Reply to How Harvard discriminates against Asian Americans in college admissions

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Harvard wants to increase their URM students to a point!  I agree that they are discriminating against Asians. [b] However, I would argue that Harvard will not decrease the number of whites students below 50%[/b]. If that happens wealthy/elite whites will not want to attend and it will lose its status.  I don't think that is fair, but that is the reality. [/quote]

They are already below 50%.  The last two classes have been majority-minority.  You can look this up; indeed Harvard brags about it.
You really could argue that the Asians are proportionally represented, blacks and Hispanics slightly over-represented, and whites are under-represented.  Really it's the whites who have a case here based on disparate impact.  [/quote]

OP here. Yes, I just looked it up and it is 44%.  I still stand by my overall point that their ultimate diversity goal is to keep whites as the majority of any racial group.  [/quote]

Also, Harvard doesn't see itself as a STEM only school. It is a liberal arts institution. This drives their diversity philosophy. I teach at a tier 1 university and the majority of Asian students major in STEM related fields. I assume this also happens at Harvard. Does this influence admissions for Asians as they are competing against themselves? I think more Asians students majoring in the humanities and social sciences would increase their overall percentage in schools like Harvard.[/quote]

Yes, this is true. Your declared field interest is considered in the application, and factors into the diversity question. The huge number of Asian applicants wanting to major in a STEM discipline indeeds means they are competing against each other to a point. [/quote]

Harvard is looking for applicants from interesting backgrounds with unique strengths and interests in addition to academic potential. How unique is a high-achieving Asian or even white applicant looking for a STEM focus?  And why would these students even have Harvard, as opposed to MIT or Cal Tech, at the top of their lists? At the UG level it does not really offer the kind of education they're looking for. Their admissions policies are to some degree related to the kind of diverse liberal arts curriculum stressed at the college level. The more specialized grad programs are a different story. There are no quotas attached to graduate admissions, because that is strictly tied to achievement in a given discipline. [/quote]

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