<p>That’s so disheartening.
But it is kind of hilarious when people expect you to be some kind of mouth breathing idiot, (As they did in my prep school when I transferred. Since I don’t play a sport most people assumed I was a charity case.) and you prove them wrong. The looks on several faces are pretty priceless.</p>
<p>hahaha, there is always a bright side.</p>
<p>Disagree that “most, if not all, believe that URMs get in because they are URMs”.</p>
<p>Don’t allow a few vocal posters on other threads to confuse you. The URMs getting into these top schools are deserving and are being chosen for their smarts, their cultural and life experience, their work ethic… just like most of the other kids getting into the top schools. The URMs themselves know that, the AdComs know that, the GCs know that, and the non-URM kids who sit in class with these URMs know that.</p>
<p>As is the case with every issue, you will be able to find people who have a different experience and a different opinion, but that’s good, isn’t it? Just don’t let it affect your belief in yourself.</p>
<p>^Agreed.</p>
<p>Elite colleges and universities extend preferences to many types of students (Athletes, Legacies, Donors, etc.), yet affirmative action-the only preference given to underrepresented minority applicants-is the one surrounded by the most controversy. </p>
<p>That irks me.</p>
<p>I’m putting that all behind me. It’s foolish to dwell on such things. Despite the heat that I’ve attracted upon my acceptances, I just have one thing in mind …</p>
<p>I have the chance (FINALLY) to compete with those who said that it was impossible. I have the chance to show that I’m more than someone’s preconceived notions. I have the chance to prove that I deserve what I’ve worked for my entire life. And when school starts, I’m going to make sure that mindset radiates off of me so that everyone will know that I’m serious and ready to give them a run for their money. That’s all we can do at this point. Go into school and maximize the potential that the adcoms saw in you.</p>
<p>Let it go. You have nothing to prove to anyone but to yourself. The people who whine and complain are not worth the effort or energy. You are much to intelligent and confident to be bothered by the insecurities of others.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all of you.</p>
<p>Congratulations to you too my friend:)</p>
<p>Why is there so much crap on this thread, beginning with silverturtle’s initial post?</p>
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<p>Guess what, bucko? I’ve been presumed unworthy before affirmative action was an issue. College isn’t going to change a thing in that regard. Your statement is a gross generalization that could only arise out of an experience that you do not have, yet you post it here as if it is fact. </p>
<p>“Presumed unworthy?” Please.</p>
<p>sstewart, all of your affirmative-action related threads are quite annoying. Don’t you have anything else to think about?</p>
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<p>Please elaborate.</p>
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<p>I am a URM. I was waitlisted at Yale. I had higher stats than some of those who were accepted.</p>
<p>Should I blame AA?</p>
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<p>Honest to God, have you ever been outside of your little bubble? Studied a bit of history? Gone to some places and seen how people live? How they are degraded every day of their life because of the way they talk, dress, act, and where they reside? Been in an inner-city school and watched a pregnant sixteen year old sleep through her third try at the eighth grade?</p>
<p>I am of two minds when it comes to affirmative action; it clearly has not redressed the wrongs it was supposed to, though it has been an somewhat effective solution to the gender inequity at institutions of higher education. However, to see the problems associated with that policy reduced to statements that claim AA is the reason minority students may have their success called into question is what makes my blood boil, not the reactions people have when they learn what institution I attend.</p>
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<p>Oh, certainly.</p>
<p>When I was in the elementary grades and in the earlier part of middle school, I wore my hair in its natural state. This created endless problems for me, ranging from jokes from teachers about how I looked like something from the “bush” to more direct violence from my peers, all because my hair was not relaxed. I was patronized when I tried to show an interest in academic subjects; some individuals laughed openly in my face when I stated some of my ambitions and told me to set my sights on becoming a nurse; apparently, “some types of people” didn’t belong in certain fields, and it would be practically impossible to get a job for someone like me unless I relaxed my hair.</p>
<p>That came from my seventh grade math teacher, actually.</p>
<p>High school came with its own set of problems; classmates openly referred to me as the token black student. Though I managed to outperform many of them, my achievements were reduced to “oh, she’s just practicing voodoo to get those grades - that’s what Haitians do, after all.” This sort of nonsense persisted into senior year.</p>
<p>When I tried to join the MUN club and the Mock trial clubs in school, I was first not allowed to join on the basis of some spurious rule that was later proved to be nonexistent. This had nothing to do with my public speaking skills, which had already been acknowledged as being very good in several reputable competitions, or my ability to process information. Rather, there was disbelief on the part of the club’s president that I was capable of being a functional member of the club. In fact, she later revealed to me in a candid conversation that the initial hesitation at letting me in was due to an unfounded fear that I would “talk ghetto.” </p>
<p>When I wanted to participate in an oratorical competition sponsored by my school’s social studies department, I was passed over - despite the fact that I had proven myself already - because the social studies chair cast me in the angry black female stereotype; even when my relations with him improved, he persisted in trying to make me seem as if I was an angry female incapable of speaking anything but snappy, accented English full of finger-snapping, eye rolling, and head shaking. </p>
<p>I have written essays and had teachers tell me that there was no way I could’ve written them by myself; I have been accused of plagiarism and having parental help more times than I care to count. I am guilty of neither, yet I receive such insults to my intellect every time I do something decently. It is not a good thing for a child to grow up believing that they are a dreadful aberration, an oddity, a toxic tumor that saps life from the system rather than supporting it. Indeed, it is difficult to overcome such a mentality, though the outside factors that lead to it will always persist. That is what I meant by my statement.</p>
<p>And I’d like to add that this barely scratches the surface.</p>
<p>I don’t expect the suspicion to abate in college; perhaps there will be some new ways of revealing it this time around. There will always be those who simply believe that I am incapable of achieving objective excellence. And there’s not much I can do to change that. For my entire life, I will have to first overcome negative stereotypes before I can even think about proving my individual merit - and this sad situation doesn’t exist because of Affirmative Action, it exists in spite of it. </p>
<p>Back to watching the U.S. v. Brazil soccer match.</p>
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<p>My intended point was that successfully passing through a purely meritocratic admissions process in which no benefit was given based on anything that is the typical cause for prejudice could change that (i.e., the idea that you are “incapable of achieving objective excellence”). Do you disagree?</p>
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<p>Yes. The idea that I am incapable of achieving objective excellence does not exist because of affirmative action; it has far more insidious roots. You’re trying to forge a link where one does not - and cannot, due to the intrusion of reality - exist.</p>
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<p>Nothing is purely meritocratic, least of all college admissions. The history of that process proves that.</p>
<p>Perhaps it would be more precise to rephrase “meritocratic” as “generally perceived as meritocratic.” Test scores seem to fit the bill there.</p>
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<p>Go to China and then tell me that again.
[China’s</a> College Entry Test Is an Obsession - NYTimes](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/asia/13exam.html]China’s”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/asia/13exam.html)
High test scores in some rare cases may be the result of pure willpower, but environment and access to stations of power, at least in China, can translate into higher scores. There’s actually an article where a government official stole scores of other students. I’ll be back when I find it.</p>
<p>As long as there is a metric, it will be manipulated. Simple as that.
Meritocracies belong in utopias.</p>
<p>^ Because the elimination of rase-based Affirmative Action policies would surely be viewed by most of those who have prejudices as a step toward greater meritocracy, wouldn’t it result in a positive change in the number of people who do doubt certain groups’ ability to “[achieve] objective excellence,” even if a universally accepted meritocracy is not achieved?</p>
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<p>Society is not always right.</p>
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<p>There were doubts before AA. Why should that change now?</p>
<p>Again, I am not a proponent of AA, though it does have its benefits for some; I believe there are more intensive measures beginning earlier in the education system that need to be implemented. However, to think that removing a certain policy will change the calcified mindset of many is na</p>
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<p>I’m not saying that AA is the sole cause of prejudices; I’m saying that it is one of the rationaliziations that those who have prejudices can use to dismiss observations that run counter to those preconceived notions. Elimination of that excuse should have a positive effect in that respect, right?</p>
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<p>Well, let’s see. First, it was religion that was used to justify the inferiority of certain peoples (Tribe of Ham, anyone?). Then, it was biology/anthropology. Now we have social policies.</p>
<p>Some people will always manage to fit the facts to their argument rather than the other way around. Perhaps they’ll go back to anthropology?</p>
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<p>Of course it’s a rationalization. So? They’ll find plenty of others.</p>
<p>I go to a 90% white school, but I have a view on this issue. The problem is that the majority of african americans have the viewpoint that it is not “cool” to study, get good grades, etc… They have the capability, but their own culture prevents them from it. A good example is hockey. There are almost no african americans in the NHL because it’s not a “white” sport. Ksarmand had a great post. I you want to fit in, in african american culture and obviously white culture also, sometimes you have to do stupid things or not have any friends. Because of this, I do think AA is helpful, because the more blacks and whites blend their cultures together, the better. I have to admit that I am a little prejudiced to african americans. But this has nothing to do with their skin, it is all about their culture. I look forward to meeting a more diverse group of students in college who have the same interests as me.</p>