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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As an asian parent I'm not advocating for looking at only grades and test scores but to remove the artificial quotas based on skin color.  Commitments and talents to other activities and your critical thinking as conveyed on the essays should matter but comparison and selection ideally wouldn't be within buckets defined as children who are yellow, brown or peach.  If you get down to it they're just different mixes of red, green and white.  It's having people with a variety of experiences that make for an interesting cultural mix.  I grew up yellow and very poor.  I bet my scars and growth from those years is more similar to black and very poor than not.  [/quote]

I'm black and agree with this in theory, but how should a school measure diversity, if it is something they value?  Also race is not just skin color, it is a social construct we live under in the US (like it or not). I'd love it if all advantages were thrown out for EVERYONE. I just don't understand why black students get attacked in these discussions when they make up such a small percentage at any of these top schools. It is truly tiny. Why isn't the focus on legacy and athletic advantage, that's what hurts Asian admits more.

The problem is at the tippy top schools no one really truly knows how they make their selections and honestly the private schools can do whatever they please. They are not reliant on government funding. And NIH for example is not going to stop giving research grants to Harvard. [/quote]

If you could show legacy/athlete admits had SAT scores, GPAs, AP test score averages several deviations below the mean for the entering class then the justification is plausible.  Studies show this is true for black applicants and that is why there is such outrage.  [/quote]

I don't think you'll find such a study. We've sat through many admissions presentations at elite schools and a common theme you hear is that over 90% of applicants are qualified to be admitted, meaning they fall within the GPA/test score/etc. criteria. I think in general that legacy/athlete admits get a finger on the scale that differentiates them from their equally qualified peer group.  With blacks and latinos the data clearly shows a different story....their quantifiable metrics fall below the mean cohort. [/quote]

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