If any one says anything about AA

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>Maybe I'm missing something, but regarding AA, you all say that when a URM gets into a good school people automatically assume it's AA whether or not they have any redeeming values. The only times I see people say anything about AA is when somebody's stats are below the colleges standards, and odds are AA helped. It's not assumed that every URM needs AA, but case in point, we had a kid get in to Stanford and UVA last year with a 3.7 weighted, failed physics (not like a C, but an F), and mid 1300s. And this had nothing to do with socio-economics; our town is plenty well off. Guess what color his skin was.</p>

<p>Now believe me, I'm far from racist. But to say AA isn't helping URMs that otherwise wouldn't get in is absurd...just as absurd as saying all URMs need AA.</p>

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<p>I'm sure he didn't get into Stanford on AA alone. That would be ridiculous, especially since I personally know URMS who got rejected/waitlisted with with much better stats.</p>

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<p>I know several asians who got into HYPS. They werent the "stereotypical" asian who would go on CC, but they played sports and other things besides math and classical music.</p>

<p>Did anyone scream AA for them? Doubt it.</p>

<p>AA is a way of increasing diversity.</p>

<p>Accepting an asian who isnt "I do everything my parents tell me to do because they want me to go to Harvard or Ill be disowned" but has his own PASSIONS is a way of increasing diversity.</p>

<p>AA isnt the only way that colleges try to increase diversity, something most CC'ers dont even realize. But over at the Parent's Forum, it seems that all of the parents do. I was over there, and they were having a discussion on how to have your own activities, interests, and passions. They seem to understand the game better than all of the 17 year olds who scream "AA got me rejected".</p>

<p>If i were you i'd go over to the parents forum once in a while. Most 17 year olds on this site know nothing that they're talking about.</p>

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<p>I think most qualified people deserve to go to the best colleges.... take out legacy and take out AA...</p>

<p>AA is most racist piece of trash ever.... it's saying that URMs need a leg up... in fact, I know lots of people at my upper middle-class subruban high school who are putting down black/hispanic/URM on their application and are in no way economically troubled...</p>

<p>I say if you want to favor certain people over others, do it with socio-economic status, but the private universities of america are all about the $$$$</p>

<p>there's always state schools for URMs</p>

<p>AA means less qualified people are taking more qualified or equally qualified spots just based on their race</p>

<p>**** that</p>

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<p>"in fact, I know lots of people at my upper middle-class subruban high school who are putting down black/hispanic/URM on their application and are in no way economically troubled..."</p>

<p>So what do you suggest, skierdude, that these urms do not designate their race because it pi*ses you off?</p>

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<p>post by skierdude1000</p>

<p>"there's always state schools for URMs"</p>

<p>Haha. Please don't tell me you got rejected early, now did you?</p>

<p>Haha, so youre implying that all the URM's at all elite schools are rich because all colleges want is money?</p>

<p>Dude, you don't know anything.</p>

<p>Check up my school on wikipedia. It has a per capita endowment greater than $ 600,000 PER STUDENT, higher than every single college in the United States of America besides Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. If you're looking at rich elite institutions look at mine, it is by far the richest high school in the world.</p>

<p>So take that piece of info then wouldnt that suggest that every URM at this school is richer than even most kids who are full ride college students since they're paying an extra $150,000 just for HIGH SCHOOL.</p>

<p>Haha, dude, youre wrong. Most of the Urm's here come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Places like NYC. Have you ever heard of PREP FOR PREP, or ABC, or JERSEY SEEDS? You most likely don't since you assume from your narrow personal experience that all urm's are rich, but they are programs that funnel disadvantaged urm's into the best high schools in america.</p>

<p>Its funny to see people who don't know anything theyre talking about.</p>

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<p>no, i suggest that someone's race should have nothing to do with college applications. If you want to give preference to certain people, do it by economic standing, not by race. That's racist.</p>

<p>"Most of the Urm's here come from disadvantaged backgrounds"</p>

<p>so why not make the system based on how "advantaged" you are... what about that poor white kid who doesn't get the same boost that a rich black kid in a subruban school does?</p>

<p>I don't know what school you go to DiamondT, but I must ask, are you a URM?</p>

<p>Also, I haven't found out from my early schools yet</p>

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<p>It is not "racist" for colleges to have a race section on their application. Do you even know what racist means. Because you just misused it.</p>

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<p>colleges and universities can do whatever they want and if you dont agree with their policies....please apply somewhere else</p>

<p>If you read most college applications (esspicially for Ivy League Schools) you see them say that there is not set GPA or SAT score that will give you acceptance into a school..................</p>

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<p>I completely agree smithk.</p>

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<p>I have to say, I'm with skierdude. </p>

<p>AA based on ethnicity is ridiculously racist in its insinuation, which is basically that you are at a disadvantage because you are of minority status. The disadvantage comes entirely from the socio-economic class-- the fact that a person is a minority does not make him/her less capable, it's the fact that minorities constitute the majority of those living in poverty that puts them at a significant disadvantage. Is anyone else here baffled that AA has even been considered, let alone CONSTITUTIONAL?! It puts poor white students at a huge disadvantage, and rich black students in a situation where they can get into any school they want provided their stats are decent.
AA overshadowes the true problem concerning minorities and education in the US: poverty greatly diminishes the chance that a student perform well academically due to the poor quality of public school in such areas as well as various other determining social factors. </p>

<p>This may make me sound a bit like a conspiracy theorist, but I think the point of AA is to keep everything as it is while giving the population the impression that an effort to make change is in effect. Many students taken at colleges and universities through AA have not been conditioned to handle such a tough workload, and statistically, most of them drop out. You think that they're benefitting, but today's influential minorities have not succeeded because they were taken through AA, but because they were truly qualified. This is where stupid remarks come in: not all minorities in colleges or in politics are where they are now through AA. </p>

<p>If you want to do AA, do it based on socio-economic class.
If you really want to make a difference, give money to public schools in poor areas. This will give poor minorities the chances they deserve.</p>

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<p>Haha here is a perfect example of some dude who knows that he has a low chance of acceptance but still will want to blame other people for his rejection.</p>

<p>Funny how it's always the crying rejected kids who scream about AA, haha. </p>

<p>JackBauerPowerHour's stats:</p>

<p>I'm white, live in CA, am 16 yrs old.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.76uw 3.93w
SATs (ick): 670CR 560M 650W</p>

<hr>

<p>And if this dude gets rejected, guess who he's gonna blame? I wonder who.</p>

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<p>Yeah, it definitely makes you sound like a conspiracy theorist. Especially since we're talking about colleges with graduation rates in the 90's...</p>

<p>What would really support URMs is integrating them, fully, into the rest of society. But you can't do that until private housing stops designating "minority" neighborhoods, and whites are more willing to live near other races (Which is, mostly, why realtors operate how they do, but it could just be a perception that's been slow to change), and, unfortunately, there are still problems with gerrymandering to decide which students go to which schools, meaning that its pretty easy for politicians to decide to fund one school over another according to...</p>

<p>Long story short, even at equal economic levels, minorities do not have the same opportunities as whites when it comes to schooling, housing and many other things.</p>

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<p>I didn't even apply ED to Columbia. And I haven't been rejected from any school yet. If I get rejected I will not blame AA. Did you even read my arguments? Can't you comment on their validity instead of attacking my stats? I think that as bad as my stats may seem, I have many other interesting personality qualities that will appeal to colleges (leadership, for example). Don't you know that SATs aren't everything? And you have no idea how tough my school is. I have the best GPA in my grade. How much do you want to bet that I'll get into Berkeley?</p>

<p>No need to get defensive. When people make personal attacks, it's because they've lost.</p>

<p>I agree with you, Aeggie (mostly).</p>

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<p>hotpiece:</p>

<ol>
<li>The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. </li>
<li>Discrimination or prejudice based on race. </li>
</ol>

<p>AA is the same paternalistic view of minorities that people used to justify slavery. #1 definition of racism is satisfied by AA which inherently says urm's need help because they're not equal on their own.</p>

<h1>2 is satisfied because the people who lose out to AA are discriminated against for not being a certain ehtnicity.</h1>

<p>Also, DiamondT, why are you picking on that poster.
"Haha here is a perfect example of some dude who knows that he has a low chance of acceptance but still will want to blame other people for his rejection.</p>

<p>Funny how it's always the crying rejected kids who scream about AA, haha. </p>

<p>JackBauerPowerHour's stats:</p>

<p>I'm white, live in CA, am 16 yrs old.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.76uw 3.93w
SATs (ick): 670CR 560M 650W"</p>

<p>I'm sure you looked up my stats but decided not to post them because they didn't agree with your preconcieved notion that all anti-AA people are not qualified enough to make it into elite schools and therefore they blame minorities.</p>

<p>I'll do you a favor and post my stats:</p>

<p>Male, CT, 17 years old
GPA: 4.29 weighted, 3.93 unweighted
SAT: 800 M, 730 V, 750 W</p>

<p>You also failed to answer my question, are you a URM?
Plus, you mentioned "my school" a lot, what school exactly do you go to? (I want to look it up on Wikipedia)</p>

<p>smithk:
"colleges and universities can do whatever they want and if you dont agree with their policies....please apply somewhere else"</p>

<p>That's like saying the government can do whatever they want and if you don't agree, move to Canada. Ever hear Republicans say that to Democrats who disagree with the policies? "If you don't like it here, stop complaining, and move to Canda"</p>

<p>That's not the way to look at things; you have to think on your own and come up with your own conclusions. Pointing out flaws in policies is just what normal people who think do.</p>

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<p>DiamondT-</p>

<p>Are you a complete idiot? Your responses certainly make you seem like one. How is AA not promoting something artificial? AA is supposed to help the disadvantaged, correct? Yet RICH BLACK PEOPLE benefit from it, even when they have not been disadvantaged at all! Socioeconomic status should play a role. Race shouldn't. Just because you have black people on a campus doesn't make the campus diverse. A black student will have had the same life experience as a white student if they went to the same high school, same income level, etc. Yet only the black student will add diversity. </p>

<p>DiamondT, you consider yourself smart, going to your elite private school, yet you can't even grasp basic conceptual statements. Your mind thinks in very shallow, unanalytical ways, my friend.</p>

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<p>"A black student will have had the same life experience as a white student if they went to the same high school, same income level, etc. Yet only the black student will add diversity."</p>

<p>A black student will not have the same life experience as a white student at the same income level. I am an upper class African American, and i have been discriminated against innumerable times, regardless of my family's wealth. That statement just shows how naive you really are, desertman.</p>

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<p>hmmmmmmm ok, so we have 2 URMs arguing for AA: hotpiece and DiamondT... we have people who benefit from AA against people who don't.... makes sense to me.</p>

<p>Let's break this down to self-interest:
-AA helps URMs
-AA hurts Whites/Asians who are not URMs</p>

<p>hotpiece, I bet that a poor white kid suffers a lot more than you do.</p>

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<p>Hotpiece-</p>

<p>I know a black family who lived on my street. One of the children is now at Yale. I am friends with one of the other kids. We have had discussions on race, of which I am basing much of what I say. He told me that his race often uses its race as an excuse for a lack of motivation to succeed. He said that there is no reason a black student shouldn't be able to do as well as a white one, given the same cirumstances. He has never talked about discrimation, but he said he has never been the victim of racism. Perhaps he been discriminated against. I don't know. Whether you like it or not hotpiece, everyone gets discriminated against in their life: women, minorities, fat kids, small kids, the list goes on. Should I get into college easier now, by your standards of "discrimination" entering the college process?</p>

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<p>Skierdude-</p>

<p>Excellent post. You speak the truth, my friend.</p>