<p>I came across this article on the Princeton.edu site... Hopefully this will clear up some AA misconceptions and substantiate some true rumours(up till this point). I italicized/bolded the interesting facts and figures. </p>
<p>ENJOY :)</p>
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<p>Princeton University researchers have found that ignoring race in elite college admissions would result in sharp declines in the numbers of African Americans and Hispanics accepted with little gain for white students.</p>
<p>In a study published in the June issue of Social Science Quarterly, authors Thomas Espenshade and Chang Chung examined the controversial notion that eliminating affirmative action would lead to the admission of more white students to college and found it to be false. The assertion that qualified white students are being displaced by less qualified minority students was a prime plaintiff argument in the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court cases against the University of Michigan (Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger).</p>
<p>:[ I hate affirmative action. Gungho for diversity, but the point of school is to give higher education, not to draw hearts and rainbows and hold hands. Asians are getting the bayonet end of affirmative action just because they're the "model minority" instead of the "underrepresented minority." Stereotypes say that Asian-Americans are just smart, and African-Americans are not so much. FALSE. From all the African-American I know who care about education, they're so much smarter than the Asians. Yet Asians get the boot-effect of affirmative action. :[</p>
<p>I can go into a whole rant about this but I shouldn't.</p>
<p>Thanks for the article anyways. It would complement our learning in my Theory of Knowledge class. We're discussing race and sex discrimination on college campus.</p>
<p>I am half-Asian, and I think Afirmative Action is ridiculous. All it does is say, "You wouldn't be able to get in without this quota, so let's give you a little boost." A college doesn't need to "lower itself" to any level. If ANY student wants to get into a particular college, he needs to prove himself on an individual basis, not one affected by his ethnic background.</p>
<p>So what? Saying that admissions would fall by 66% is saying that 2/3 of the minorities admitted to top schools AREN'T QUALIFIED. Let the chips fall where they may.</p>
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So what? Saying that admissions would fall by 66% is saying that 2/3 of the minorities admitted to top schools AREN'T QUALIFIED. Let the chips fall where they may.
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<p>I think this statement would be justified if the study looked at extracurricular activities and weighted hooks that were not based on race. Admissions is holistic and to say that they weren't qualified goes against this. The study was based on "SAT scores, race, sex, citizenship, athletic ability and legacy." It's been shown that essays and unusual ECs can sway the admissions comittee. Therefore, we don't exactly know what "qualified" REALLY means at private universities that dont have requirements. The study should have been done a state school WITH requirements to show whether or not those minorities were qualified.</p>
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According to the study, without affirmative action the acceptance rate for African-American candidates likely would fall nearly two-thirds
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<p>The only thing that this quote says to me is that without AA, 2/3 of African-Americans wouldn't be qualified enough to make it into the top universities.</p>
<p>Right, but according to the study, many factors (besides race which was ommitted for the purpose of the study) that are used in the admissions process were not used in the study. Therefore there is no definition of "qualified."</p>
<p>why can't the universities just look at the applicant's family income? i mean, rich or upperclassed black and hispanic applicants are just as well off as the asians and whites. I don't get why a uber rich black applicant should have an advantage due to his/her skin colour, when he/she is in no way disadvantaged.</p>
<p>I NEVER understood why some colleges under affirmative action will give a preference based on race or ethnicity REGARDLESS of any showing of economic need. I can be the son of Black or Hispanic doctors or lawyers and have affirmative action applied to me. It never made sense to me.</p>
<p>Who says these URMs are unqualified? A 3 hr test? Most URMs that get into elite colleges are just as qualified in categories such as gpa, class rank, essays, and ecs. The only thing that lags behind is their SAT score. A three letter acronym shouldn't judge how "qualified" you are.</p>
<p>Smokeylarue, Yup. However, so are all other groups other than what colleges call Under Represented Minorities.However, it usually isn't a lot of folks who are taken un URM status. So yes, in theory, all other groups are a bit at a disadvantage;however, in practice, it might represent 6% of each colleges or professional school's freshmen class.</p>
<p>I hate how people just assume that Asians are naturally smart - I mean, sure there are some out there. But that goes for every race, not just Asians. But for me (I'm Asian), I have to work my ass off to get the grades that I get and for my SATs. I know Asians who have started preparing for SAT's since they were ten - working their asses off to get the high scores that they deserved. Anyways...I just hate how we Asians get screwed over by AA.</p>
<p>Quotas suck. AA, depending on how it's done, might be okay. You know, you need diversity for a good college experience. (Bla, bla, traditional tripe.)</p>
<p>Anyhow, from what I've read (i.e. the Gatekeepers), most people who AA gives a boost are already qualified. AA is just a tiebreaker, when a white, Asian and Hispanic all get the same grades.</p>
<p>What ****es me off about AA is that it presumes automatically that a Hispanic or Black (or, where I come from, Malay) is automatically economically worse off than, say, a White or a Chinese. I believe AA should be based on economic status, not race. That way, everyone benefits, without any hard feelings.</p>