"Race" in College Admission FAQ & Discussion 8

Applying to College
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<p>Sight identification may work “most of the time,” but there are times when it can definitely fail miserably. I’m working as a camp counselor this summer, and I could’ve sworn one of the kids was mixed black / white because he had brown skin and dreadlocks. He was talking to some of the other kids while they were waiting for their ramen to cook, and he said that he was white. The other kids laughed, suggesting that they too thought he was black. He then explained his heritage as being Israeli on his father’s side but white American on his mother’s side. (He pointed out that his mother was a redhead and definitely could not pass for black.) After he explained his ancestry, I could see him being a darker-skinned Semite much like a person from Israel very well could look like, especially if he didn’t have the dreads.</p>

<p>The kid could definitely have taken advantage of sight identification being used by others to classify him as black, but he is an honest kid and does not self-identify as black at all, noting that to his knowledge, he has no African ancestry.</p>

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<p>What about when sight identification is completley obvious and your race can easily be identified?</p>

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<p>Colleges are still discouraged from guessing, though again in my personal experience, I have met some Taiwanese whom I am pretty sure weren’t aboriginals but didn’t look East Asian (ie. they could pass for what we think of as Latinos or Middle Easterners).</p>

<p>Edit</p>

<p>I’m pretty much always sight identified as “Asian”–the lone exception was in high school, when a student thought I was Mexican–though I am surprisingly almost never identified as Chinese by other ethnic Chinese. If there’s a country that borders China, chances are I’ve been called that.</p>

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<p>“I could’ve sworn one of the kids was mixed black / white because he had brown skin and dreadlocks. He was talking to some of the other kids while they were waiting for their ramen to cook, and he said that he was white. The other kids laughed, suggesting that they too thought he was black.”</p>

<p>fabrizio, that is an interesting example. I can’t help but wonder how his experiences will “color” his world view, REGARDLESS of how he labels himself. In my mind, anyone who can and does wear dreads ( without a lot of artificial machinations) is going to experience the world at least a LITTLE differently.</p>

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<p>Since there is a thread about race in college admissions, I thought it would be interesting to start one in Ivy admissions. Please let me explain that this is not an affirmative action thread, and although I do not want it to be one, I know some poster will turn it into one, but before they do, I just wanted to clarify that this is not an affirmative action thread. Anyway, it seems as though, over the years, more and more minority applicants are being accepted to the Ivy league.</p>

<p>“Thirty-five percent of students admitted this year are minority students. That number rises to almost 40 percent if international students are considered. In the class of 2006, 42 percent of those accepted were minority students.”- Yale admissions 2007</p>

<p>"Columbia University Class of 2009<br>
Overall Admit Rate 10.4% </p>

<p>Columbia had the largest applicant pool in its history. Columbia College received 15,790 applications this year, a five percent increase compared to the previous year’s 15,006 applications. 1,638 applicants were admitted, resulting in an acceptance rate of 10.4 percent. </p>

<p>The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences received 2,330 applications, a four percent increase compared to the previous year’s 2,252 applications. 612 applicants were admitted. This year’s acceptance rate of 26.3 percent represents a decrease of 2 percent compared to the previous year’s acceptance rate of 28.4 percent. </p>

<p>Barnard College received 4,427 applications, a nominal increase from the previous year. 1,194 applicants were admitted, resulting in an acceptance rate of 26.9 percent. </p>

<p>The middle 50 percent SAT score for Columbia College was 1380-1530, representing an increase of 10 points compared to the previous year. The median score for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences was 1440-1530. The median score for Barnard was 1400, the highest in the school’s history. "</p>

<p>My question is do any of you think that as the pool gets more competitive, do you think that more minorities will be accepted, why or why not? Also, do you think that over represented minorities will be the next new minorities?</p>

<p>Any and all data, opinions, etc, are welcomed.</p>

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<p>This is just going to devolve into an affirmative action debate.</p>

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<p>^So far, it has not.</p>

<p>I don’t feel like answering because I know it will come back to haunt me in the form of someone else’s rabid post somewhere on this website. In the greater scheme of things, who cares?</p>

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<p>We’re 4 posts into the thread. Srsly.</p>

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<p>^It’s just that no one who is sufficiently enraged has migrated over here yet.</p>

<p>I give it a few days. If it doesn’t catch by then, it won’t.</p>

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<p>well, before that happens, can we at least have a sophisticated talk, not arguement, about the topic?</p>

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<p>I’m sorry but your OP really doesn’t address any questions. The fact that approx 40% of admitted Yale students identify themselves as a minority – means what? How does that compare with the body of applicants? Also remember that this 40% includes Asians and people of mixed ethnicity. </p>

<p>If you had some hard numbers that ethnicity A had a x% admit rate, that ethnicity B had y% admit rate, etc… then you’d be onto something juicy. </p>

<p>Your info about Columbia is endemic of higher quality admitees across the board at selective colleges. That’s nothing earth shattering either.</p>

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<p>these stats are not supposed to be earth shattering, there supposed to be simple statics that would bring forth the “earth shattering data” that you speak of. Besides I do not see you providing anything that would make the earth shatter. Let alone any comment that was not worth appreciation. BTW sorry if I sound harsh, I am not trying to.</p>

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<p>

Haha no way, where did that idea come from?</p>

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<p>I just thought of an idea. If you’re white or Asian, leave the ethnicity section blank. Gee, I wonder what the adcoms would do if only URMs filled it out?</p>

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<p>^ Oh now I do have a good question for this thread cause of that post.</p>

<p>Since admissions officers have said that they practice affirmative action, how do they treat an applicant who leaves the ethnicity field blank? I imagine that they just treat you as a non-URM, but would that even work in your favor if you were white or asian?</p>

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<p>^That’s a good question for it brings up some ideas that, personnally, I have never thought about.</p>

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<p>They treat them regularly. First off, sometimes it’s nearly impossible to NOT know someone’s ethnicity, even if the race section is left blank. Things like first and last names, income, location, school, etc. will sometimes give away an applicant’s ethnicity. So sometimes it doesn’t matter if it’s left blank.</p>

<p>If you decline to say, then they won’t consider your ethnicity and base it off the other parts of your application. “Affirmative action” does not mean actively avoid white or Asian applicants. It means that you want to admit people of different backgrounds and not select against underrepresented peoples.</p>

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<p>^ Right, so how can you make your application look like your someone with a different background than most people?</p>

<p>Also, I agree that its easy to tell what ethnicity someone is, but I have heard they are not supposed to assume anything about race. However, I fear that if its obvious, admissions officers will put it in the back of their mind when deciding…“hmm this applicant is clearly a wealthy white kid, so I don’t think his SAT scores a up to par”</p>

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<p>^Why would you want to do that?</p>

<p>They’re not supposed to use race as a reason to deny people. I don’t think they’ll say “he’s a wealthy, white kid with a 2100 = automatic reject.” If he’s a white kid with a 2100 and that’s all he is, then they might not accept him because he brings nothing to the table.</p>

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<p>^I agreee with what you have to say, however, some admissions officers do think that in the back of their head, yes, I do not have any solid examples, but I am sure that this is a fact that occurs more than often.</p>