Princeton's Admissions Policies Investigated
Reader Comments
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.
bottom line !
basing your arguments on subjective factors and extra-curricular activities to justify discrimination really misses the point.
let's say an asian student scored 2300 sat score & a 4.0 gpa and a black student scored an sat score of 2100 and a 3.8 gpa (on the same subjects), and let's say they both have virtually identical backgrounds and extracurricular achievements - who do you think will be accepted first? do you have any doubt?
discrimination
Anecdotally,and given the SATs of incoming students of various racial groups, I don't think there's any question that Asian-American students are discriminated against in admission to elite colleges.
The fairest solution is to begin with a race and ethnicity-blind process. It would be quite easy to do. Applications would be assigned numbers, information about family backgroudn would not be accessible to admission officers making the decisions.
Then, to help those who are diadvantaged, economic and racial/ethnic factors could be looked at a on a second cycle.
This would also be much more honest than the current de facto quota system which no one darest acknowledge.
There is clear discrimination on the part of the admissions office at Princeton. If the chips truly fell as they should, the ethnic breakdown of Princeton would rapidly change. Well-qualified students, Asian and to some extent White, are spurned by affirmatve action.
Though affirmative action is present at Princeton, it is Prinecton's declared right to consider "racial/ethnic status" according to the CollegeBoard.
We Know Better
Being Asian-American will always have its disadvantages in the academia. This is very unfair, sad, but true.
Well Rounded Students
One of the false assumptions is the Asian students with high GPAs and SATs are not well rounded, and all of the African American and Hispanic students with weaker GPAs and SATs are admitted because they are well rounded individuals.
You won't see the Caucasian or Asian American students admitted to Ivy league schools with weak GPAs or SATs. They may be well rounded, but the weak GPAs or SATs alone will eliminate them from consideration.
Most understand the need for diversity in education. It's a difficult subject. Making excuses for one group at the expense of others makes it even less palatable.
Princeton and Perfect SATs
Essentially, everyone knows the score here, but it remains unspoken. To achieve a desired level of diversity, GPA and standardized testing, if followed as strict guidlines, would be the primary obsticles.
African American and Hispanic students do not fare as well in these two areas of measurement, especially in the standardized tests. To base admittance decisions on test scores and GPA alone would preclude most minority student.
To make room for the lesser qualified students, many of the more qualified students must relinquish their spots.
The students, including the minority student, are all aware of this, the professors know it, the guidance counselors know it. Why does everyone beat around the bush with this topic? Trying to keep this as a secret is absurd. It makes the minority students appear as unqualified.
Most white students, aside from legacy students and tagged athletes, understand their chances of admittance to Ivy League schools is very low. While most Caucasions and Asians don't don't object to the resulting diversity, they do object to the over-representation of the African American and Hispanic students.
The minority students themselves feel affirmative action, although necessary, to be a chronic source of embarrassment.
