<p>Recently, i've read about (on CC) how the elite universites doesn't like conservative people. I've heard that most of them are liberal, and unless you write your essay liberally, you'll have a very hard chance of getting in. Good scores can be ruined by a conservative essay.</p>
<p>Don't the colleges want a mix in their schools? Isn't that what AA is for? To mix up the class so it won't be a homogenous group of whatever? While i can't say anything against this, they are being hypocrites. They say they wanted to diversify the class so there well be different interests, opinions, etc. </p>
<p>However, they are actually still recruiting a homogenous group. A homogenous group of liberals. That's what we ended up with. Almost everyone is liberal (and thus has more or less the basic ideas).</p>
<p>If diversifying the class was to create different interests, etc, why do they have all liberals? </p>
<p>Also, i don't think skin color should matter at all. I would say a black person who's lived in china all his life is a lot more chinese than a chinese person who's lived in africa all his life. The color of a person's skin does not make them think a certain way. It's the environment they grew up in.</p>
<p>Even though I have not applied for a college yet, but after browsing on this website for the past several month I have noticed that conservatism or liberalism is two rather subjective objects that you could try to define. Yes being left or right can be very personal and it takes the culmination of your own values and experiences to determine. Yet disappointingly I would argue that the liberals do appear rather "interesting" comparing to the conservatives. </p>
<p>The reactionaries always gets it bad in history books, just look at the church in earlier ages. But look at the societal norm today, it is hard to find a truly "conservative" child if by any chance he wasn't born or raised in an Amish family that goes to church 7 nights a week. </p>
<p>I think when it comes to applying for college, ambitions and passions are more valued than a bland outlook. I think college admins would rather take someone who wants to cure cancer in the next month (if realistically) than an ambivalent individual who wants to stall for the next 4 years then decide how he can fit into society financially.</p>
<p>I completely agree with the OP. Elite universities say they want diversity, but that just means more racial minorities (not to say having racial minorities is bad). I attended Cornell and in the context of political viewpoint, diversity is significantly lacking. Surely, this would be problematic, but elites don't really care. As you said, true diversity, that of ideas, is absent.</p>
<p>And you can certainly get in with an essay written from a conservative point of view provided that it does not embrace odious concepts such as racism and intolerance. No matter whether they are liberal or conservative, people who promote stuff like that will be viewed negatively pretty much everywhere.</p>
<p>username and dontno: from my perspective, my HYP alma mater admitted plenty of conservatives (of which I consider myself one as well). I get no sense whatsoever of a liberal bias in admissions criteria. To assume that whole cloth of the professionals who serve in that manner is rather reactionary IMHO. The bias they should rightly exert is one of gleaning for thinkers and contributors. Amongst both liberals and conservatives these exist.</p>
<p>While the campus conversations seemed to revolve around "liberal" causes, when it seems that 40% of my graduating class tried for interviews on wall street -- well, it gives you an idea...</p>
<p>My broad circle of friends included the entire spectrum. There were no shortages of conservatives that I saw. </p>
<p>However, I'm sure that the conservative blogs and radio mouths find attacking Ivy admissions and such an easy whipping boy. I ignore them. Username: just because you read it here on CC doesn't mean it's so, right?</p>
<p>Why must an essay topic lean one way or another? (Liberal or conservative)</p>
<p>Aren't there about a bazillion topics one could use without revealing any sort of political bias? Something tells me that they are far more common than anything that would reveal a political slant.</p>
<p>What you've read posted on CC isn't true. The elite universities want to create classes of students who represent all kinds of diversity including political. Due to the nature of the schools and their liberal reputation, the schools tend to attract more liberal students than conservative ones. Consequently, being a conservative can make one stand out -- in a good way -- in such schools admissions pools.</p>
<p>I'm sure they tolerate people who are for less gov't regulation of business, increased individual liberties, decreased gov't involvement in day to day life, real conservative notions, etc. These days, however, being a conservative means you hate Europeans, feel like minorities whine too much and should shut up, feel like you need a hand gun even though it's statistically more likely that it'll be used to kill you (instead of defending you), and are a moron who believes the propaganda of FOX news. </p>
<p>A normal conservative who expresses normal ideals would probably be alright, but the characteristics I listed above are those of an ignorant moron. </p>
<p>Yes, liberals can be idiots, too. Randomly handing the gov't money to squander. Constantly going against big corporations. They also can come off as morons. Nonetheless, they are generally the more preferred morons.</p>
<p>OP: You say skin color shouldn't matter at all, and I think essentially with the whole Africa and China thing you were pointing out that AA is wrong because we all belong to the same culture, as Americans, and thus introducing more students of any race into a university does not help diversify it.</p>
<p>However, consider that despite our underlying unity as Americans, different races exist in different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. America is not one single environment, it is many, many interlinked ones. While a group of predominantly white students may bring several interesting things to the table, it is far more likely to find diversity in an equally representative group of many races, as their environments are completely different. While the pigment of one's skin does not make this difference, who their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents are does, because different cultural traditions and values have been passed down in every race and nationality.</p>
<p>Anyways, sorry, that was a little longwinded, but my point was there is some reality in the idea that AA based on race creates diversity, even though skin color does not make a person.</p>
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Recently, i've read about (on CC) how the elite universites doesn't like conservative people. I've heard that most of them are liberal, and unless you write your essay liberally, you'll have a very hard chance of getting in. Good scores can be ruined by a conservative essay.
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<p>Maybe you should not take everything posted on the Internet by paranoid conspiracy theorists as gospel.</p>
<p>I don't think AA will last too much longer in its current form. Anyway, by your argument, trjohnson1, it would be far more efficient if it were based on socioeconomic backgrounds, which I think, a lot of Americans support.</p>
<p>My Dartmouth common app essay was pretty moderate, and probably not indicative of my...anything, politically, but during my interview, I sounded very far right (which, I suppose, I consider myself being on most issues -- yay libertarianism?), and my peer recommendation, too, presented me as somewhat of a conservative.</p>
<p>The issue is not that colleges don't want conservatives, its that quite frankly most academics and students at top schools tend to be liberal. Even formerly "conservative" leaning top schools like Vanderbilt are now liberal leaning. You will find conservative voices (usually more libertarian) at top schools, however they are in the minority. Depending on the school, tolerance for conservative viewpoints varies.</p>
<p>very good point, slipper1234. Highly educated people who teach at and attend elite schools tend to be liberal. I'd be less generous and say that smart people are liberal and liberal people are smart, but I'll leave it at highly educated for the sake of some political correctness ;)</p>
<p>Taggart: I suppose I agree with AA on a socioeconomic basis, but I still think racial AA would be constructive if the ultimate goal was a diversified university, as well. I mean, race carries a lot of cultural differences outside of socioeconomic status. The values and traditions of a Hispanic family, a white family, and an Asian family are completely different even if they have the same income level and social respect.</p>
<p>Granted, many people may see AA's ultimate goal not as a diversified university, but as a means to uplift citizens who may not otherwise have the chance, which I totally dig as well. I agree if this is interpreted as AA's point, socioeconomic factors would be a much greater judge.</p>
<p>What would the subject of a "conservative" essay be?</p>
<p>And what is interesting, don't you think, that the most univeristies are seen as liberal? Is it because liberals, generally are more open to divergent ideas, not just a view that shuts most other views down?</p>
<p>What makes those school as good as they are is the openess to ideas!! Go to a "conservative" campus, most of which are very very based in conservative religions still, and you will see how many of the classes and professors teach in a very narrow way.</p>
<p>Would you want those colleges to become "conservative" and thus very likely lose the exact things that made them as amazing as they are?</p>
<p>lol. I wouldn't say elite colleges don't like conservative people. Frankly, I'm pretty sure they do not care one iota about one's political leanings. It's not like you put it down on your application which political party you affiliate yourself with. Also, since when do you "write your essay liberally"? I consider myself a very liberal person but I didn't write a liberal essay or even an essay that deals with anything remotely political. I agree good scores may be ruined by a conservative essay, but it also may be ruined by a liberal one. Frankly, a good rule of thumb is to not make your application about your political affiliation unless it is a huge passion of yours. I mean, it's only common sense. People have strong beliefs when it comes to politics and you aren't gonna convince anyone about anything. Why not write about something interesting about your character, your experiences, your thought process? Even I, who considers myself very liberal, only mentioned politics once, and that was during my Princeton interview-but I didn't even mention whether I was liberal or conservative. So, yes, to those saying mentioning you're Conservative can hurt you, I can imagine it can because most admissions officers are likely to be liberal and it is difficult for some (definitely not all) to disassociate their political affiliation from their profession. Now, if you're saying that colleges should "recruit" Conservatives like they recruit minorities that would be a good idea in theory but not in practice. Since few people mention their political beliefs on their college applications, there would be no way of telling who is liberal and who is conservative. While top colleges try to norm for this by admitting students from every state and economic background, I think it is pretty clear that the majority of applicants to top schools are liberal, thus one can expect the majority of students at top school to be liberal. Also, I wouldn't call top schools filled with liberals. While they definitely slant towards the left, remember that all these schools have a XXX Republican Club. In fact, my school Stanford, although known for its "liberalness", has one of the biggest Conservative think-tanks in the nation right in the middle of campus. Although I frankly think that they are the biggest disgrace to my college considering who they're affiliated with, it's not like the "all liberal student body" is calling for the destruction of Hoover Tower. Thus, if you are looking for like-minded individuals it won't be tough to find them. And frankly, if you're looking for people who "live Conservatively" aka from a stable, traditional family and doesn't practice societal taboos, you'll find that the majority of the class at top schools fit the bill.</p>
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The values and traditions of a Hispanic family, a white family, and an Asian family are completely different even if they have the same income level and social respect.
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<p>Actually, it all depends (many times, it's the same).</p>
<p>Anyway, I seriously doubt college admissions boards can discern political affiliation/leanings from most college application essays, etc.</p>
<p>AA is a completely separate issue. You can discuss it to your heart's content on this thread:Fastest-Growing Ethnic Category at Great Colleges: "Race Unknown"
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<p>Ditto. This thread is a comment away from being merged with the Race Unknown thread.</p>