<p>Hoedown,
You can’t say colleges practice “racism” if they judge you based on grades and test scores. I do agree, however that athletes get a pass, but that can be justified as a QUANTIFIABLE contribution is made to the school be having a good athletic team. I feel that if a school that doesn’t draw money from athletes, then they should re-think athletic scholarships.</p>
<p>Now, let’s get to the part of your argument that I feel is really flawed. Getting into a good college is about competition. The more prestigious the college, the higher the competition. Grades and test scores are the metrics used to quantifiably judge students. Michigan and other schools such as my school, U-Florida routinely turn away students with 1400+ SAT scores (reference-UF admitted 88.2% of 1400+ SAT applicants last year) for unrepresented minorities who score 200-300 points LOWER. In essence, the school removes any element of competition for minorities relative to the applicant pool as a whole. They check a box and skate (again relative to the school’s applicant pool). You say this makes the school better off, but can you prove it? You think it is fair, but what about the Michigan applicant with a 3.5, 1350 who was dinged when his friend with 100 points lower SAT score has a 90% chance of admissions when race is factored in. You want diversity…fine, MAYBE use it as a factor for borderline students. However, you seem to ignore the elephant in the room…a 200+ point SAT advantage for being part of a racial group is ludicrous. You can paint it anyway you want, it doesn’t make it less disgusting, especially since this is a state school using public funds. You don’t have to believe me or agree with me, but the fact is that a pretty big margin of Michigan’s voters were so fed up with it that they acted…good for them.</p>
<p>Can you imagine if they let sports teams into the playoffs with sub 500 records because they were made up of minorities?</p>