Buchanan: Bias and bigotry in academia

[Ryman of the North]

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so you are gonna go to a state college then? lol

[mcsluggo]

So why should a white kid from that kind of district have a harder time getting into an Ivy than a black kid from McLean?

he went to oxford.

(point is:: mclean is a little bit more diverse now, compared to when I went to high school... but I honestly can only remember one African American in my class, off the top of my head-- our class president. THere were a few black kids that were African as well, World Bank and Diplomat kids for the most part.)

but your point well taken. I think that in general if you are going to give preferential treatment in admissions, it is much more beneficial to target the preferential treatment on the actual schools. I think more schools are moving in that direction. I believe that the U of Cal system admits you if you are in the top of your graduating class, even if your other "stats" (say SATs) are not up to usual standards.

a quick question... would that entail essentially PENALIZING the kid (and family) that scratch and scrape their way into a private or magnet school from a bad neighborhood? the kid STILL has to deal with all that crap, but has shown himself and his family's dedication to do so from an early age

[Madison Redskin]

Colleges want diverse student bodies for good reason. They want students to be exposed to different cultures, religious beliefs, ideas, perspectives, etc. Why? Because exposure to such differences better prepares people to deal with the real world, question their own beliefs, and become individuals who can think for themselves.

That's why, for example, it's so difficult for Washingtonians to get into Georgetown. An awful lot of really smart and well-qualified students from the DC area apply to Georgetown and are rejected. Why? Is it because Georgetown's Admissions Office hates Washingtonians? No, it's because Georgetown doesn't want 50% of its student body to be made up of Washingtonians.

That argument carries less weight when it comes to students focusing on the hard sciences, but it carries a lot of weight IMO when it comes to students in the liberal arts.

[Coltsfan in VA]

Yeah, fraking white people, wanting a fair shake and all. Asians should be pissed about this. They are apparently the only socially acceptable race other than white to stereotype.

Isn't it disturbing that Balcks can get into the Ivy League schools with just average SAT scores? Why are we sending average students to the best schools? To add insult, they are also more than likely also recieving special grants because they are a minority.

I was bussed to a predominantly black high school (racial quotas), so according to others logic, I had just as many hurdles to overcome attending a school with a "hostile and stunted" learning enviroment. Just some food for thought.

Please point out to me the average black students that get admitted to Ivy League schools? I would love to see it.

[aREDSKIN]

colleges want diverse student bodies for good reason. They want students to be exposed to different cultures, religious beliefs, ideas, perspectives, etc. Why? Because exposure to such differences better prepares people to deal with the real world, question their own beliefs, and become individuals who can think for themselves.

That's why, for example, it's so difficult for washingtonians to get into georgetown. An awful lot of really smart and well-qualified students from the dc area apply to georgetown and are rejected. Why? Is it because georgetown's admissions office hates washingtonians? No, it's because georgetown doesn't want 50% of its student body to be made up of washingtonians.

That argument carries less weight when it comes to students focusing on the hard sciences, but it carries a lot of weight imo when it comes to students in the liberal arts.

bs.

[Predicto]

bs.

What a compelling response. Thank you so much for the enlightenment.

[Predicto]

How come you never really hear or see Asians complaining about college admissions when statistically they have a harder path to top universities than White students?

Because you don't live where there are a lot of Asians? :whoknows:

They complain like heck about it out here in California.

[aREDSKIN]

What a compelling response. Thank you so much for the enlightenment.

No problem. I was considering expanding on my thought provoking post but chose succinctness instead. I'm glad you liked it.

[Madison Redskin]

bs.

Too hard to come up with a substantive response to my post, huh?

[Reic]

Dunno why stuff like this isn't more of a common knowledge. I'm not a genius by any means, I got a 1040 on my SATs, given I only took them once, with no preparations, but I didn't really care because I knew I was going to a community college right out of highschool. I didn't get accepted to ODU my first try, given I had a 1.6 gpa my first semester in community college, but then back to back 3.1 and made it into ODU.

I have busted my ass here, made it onto Dean's list last semester, and thats after being on academic warning for GPA here as well.

If I had attempted to get into Hampton University or Norfolk State University, I probably would have been easily accepted, with grants, just for being Caucasian. I'm not touting my school as being top notch, or downplaying Hampton or NSU, but being a shoe in because of my ethnicity would play a factor, regardless of my past school experience.