<p>Throughout the college application process thus far, one of the most interesting topics, to me, has been admissions decisions based on racial/gender diversity vs. merit. </p>
<p>Without a doubt there are schools that admit students who would make a campus more diverse, regardless of those students' academic successes. Both in person and on CC, I have seen "diverse" students accepted into top-tier schools with stats well below those of the average applicant for their respective school. For schools that utilize this method, it is often harder for a less "diverse" student to stand out in his/her category of applicants.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there certainly are schools who admit students who they believe are most qualified, independent of racial background or gender. These schools usually possess statistics like an extremely low percentage of minority students or an unbalanced gender distribution, especially within particular fields of study. Overall, these figures can surely act as deterrents to students seeking a diverse campus.</p>
<p>Everyone has some type of bias; some will naturally favor diversity while others will stick to the truth of merit. I am curious to hear what the people of the CC community think about diversity vs. merit. Is admission by diversity fair? Is it impartial? Is it just? Is admission solely by merit appropriate? Is it sufficient? Is it adequate?</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>