Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
And about the kid with the B+ and the 1200, I don't mean to sound harsh, but he'd have trouble getting into a top tier school let alone Harvard with those scores.
And affirmative action isn't just to meet quotas, it's to bring diverse viewpoints to the table. At least that's what some admissions boards say.
-Rudey
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OK - so let's use a real-life example (yep, I'm violating my own rule against anecdotal evidence...)
A kid I know very well, in fact went to high school with, applied out of a top-50 high school, a fairly well-known magnet school. His GPA was over 3.8, and he scored a 35 on the ACT and a 1600 on the SAT. Blah blah he had other figures, including a couple sports letters and etc. Didn't get into Yale.
Another one, this one top in his class, AP State Scholar out of Iowa, 35 and 1560, etc - Waitlisted at Harvard.
Why did these happen?
Because 4 legacies to Yale (out of 90 graduating students) and 4 legacies to Harvard got in early admission. Half of these had similar academic credentials, so they obviously deserved the nod over those w/out legacy status . . . the others, however, were significantly below these two who did not get in. (PS - before you decide to call bullshit, PM me for more details/contact info)
Personally, I think it should be considered 'the breaks' for these types of schools - if you apply to Harvard, well, they have the right to deny students with superlative records, that's part of the deal (and part of why you apply to these places). However, to argue that 'it never happens' or 'money is never an issue' seems a bit as poor as saying 'money is the only issue' or 'it always happens.'
The legacy info for Yale certainly reflects that the mean isn't different from the mean for the college as a whole - but statistical outliers happen. Personally, I don't think it is right to lump in legacy status with affirmative action - I buy the loyalty bit, although I'm sure some won't agree with me. It's the same thing as when we give legacies a chance - we owe it to the kid's dad, or whoever, to give that opportunity.