<p>I think the grad school acceptance process, despite tons of materials, is still incredibly murky for those who have not been on the adcom end of it. You will find, through a search of any grad forum including this one, that everyone basically confirms this. As Prof X has, in fact, been on the side of grad sdmissions that actually makes decisions and weighs the factors, then yes, of course I think he knows more. In addition, I have been told the same thing by many other profs who have sat on admissions committees for grad school. I consider first-hand sources far more reliable than second-hand sources (being the researcher I am), as second-hand sources are generally not much more than speculation. So I don’t really think I’m deluding myself.</p>
<p>Affirmative action often applies to undergrad, certainly. However, it rarely applies to grad programs, especially the top, say, 50 programs in each discipline.</p>