https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/264441/race-quotas-and-class-privilege-at-harvard
I thought this to be a balanced and pragmatic examination of recent developments at Harvard and other elite universities.
In summary, the author writes:
No one should fault the keepers of the Ivy Leagues for seeking to hold in balance inherited privilege with meritocratic excellence. It was the smart play. No one can gainsay the results obtained by what history will regard as some of the greatest brand managers the world has ever seen. The election of Donald Trump in 2016 ended a string of 27 consecutive years in which the president of the United States held a degree from either Harvard or Yale University. Every member of the Supreme Court is a graduate of one of two law schools, Harvard or Yale. Harvard University has an endowment of $37 billion, which is a sum at least four times larger than that controlled by hedge-fund king George Soros.
Neither should we begrudge those invested in this system of mutual advantage their exasperation at Asian immigrants for unwittingly acting as spoilers. For that is what Asians have done: By arriving here in such large numbers, and importing their distinctive orientation toward education—by doing so well on grades and tests and being so assiduous in their pursuit of extracurricular activities—they’ve made it impossible for the brand managers of the Ivy Leagues to preserve the balance between merit and social justice and inherited privilege in a way that is remotely tenable. Something had to give, and it appears that soon enough, something will, with large consequences for the country.
You are invited to play a new board game, one combining some luck and a lot of strategy. Before you start, you are given the rules so you can study them and form a plan. You work hard to make notes and reminders for yourself, to familiarize yourself with the game: how to play and how to win. You walk into a room with your fellow players where the game board is laid out on the table, just to find that the game is Candy Land: a child’s game based purely on the roll of a die. That is “holistic” college admissions for the kids who busted their academic and EC humps for the first 18 years of life to find that they are up against people who’s stats are nowhere near theirs but will have an equal chance of getting in in an effort to build a “class”.
You’re new here, but we discuss race and college in one and only one thread.
“That is “holistic” college admissions for the kids who busted their academic and EC humps for the first 18 years of life to find that they are up against people who’s stats are nowhere near theirs but will have an equal chance of getting in in an effort to build a “class”.”
Then they didn’t do their homework well.
These schools are quite clear that their admissions are holistic and that they favor attributes other than grades and test scores. That info is readily available so the rules weren’t carefully read.
There are plenty of other schools to attend that provide a wonderful education.
Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
Holistic doesn’t neccessarily equates to fair. It just blends fair and unfair in a whimsical manner to paint a lovely picture. Its considered a complex art form and commoners aren’t considered evolved enough to criticize this masterpiece. All criticism is snubbed as ignorance and pettiness of lesser beings.
Life isn’t “fair”, put in quotes because the definition of what is fair will certainly vary from person to person. That includes college admissions and, once graduated, many workplaces as well.
Whimsical isn’t how I’d describe holistic admissions. The admissions team is just considering criteria and attributes that they value more than you might.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: There is only one thread on this website where race in admissions can be discussed. I am closing this thread.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1843141-race-in-college-applications-faq-discussion-12.html#latest