<p>two years ago, the valedictorian at my school was hispanic, all-state football player, 1540 SAT, and a bunch of ECs. he was denied from harvard and yale but was accepted into princeton, so i can't really see how much exactly of an advantage it can give you.</p>
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How else would you explain those results?
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<p>KennyD wrote a similar post. “I know some high-scoring ‘under-represented’ minorities who were rejected, therefore being an ‘under-represented’ minority does not help much.”</p>
<p>My explanation is same as the one I gave to Kenny – “holistic” admissions.</p>
<p>You see, it’s possible that those two students, a black girl and a Native American girl, were textureless one-subject grinds who could only do rote memorization and nothing else. They might have had the same list of extracurriculars that everybody else in their group has. Perhaps they joined these groups because they thought membership would look good; they didn’t join because they had passion. Thus, they had no leadership and spark. In addition, they probably didn’t diversify their college lists. That is, instead of considering the lesser-known but nevertheless excellent research universities and liberal arts colleges our nation has to offer, they focused in on the New England schools. When the admissions officers considered them in the context of their beings, they may have found them lacking in personal qualities and character. For these reasons, they were rejected. People who do well on standardized tests should cast down their sense of entitlements. Just because they can pay for private test preparation does not mean they “deserve” admission.</p>
<p>Do I sound biased, bigoted, prejudiced, racist, and stupid? Good. That was my intention. If you got angry at how I treated these two students, replace black and Native American with Asian and that’s how a surprisingly high number of CC users, including parents, treat Asian students.</p>
<p>I agree with fhimas. You need only take a look at UC post-209 to see the effects of racial preferences. If it really didn’t do that much, the enrollment numbers for “under-represented” minorities should have barely changed. Instead, they plummeted at the flagship schools. Students who were rejected from Berkeley and LA went to other UC campuses and did very well. In the mean time, overall Asian enrollment got a major boost, especially at UCB and UCLA.</p>
<p>I once again refer to the E&C study, which was not, in any way, refuted by William Kidder. Being a "URM" is worth quite a bit. A few examples here and there is at best a poor inductive proof and at worst a rejection of both natural data and empirical research.</p>
<p>It's all holistic. They're private colleges. They can choose to raise their minority percentages if they want with whomever they want. This argument will never end.... <em>Jakor sighs despondently</em></p>
<p>Jakor,</p>
<p>The argument should end, though.</p>
<p>Being an "under-represented" minority is worth a lot. It's not worth automatic admission, but that should never be the benchmark to judge admissions hooks.</p>
<p>California has provided striking data against the "it doesn't do much" argument. And, with Proposal 2 in Michigan, we can see the results there.</p>
<p>Who even believes the anecdotes? There are probably less than 20 black girls with a 2370/yr in the US.</p>
<p>collegekid100: wow... just ... wow...</p>
<p>fabrizio: I know that the argument won't/shouldn't end. Though I am very aware that AA is not something most consider beneficial and it leads to even more racism (as demonstrated by collegekid100), it's still going to continue until the trends among colleges change. I find it disgusting the level of blatant discrimination and bitterness shown by CCers (supposed representing some of the best students) whenever this topic is brought up. <em>sighs again, despondently</em></p>
<p>Racism????</p>
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it's still going to continue until the trends among colleges change.
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<p>I agree, but I also disagree.</p>
<p>If the trends among colleges change and diversity and inclusion as currently defined are seen as misnomers, then the practice will start to fade. I thus agree.</p>
<p>Yet, I disagree because I trust my fellow Americans to move forward on the issue of civil rights. Initiatives proposed by Mr. Ward Connerly have seen success in California, Washington, and most recently, Michigan, where Proposal 2 passed 58/42. As long as reactionaries dont prevent the application of democracy to their cherished institution, several more initiatives will appear on the ballots next year in at least four states. Granted, these will apply only to public universities. But, any step in the direction of progress is important.</p>
<p>The ruling of Judge Thelton Henderson that refusing to consider race is itself discriminatory is not only logically absurd but also legally dubious. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, long castigated by the American Right as a bastion of liberal judicial activism, soundly repudiated Hendersons ruling.</p>
<p>Jakor,</p>
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I find it disgusting the level of blatant discrimination and bitterness shown by CCers (supposed representing some of the best students) whenever this topic is brought up.
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<p>Yeah, this problem affects both supporters and critics of current affirmative action policy.</p>
<p>That's why I satirized the behaviors of some supporters in my post 162.</p>