Affirmative Action and College Admissions

After taking a look at affirmative action, I think that race should be used in the college admission process but quotas should not be used and it should not be too significant. Race should be a factor in the college admission process because it helps create a diverse student body which college campuses strive for today. Most campuses don’t want people from the same ethnicity or background.  Universities want students of all colors and religions to create a population just the outside world is today. If race was not a factor in the college admissions process, schools would not be able monitor how their diversity is at their campus. Also, schools should not be allowed to use quotas and save seats for minority groups. I totally agree with the outcome of the University of California VS Bakke case.  Because the university used quotas and reserved seats for qualified minority and disadvantaged students, he was not able to get into the school because spots were already taken from the special admissions program. The court ruled that, “the program relied solely on racial quotas and that it violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. They also ruled that race could be considered in admissions process but only as a plus factor.” The last statement there I strongly agree with and that is how most universities use race in their admissions process today.

An example of how race plays a factor in the admissions process comes from the Harvard admissions program as well as the University of Michigan admissions policy. The University of Harvard’s policy is very interesting. They strive for a diverse campus in many ways, not just race. An excerpt from the process states, “the race of an applicant may tip the balance in his favor just as a geographic origin or life spent on a farm may tip the balance in other candidate’s case.” I really think that Harvard has their admissions process down right. They want students who bring something new to the table and it doesn’t just have to be race. Even though they say race is a plus factor, they want kids from different economic and social backgrounds as well. Michigan uses a point system in their admissions process. Personally, I think it is an interesting idea but it has some inconsistencies. People being given points can be arbitrary at times and doesn’t provide the best way to pick students. I think some of the things that are awarded less points than race should be weighted way higher. For example, the personal essay is only worth three points while the race and background factor is worth 20. I just don’t see how that makes sense because the personally essay can show a lot about a person.  Not just how good of a writer they are, but personal skills they have as well. Overall, race should be a slight factor in the college admissions process and reserving seats should not be allowed.