colleges, there is no accepted single definition of merit; it's in the eye of the beholder, tough to measure, and they mostly don't try to measure it. They admit those they want the most, and much of it is subjective. And they're not trying to be fair.</p>

48

<p>
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AA is very unfair! merit and only merit should be the only factor in college admission!

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<p>Why so? what does your GPA and SAT scores have to tell about you as a person? You could of easily took tons of practice test and programs to make make both of those better. If colleges really believed in that type of philosophy what would be the point of essays? </p>

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A meritocracy is a horrible idea. AA should be based solely on income. That is fair.

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<p>Okay that is a good idea and I believe colleges do take this into consideration if you put this in your college essay. </p>

<p>One big factor though is if a kid is from a family where going to college has been in the norm in the past. If I compare my immediate family to that of my younger cousin you can see the big difference between living with people who have been to college and those that haven't. You take a kid whose parents make good money but didn't go to college and compare it to that of a college graduates child your going to see they are going to be able to prepare there kid better.</p>

<p>I also believe that colleges want there learning institutes to be as diverse as possible. Being in a diverse background encourages people to meet different type of people from different places and different cultures.</p>

49

<p>i think AA should be abolished. the only advantage i see to this is more diversity....but i really dont get why colleges need a policy to promote this such as AA. im sure anyone who gets admitted to a school has at least one attractive quality, so why place it under something that these days is almost equivalent to a stigma..</p>

50

<p>HEY, I'm sick of everyone supporting asians and whites on this site. I'm no racist, but IT IS FAIR, we hispanics have hard lives, a large percentage of hispanics in the US live in poverty and survive in neighborhoods with violence, drugs, gangs, and friends who fall victim to crime, teenage pregnancy, etc.. So why do the asians and whites living in safe suburbia have to complain about blacks and latinos have an "unfair advantage?" Was the busing incident in South Boston fair. Is unfair school systems between latino/black neighborhoods and white/asian neighborhoods fair? Colleges are being completely fair and just in giving minorities a chance to escape cycles of poverty and hardship. So all you whites and asians living in the suburbs and in the country, stop acting like your victimized. Go to Roxbury or Harlem or any other place where the minority is the majority, spend a day in Dorchester or East LA and then you'll see where many blacks/hispanics are coming from and you'll stop complaining about how you have it so hard.</p>

51

<p>I agree most with the person who said fairness doesn't matter. it doesn't. Colleges don't have to take who would "fairly" get in. Especially if the college is a private institution, it can and will take whom it wants. And most colleges do not want 1-2% URM. When I look at a college, if I see URM in those low numbers, I don't even consider it any further. And a lot of HS students do that. The fact that anyone would choose to live in such a society creeps me out.</p>

52

<p>
[quote]
HEY, I'm sick of everyone supporting asians and whites on this site. I'm no racist, but IT IS FAIR, we hispanics have hard lives, a large percentage of hispanics in the US live in poverty and survive in neighborhoods with violence, drugs, gangs, and friends who fall victim to crime, teenage pregnancy, etc.. So why do the asians and whites living in safe suburbia have to complain about blacks and latinos have an "unfair advantage?" Was the busing incident in South Boston fair. Is unfair school systems between latino/black neighborhoods and white/asian neighborhoods fair? Colleges are being completely fair and just in giving minorities a chance to escape cycles of poverty and hardship. So all you whites and asians living in the suburbs and in the country, stop acting like your victimized. Go to Roxbury or Harlem or any other place where the minority is the majority, spend a day in Dorchester or East LA and then you'll see where many blacks/hispanics are coming from and you'll stop complaining about how you have it so hard.

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<p>Is Asians could escape poverty, why couldn't other minority groups? See perfectly fair.</p>

53

<p>^It's not that simple there's more to it than that. There seems to be more racism towards blacks and hispanics sadly due to the color of our skin and culture as slaves.</p>

54

<p>When you look at racial makeups of colleges and then at that of the US, there are clearly some discrepancies. Obviously something is wrong. Yes colleges do try and help out URMs. But when most colleges still show only around 10% URM is that really such a big leniency? Yes I mean some other groups did lose out but I'm sure they probably got into at least one other school they liked. If the lower classes (generally URMs) don't get educated how can you expect them to move up and make society more equal. As for asians accomplishing all that they have in the time they've been here, my congrats but there is a distinct background and culture. </p>

<p>I do agree though that AA should be geared more towards income than race as that has perhaps a better correlation and is fairer. Being raised middle class as a hispanic I realize that my economical status did help me. Nonetheless I hope I don't get into the college of my choice solely on the basis of my race.</p>

55

<p>
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^It's not that simple there's more to it than that. There seems to be more racism towards blacks and hispanics sadly due to the color of our skin and culture as slaves.

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<p>How about Indians (from Asia)? How did they escape poverty in the US? Your point is flawed.</p>

56

<p>
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How about Indians (from Asia)? How did they escape poverty in the US? Your point is flawed.

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<p>Indians who immigrated to the US are NOT comparable to many of the blacks who grew up here. Background, education, etc...most of the Asian immigrants who come here are, if not the "cream of the crop", still among the better-off.</p>

57

<p>I'm an indian immigrant and both my parents are doctors. indians are better off because we be smarter yo.</p>

58

<p>
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Indians who immigrated to the US are NOT comparable to many of the blacks who grew up here. Background, education, etc...most of the Asian immigrants who come here are, if not the "cream of the crop", still among the better-off.

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<p>Considering Blacks and Hispanics had a chance to do better, move out the ghetto, etc and get a better education. Asians moved to a different continent and still are doing better off.</p>

59

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<p>dude. this was the argument for AA in the first place. but it is flawed. </p>

<p>can you please explain to me how it is fair that a hispanic/black or partially hispanic/black individual who lives in a wealthy suburban area is given an advantage over a white/asian individual from the SAME area?
this hispanic/black person has been given no disadvantage in life in comparison to their white/asian counterpart, but should be given an advantage in admissions based on ethnicity?</p>

<p>how does that make sense?</p>

<p>I understand that you are arguing that a large number of hispanics/blacks live in impoverished areas, but how are these individuals more disadvantaged than a white/asian person living in the same impoverished area?
This hispanic/black person has had the same disadvantages in life in comparison to this white/asian individual, yet should be given a greater advantage?</p>

<p>how does that make sense?</p>

<p>Would you agree that it would make much more sense to base AA on socioeconomic status, rather than race?</p>

<p>I think that socioeconomic status is significantly more of an indicator of life advantages than race. </p>

<p>Suggesting that all blacks/hispanics are at a disadvantage solely based on their skin color is, in my opinion, simply perpetuating a discriminatory stereotype. There are many blacks/hispanics who are financially and socially successful and have the same opportunties as middle class whites/asians.</p>

60

<p>Private selective colleges want various kinds of diversity; racial/ethnic is one kind they want, economic is another, geographic is another, international is another, etc. It's just how it works. They might pick someone from Montana over someone from your state, even though their SAT is lower. It's not about fairness.</p>