| Nigerians place a huge emphasis on education and on excelling, as some have previously noted. Nigerians also account for 25 percent of black students at Harvard Business School. They are consistently academic standouts. Not affirmative action. |
Not a Presidential Scholar, either. No athletics. Not from a geographic area typically unrepresented at top tier schools. Class president is great, but not all THAT impressive. I think there are lots of applicants who are more well rounded (and likely have higher test scores and GPAs) who didn't get into ANY Ivy schools, so it does seem odd, at best, that this student got into ALL of these great schools. |
+100 Look folks if you get a 1500+ plus on the SATs and you are black/Hispanic your acceptance rate to an IVY is over 25% seriously vs whites/Asians those are a dime a dozen and then some Congrats to this young woman but its obvious there were more qualified applicants from her own high school |
Well, she got in to all these schools...so obviously they all thought she could benefit the campus in some way. It is a shame that folks can't just say "good job, good luck to her" and move on. You folks are going out of your way to convince yourself and each other that she does not deserve to be there. I hope she has people in her life who can counteract that message. |
Nigerians (and Cubans) are obsessed with exploiting American affirmative action policies that were not intended for them. |
Jesus. I guess it's totally impossible that a young woman of color could, by herself, merit these admissions? I can completely understand why this MoCo student wrote this: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/opinion/sunday/finding-growth-at-my-historically-black-college.html |
one of the biggest problems with those policies is that it casts a cloud on even the most deserving recipients. if there is an alternative explanation for her acceptances than, yes, people are going to wonder. |
OP here. Thanks for sharing this article! I also attended an HBCU, and it was a great experience. One other point. It seems a few posters are intent on pitting black 1st-gen students against AAs. However, there's not such a clear demarcation between the groups. For example, I'm black and 1st-gen, but most closely identify with the experiences of AAs, since I grew up in a predominantly AA environment, attended an HBCU, etc.. Black immigrants and their kids are subjected to some of the same discrimination and pressures as AAs. And all black immigrants are not wealthy and well-educated. Aside from whether you agree with affirmative action policies or not, there's not always such a clear dividing line between AAs and black immigrants. The argument that black immigrants' children should not benefit from affirmative action policies seems to assume the groups are mutually exclusive. |
Ok...but why should ANY kid give a damn about how YOU or anyone else think they got there? Let them wonder. That is more your issue than it is hers. I tell my own kids and kids that mentor that it should not matter how you got there. If you show up, do the work and take advantage of the opportunities, then it is all good. But do not give one thought to other people speculating about why you got an opportunity. Because a White kid could be dumb as a rock and get in because of legacy status. Not one of you would look at him and think twice about him belonging at that school. But a POC gets in and now everyone wants to second -guess and parse her accomplishments. |
I think[b] what I am saying is that it is impossible for just about ANY young person to "merit" these admissions results, given the limited information we have (some of which we dug up, whether that's nice or kind or fair) about her. I do not doubt that there is something special about this young woman and that she will contribute much to whatever school community she joins and do very well in her chosen field. That said, read some of the threads here about admissions results this year, or look on college confidential to see how many kids with PERFECT SAT and/or ACT scores and tons of AP 5s and GPAs well over 4.0 (weighted, obviously) and multiple sports and multiple leadership positions and community service and competition wins, etc are not getting in to even ONE ivy or other top school. I do think it would be totally impossible for any white candidate with identical stats to get into ALL of these schools. Emphasis on ALL. And Asian kids? With even better stats? Forget about it. Wouldn't happen. |
You don't get it. Elite college admissions clearly see a difference in the "stats" of these candidates. |
Exactly. And it also places an outsized importance on things like SAT scores and GPAs, which do not on their own prove that the student will be successful, motivated, and a strong contributor on campus. In my own life (white woman) I see this. I went to a mid-level slac where I was probably in the top 1% for grades and test scores. I did a crappy job and did not contribute to campus life. Then I went to law school, where my LSATs and experience probably placed me in the bottom 25%. But I excelled, law review, great jobs, etc. Schools need to be looking for qualities far beyond SATs and GPAs. |
So do you also have no problem with legacy kids and athletes with mediocre numbers getting into elite schools? |
| Ivies= 27% Jewish, URM, athletes, legacies, famous/super wealthy. There is no room for non Jewish whites. |
Another PP here. I do not have a problem honestly. I am one that does not think someone is "entitled" to admission to an elite school just because of their grades and scores. If a kid brings something else to the table that the school finds compelling, an athletic talent that will raise the school's profile or daddy's money, who am I to question the admission folks? My kids got rejected at schools that I thought they were qualified for. Guess what? I was not the one deciding. |