<p>writing ability is a learned skill. in the past couple years, i have worked tirelessly with english teachers to improve my writing, so yes, i believe that people who can write better deserve that advantage, especially if you could spend the time and learn to write better. if you choose to spend your time doing something else, it’s your fault. </p>
<p>it’s like complaining that grades are considered for fellowships. yea, some people come in better prepared to get good grades, but people who are closer to the bottom of the academic spectrum can still get them if they work with tutors, study more, etc.</p>
<p>Wow adchang you completely destroyed your credibility with that last point. I was on your side when you stated that Asians have been historically discriminated against in the past but when you said construction of the Pacific Railroad might have been worse than slavery you made yourself look stupid. The only genocide that compared to slavery was the Holocaust my friend and if you stretch the numbers you can say Britain’s Imperialism caused millions of Indian deaths but considering slavery was worldwide and probably three times as many people died from it than the Holocaust you should probably stop talking.</p>
<p>^^ you forgot the WWII genocide in Asia and Pacific islands. It actually did kill 3 times more than the holocaust, but the general consensus is that, “there are so many Asians anyways, whats another 20 mil give or take” But this is off topic. </p>
<p>The whole idea that something in the past can be “remunerated” by some reverse discriminatory policy is utter bs.
Any policy has to be measured through it cost and benefits for the world of today and tomorrow.</p>
<p>My son was national merit and did not get in, but my daughter got in with national achievement. they both had a 33 act. I think it’s funny that people think black kids are taking their spots, out of 180 black kids in the freshman class how many are there for sports. so there are not a lot of spots left for other black kids that are there for academic reasons only. my son would like to study business and stanford has no undergraduate business school. so it was not a good fit for him, but my daughter would like to study engineering. I think admission got it right!!! He got into a great school, just not stanford.</p>
<p>The fact that my son was black and national merit we all thought he was going to get in also. he had 42 ap credits and would have graduated early from a top public school. but he was offered a scholarship to a top private school. so the asian kids that are not getting in are going to do okay. when california decided no more affirmative action, it help the asian kids and hurt the white kids. now more white parents are paying for private schools or out of state tuition. so if a asian get more spots they will not come from the 9 or 7 percent black are getting. maybe 3 if you take out athletes.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can call 20 percent of the student body Discrimination. I also don’t think blacks having 9 percent with half of them being athletes represents affirmative action.</p>
<p>Stanford has it right, if blacks had 20 percent of the spot that would be called affirmative action and not discrimination. no 1 thinks about how many qualified black kids that don’t get in. also the graduation rate for black kids is 92 percent. what most people don’t understand, a 36 and 32 is the top 1 percent for the a c t. if you have a 3.7 gpa you may have 1 or 2 Bs. All of those kids are the best and they’re all taking a p classes. they are all qualified to do college level work, that’s why the essays and extracurricular activities are so important.</p>
<p>No that is still discrimination in the form of institutional racism. Any forms of racial quotas are forms of discrimination, however, whether they’re just or not, is a matter of debate. </p>
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<p>Oh, I believe the standard argument for “qualified applicants who don’t get in” is that “they would get into a school just as good as the one they were rejected from”</p>
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Care to state your source? Numbers I have doesn’t seem to agree.
[Black</a> Student College Graduation Rates Inch Higher But the Large Racial Gap Persists](<a href=“http://www.jbhe.com/preview/winter07preview.html]Black”>http://www.jbhe.com/preview/winter07preview.html)
Even though graduation rate for black students are 5% lower, we can’t judge anything based on the limited data. (does not control for variables such as majors, performance, etc etc)</p>
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<p>Thats not the point at all.
It’s clear that Colleges discriminate (to make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit) applicants on race.
The question should be: Are we willing to trade personal empowerment for a more palatable group dynamic? And how can we balance the two so that we maximize the benefit and minimize the cost.</p>
<p>I agree with that statement and stanford does a great job of that. Harvard use to be100 percent white. It’s not anymore but yet it’s still the number 1 school in the country. Harvard also has the highest black graduation rate of 95 percent. Michigan state overall graduation rate is 60 percent and the majority of the student body is white. Schools like stanford and harvard are taking the best kids of all races. I don’t hear asians crying about more spots at Notre dame. It’s a great school and just had there first African american valedictorian and the school is only 3 percent black. people need to stop thinking the black kids are not qualified to be there. it’s not about getting in, it’s about graduating.</p>
<p>Also at the top schools it’s diversity, at the bottom it maybe affirmative action. Someone that gets a 21 or 22 act that should be at a junior college and gets in there state school!!! but people at the top schools are saying he got. a 30 and has a 3.5 gpa how did he get in. also to give a spot to a poor black kids over a rich 1 will not happen. we want to live in the best neighborhoods because of the school district. we spend money on private schools so are kids get a better education. now after you do all of that you have the privilege of paying the 50,000 dollars it cost to go there. how are poor kids going to get the qualifications to gett in. 4 the ones that do you get the qualifications I feel opportunities do come with that. but they are not in large numbers.</p>
<p>Please understand that elite colleges are trying to form a class, not a quota.</p>
<p>All STATS being equal . . . what ELSE can you contribute to the campus?</p>
<p>All CONTRIBUTIONS being equal . . . what are your stats?</p>
<p>I promise you, show up with a 2400 and a 4.0, and have nothing else to contribute . . . see Ya! And, Stanford would be right in deciding so.</p>
<p>Colleges that are strong enough to choose, will. They could care less what color you are if you are qualified AND are ALSO best able to fill a particular “student body need” (aka talent).</p>
<p>Otherwise . . . well, you would just have another (very expensive) state flagship.</p>
<p>Just my thoughts about an overworked “excuse thread” . . .</p>
<p>^ absolutely untrue. It’s a well-accepted fact that most elite colleges DO weed out qualified applicants for the sake of forming a diverse college community. Asian students that apply to universities are on average more qualified academically and as far as extra-cirriculars are concerned than locals or URMs yet a lot of great Asian students do get rejected because they are over-represented within the colleges.</p>
<p>Being an Asian myself (Indian!) this kinda sucks but I don’t really see the point in complaining. They’re going to do what they have to do to raise the standard of the their school whether it be academically or culturally and we’re going to have to live with their decision in the end.</p>