Princeton's Admissions Policies Investigated
Do elite universities hold Asian-Americans to higher standards than other applicants? Do Ivy League schools set caps on the number of high-achieving minority students admitted, comparing Asian-American applicants against one another instead of the rest of the applicant pool? These questions were recently recharged by word that the Education Department will broaden its investigation of Princeton University's admissions process, a probe that began after an applicant filed a federal civil rights complaint saying the school spurned him because of his race.
Jian Li, 19, was rejected from Princeton and four other elite institutions in 2006 even though he had perfect SAT scores and graduated in the top 1 percent of his high school class. Li, who was enrolled at Yale and now studies at Harvard, cited a white classmate from his high school who was admitted to Princeton with lower test scores and grades as alleged proof of racial discrimination.
Princeton says it did not discriminate against Li, stating that for the year he applied, 14 percent of enrolled students were of Asian descent and that the school admitted only half of the applicants with perfect SAT scores. The Education Department initially rejected Li's claim because of lack of evidence, but has just announced it will launch a broader "compliance review" to see if Princeton complies with federal civil rights regulations in its policies. A spokesman for the Education Department told the Wall Street Journal the inquiry "in no way implies" the agency has made up its mind on the complaint's legitimacy. Similar investigations were conducted in the early 1990s at University of California-Berkeley, which dropped a policy that limited enrollment of students with Asian ethnicities, and Harvard University, which wasn't charged with any violations.
Tags: college admissions | race | Princeton
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Unfair admissions...
There are other factors involved; perhaps the white student in this case had a better essay, recommendations and or extracurricular activities. Harvard, Princeton and Yale reject hundreds of applicants every year who have perfect SATs. They look for a well-rounded individual.
That being said, I do think without a doubt that Asians are in general held to higher standards than any other race when it comes to college admissions. So speaking to the broader context, yes there is a lot of unfairness that occurs in the college admissions process along racial lines.
Then consider that on average black students in the Ivys have literally a couple hundred fewer points on their SATS than whites, and yet are admitted at a higher rate, and what you are left with is a big disparity.
What happened to: "All Men Are Created Equal?"
You, know after reading a lot of these comments, which I have found to be interesting, I have to ask; "is getting into Princeton going to give you a name for yourselves that you just have to have or is it just by far the best educational source that one could ever have in one's lifetime?" It seems so sad to me that America has always been the considered, so I thought, the land of opportunity and the land of the free where all are welcome and here we are speaking of racism, what's that, in America, come on people. It reminds me of the fights at Christmas time over the Cabbage Patch Dolls and the Tickle Me Elmo that everyone just had to have and the true meaning of Christmas was? The true meaning of an education? Let us all be gracious toward one another and take our place in education and give our talents and gifts to this world wherever it may take us. If we don't have integrity and love for our fellow man, do we really belong at Princeton? What are we saying for Princeton? What is Princeton saying to us?
Racist Princeton
Asian Li was rejected for a less-qualified white applicant with lower scores and achievement. Based on merit, Li should have been admitted, and the less-qualified white student should have been rejected.
When a white female, Gratz (University of Michigan), files a complaint about racism, many whites applaud and abet her. When an Asian complains about racism, most whites laugh. This is a racist double standard.
The racist article relentlessly attacks Asians. They didn't make a racist article assailing whites because whites would WHINE and cry racism.
A student with a perfect SAT score doesn't communicate in broken English. So whites are jealous because a well-qualified Asian dared to request equal treatment. Less-qualified whites are favored over more-qualified Asians. This amounts to affirmative action for underqualified whites.
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