It’s not news that college admissions aren’t completely merit-based. Preferable legacy status, socioeconomic status, and quality of education all confer advantages to certain students. But in recent years, race-based affirmative action policies have emerged at the forefront of that list and become wedge issues that have divided the nation.
Most universities in the United States practice a holistic admissions process, in which several qualities of a student (ex. personality, extracurriculars, essays) are accounted for rather than their pure academic skills. Several universities, such as Harvard University, consider race as a factor for admissions, raising admissions standards for Asian and White students in comparison to those for Hispanic and Black students. Admissions officers tend to do this by giving Asian applicants lower scores in their “personal” ratings. In doing so, the universities promote diversity on their school campuses (otherwise, certain campuses would be majority Asian).
Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), an organization claiming to represent the interests of Asian-Americans, sued Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, alleging that their admission policies discriminate against Asian American applicants. This year, on Halloween, Students for Fair Admissions took their lawsuit against Harvard to the Supreme Court. The trial’s verdict is yet to be released, though it’s likely that the conservative super-majority will rule in favor of SFFA (as demonstrated by the reversal of Roe v. Wade).
The Asian American community is split. Proponents of race-conscious admissions policies claim that these policies promote diversity on college campuses, providing educational opportunities for otherwise-disadvantaged applicants. They believe that when students learn in a diverse environment, they interact with others in a social setting that more closely emulates the real world. Affirmative action policies also make up for past history, in which certain minority groups have historically had less opportunities for higher education. In the end, proponents note that colleges have a right to admit whichever students they wish in order to build a beneficial community.
Meanwhile, opponents of race-conscious admissions policies fundamentally disagree with the concept of discrimination in college applications. They argue that college applications should be solely based on merit, which takes precedence over racial diversity. In addition, race does not need to be considered when socioeconomic status is already a sufficient factor to consider in the admissions process of many colleges, as racial status and socioeconomic status are already intrinsically intertwined. It’s important to consider that socioeconomic status can affect the types of opportunities students can have; for example, a student who must work every day to make ends meet won’t have time to participate in clubs outside of school. Therefore, colleges can level the playing field for applicants without having to discriminate based on race.