<p>I hate to do this; Ive never made a controversial post on CC, but I cannot hold back. A person at my school applied ED to columbia and got in. I know her and have been in school with her for 3 years. Im ni a lot of her classes and know EXACTLY what she does. She got lower than a 2100 on the SAT. The only EC activities she had was orchestra and choir and community service. She is the type in class to constantly ask a teacher how to get an a, ask for extra-credit etc. She got into columbia and she is african american, has a single mom, and immiigrated from africa at age 2. I know she doesnt have much hardship, Ive been to her house. I know what kind of a writer she is. I am outraged at this, honestly, livid. I cant picture how she deserves to go to columbia over other students who were rejected in the past. I honestly am concerned at this becuase students who are asian at my school, with similar backgrounds, better stats wouldnt get in. I can picture her at columbia, one of hte top institutions. God. whatever. sorry if i offended anyone, i just needed to vent this to a commnity that can explain why this happens time and time again.</p>
<p>^Actually poor Asians get a boost too, AA has its problems, but it needs to be implemented for the time being</p>
<p>And it’s kinda ironic because the ones who benefit from AA the most are women</p>
<p>ehhh, I support AA. hopefully it helps me :)</p>
<p>i feel ya. but at the same time you have to see that affirmative action also helps a lot of the good people that work hard that come form under privileged backgrounds. i mean there was a hispanic guy from my school who got into Harvard but he was an incredibly good guy who worked really hard for every grade and his comparatively average (2140) SAT score. AA does good things too</p>
<p>AA right now is a political tool. no party is going to completely support banning AA anytime soon, because they would definitely lose votes from these URMs, who would think they are being discriminated against.</p>
<p>and yeah, AA helps significantly helps girls who apply to engineering. i think it should be considered a hook</p>
<p>I mean, if she was a straight A-student, even a grade grubber, she does deserve the placement. Low SAT’s can be explained by low-income, immigrant family, ESL, etc. to most of these schools, and they also look at EC’s as being virtually optional for people who grow up in these sort of environments due to unique situations in the family, especially with a single mom. I mean, unless she’s got a full time maid or nanny or something and is secretly an African princess, I don’t see what the issue is. Adcoms are not psychics, and sometimes these sort of people do exaggerate their situations in life to get preferential treatment, and though that is deplorable, you and I can take comfort in that, should your description be accurate, she will most likely fail rather miserably at Columbia. </p>
<p>I would much rather 100 of these frauds go to Columbia than turn away 1 kid who really needs it from that background.</p>
<p>^by what you’re saying we should only consider ecoonomic conditions, rather than race. so you aren’t actually supporting AA</p>
<p>Well, race plays into socio-economic status. You can’t separate one from the other. There’s a significant cultural difference between a poor black family and a poor white one, at least here in the South.</p>
<p>
Gee, maybe this has to do with her acceptance. Also, did you read her essays?</p>
<p>I don’t see what’s so terrible about this person being accepted to Columbia. I’m assuming a competitive GPA, and the SAT scores aren’t terrible. Also, single mom. That makes things tough.</p>
<p>I’m not supporting affirmative action. I disagree with that on principle. But I think people attribute too much power to it. Even other minorities with better stats get deferred or rejected from similar colleges. Affirmative action is not all-powerful (though it is a significant plus).</p>
<p>Learn to deal with this. This person has done nothing wrong to you.</p>
<p>EDIT: I agree with bpsbgs</p>
<p>^^ That would work, if it is assumed that middle class blacks and hispanics aren’t discriminated against.</p>
<p>It seems to me that the student fully deserves to be at Columbia. </p>
<p>She has a single mom, immigrant family (likely to be first generation in college). She is motivated to work for A’s and to seek out opportunities for extra credit; she participates in multiple EC’s (orchestra, choir, and community service).</p>
<p>So why shouldn’t she go to Columbia? </p>
<p>Because some test-obsessed high school student is stupid enough to think that a score of under 2100 on the SAT is “bad”? (If she scored 2030 or above, that would put her in the top 5% of all SAT test takers; if she scored above 1900, she’d still be in the top 10%). </p>
<p>Because some envious student who probably only participates in EC’s to impress colleges has contempt for playing a musical instrument, singing, and community service? </p>
<p>From what was posted here, the student obviously is fully qualified to attend Columbia and will be an asset to her class. Kudos to Columbia for admitting her.</p>
<p>@scales Middle class and Upper class blacks and hispanics do not face, by and large, anywhere near the same degree of barriers as far as education is concerned. Generally, the Middle Class has at least an understanding of the value and necessity of an education for advancement and will do so; however, it is an unfortunate facet of the cycle of poverty that keeps the lowest rungs perpetually in place by preventing access to institutions of higher learning.</p>
<p>@calmom do you think that an Asian (or even white person) who lives same economic conditions (single mom but faring well) with similar stats (2100 SAT, nothing “outstanding”) could possibly get into Columbia? I wouldn’t bet on it at all. Therefore she doesn’t exactly deserve it.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter how much we argue about it, these universities are trying to build a diverse class, something you can’t do with just Asians and whites</p>
<p>And members of the lower class do get a boost, regardless of race, and it’s kinda funny that the biggest benefiters of affirmative action are white women</p>
<p>I could argue that the Celtics (they are a private institution too) aren’t building an ethnically diverse team by not including a reasonable proportion of asians (it isn’t their fault they aren’t that great at basketball) but theres no point cause then they would just suck. Diversity is not power. And I’m not dissing Asians, I’m Asian too, just an example</p>
<p>They don’t have to practice affirmative action, they are doing what’s best for their team, getting good players, and that’s what colleges are doing, what is best for them, and diversity is power. ‘Diversity isnt power’ is something a Japanese person would say( not being serious, poking fun at Japan’s almost homogeneous society)</p>
<p>Poor OP, I’m really crying for you.If only you had faced a fraction of the hardships that she has, and you weren’t so privileged, then you’d have a better shot at admissions at selective colleges. Isn’t life unfair?</p>
<p>^ And it’s worth noting that, even though all these Asians whine about AA, they still account for more than 20% of the Ivy League, and African Americans, with AA, are still less than 8%</p>