<p>I stand by my comments. AA is unfair and a joke. I have read all the posts and they havent changed my mind.</p>
<p>BCgoUSC, trust me a 1,000 from an inner city single parent child is worth lot more than a 1,600 from a well to do suburban school with access to test prep classes.</p>
<p>I had said earlier a 1,450 ain't going to cut in top tier schools.</p>
<p>The person who got into harvard with 1000 got in over 20 years ago. If it was equated by todays standards the score would most likely be higher</p>
<p>People need to realize that black students with good scores can and do get rejected/deferred....it happened to my son's GF yesterday. I'm not going to share much about her because it's not my place since she's not my kid....but I will say that she's from a very privileged background and had a very competitive app. I suspect, based on her stats, that she was evaluated with the expectation that she should perform on the level of white applicants with similar backgrounds. So there's "in your face" proof that wealthy blacks are not being ushered down a red carpet into top schools. I wish I could share more of her stats/background......I think you would all be shocked at the deferral.</p>
<p>To put Kirmum's SAT score of 1000 20 years ago into perspective, here are a few SAT scores from the same pre-recentering era by individuals who were of privileged background and had enjoyed prep school educations:</p>
<p>GW Bush, 1206
Al Gore, 1355
John Kerry, 1190</p>
<p>Ask yourself this: If a black child was raised so no one mentioned race or an achievement gap, woulld they score poorly? In other words, is it because they constantly are told that they cannot do well? In AL, repeatedly calling a child stupid could constitute emotional abuse.</p>
<p>BCgoUSC, I'm sure it's not all that unusual for Harvard to admit exceptional white male applicants, even those with 1450 SATs (a respectible score which would NOT serve as an automatic disqualifier). But they can probably smell a bitter whiner from miles away, and will decline him admission no matter how stellar his stats might be. One of their stated objectives is to "build community", but if they get the impression that your attitude would detract from the community they seek to build, they're not likely to give you the nod. Come spring, if Harvard rejects you because you smell funny, don't scapegoat AA...</p>
<p>I don't scapegoat AA. I resent the comment that someone earlier made that a 1450 is nothing from a suburban kid who has taken prep classes. I have never taken a prep class for any standardi. test in my life. I spend my time at the library because I can't afford to buy many books. Tell me that an urban black kid can't spend time at a library. I also work to support the things I like doing (20 hours a week). I have a great mom, but being a single parent, she can't afford for me to take $2,000 SAT prep classes like some people do. I have worked just as hard as anyone else and to tell me that I am not accepted because someone's "environment" and race were detrimental to their chances at success is ridiculous. Sometimes people are just so brainwashed by the liberal society that arguing has not effect on them. Seems like this thread is like that. I pity the fact that most of society can't even think for themselves any more. Such a pity.</p>
<p>I can't believe the racist turn this thread has taken. It's almost ridiculous what some of these so called "well-educated" parents believe.</p>
<p>BCgoUSC (and others who may share his views)</p>
<p>I assure you that while you're wasting time complaining about underqualified minorities taking you spots, there will be very qualified minorities ignoring you and the naysayers who know nothing of their credentials being accepted (with their qualified white counterparts) to the very best institutions.</p>
<p>EDIT: After reading BCgoUSC's remarks in this thread ( <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=14687%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=14687</a> ), I don't think any discourse or responses to him are even worthwhile.</p>
<p>I am sorry that you feel that way. I hope it is not thought that I am a racist. I have many friends of other races, I merely feel that AA is discriminatory and not helpful to anyone involved, some in the short run and some in the long run. I wish that people would not jump to conclusions. I hope others do read that link to the thread on AA. I stand by all things I have posted, and welcome and mature civil discussions about these topics.</p>
<p>BGgoUSC, have you already concluded that you haven't a shot at admission to Harvard? If you have, I think that's a darned shame, given the fact that you seem to have so much going for you---I assume that you've proven yourself an exceptional student in many ways, despite less than optimal economic and social circumstances. If you can clearly demonstrate this to the Adcom, I'm sure that your application would not be considered lightly. Your SAT scores are perfectly respectable---especially given the fact that you've not been able to afford the test prep options many affluent families readily employ. And, despite the fact that test scores are virtually the only thing that matter when the topic of discussion turns to AA, schools like Harvard have ALWAYS held that test scores are NOT everything. It is not all that uncommon for the adcoms to reject a white male with a 1600, yet grant admission to one with a 1450. LOTS of factors go into any single admission decision. Don't let bitterness toward AA make you think in purely simplistic terms.</p>
<p>By the way, there are MANY minority applicants who are in situations similar to your own. I personally know of one who is a star football player at his public high school in Maryland. He is one of two being raised by a single (schoolteacher) mother. His bedroom in his inner city apartment is so small, he has to get in bed by crawling in from the foot end. He is an Honor Student who, during his junior year, scored a 1430 on his SAT. I assure you that he is well aquainted with the library. I find it depressingly familiar that you are among no small number of people who assume that his ilk is not qualified for admission to some of the best schools in the country, Harvard among them. Funny thing is, long before there was any such thing as AA, the attitude commonly expressed concerning minorities at schools like Harvard is that "they don't belong". The objection to AA is now just the latest convenient justification for this long standing attitude.</p>