Asian-American students must score 140 points higher than white students for Harvard Admission

[philosslayer]

A coalition of Asian-American organizations asked the Department of Education on Monday to investigate Brown University, Dartmouth College and Yale University, alleging they discriminate against Asian-American students during the admissions process.

While the population of college age Asian-Americans has doubled in 20 years and the number of highly qualified Asian-American students “has increased dramatically,” the percentage accepted at most Ivy League colleges has flatlined, according to the complaint. It alleges this is because of “racial quotas and caps, maintained by racially differentiated standards for admissions that severely burden Asian-American applicants.”

In an accompanying petition, the group said it filed this complaint because even if it hits a legal wall it will generate social and political pressure. After the Department of Education started investigating Harvard in 1988, its admission rate of Asian-Americans jumped to 16.1% in 1991 from 10.8%. After students filed a complaint against Princeton in 2006, its admission rate increased to 25.4% in 2014 from 14.7% in 2007.

The complaint against Harvard last year cited third-party academic research on the SAT exam showing that Asian-Americans have to score on average about 140 points higher than white students, 270 points higher than Hispanic students and 450 points higher than African-American students to equal their chances of gaining admission to Harvard. The exam is scored on a 2400-point scale.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/asian-american-groups-seek-investigation-into-ivy-league-admissions-1464026150

White privilege anyone?

[elleng]

1. Nothing new here,

but awful it's continuing. Used to be about Jews, and was why Brandeis University was established, as an excellent university that would NOT discriminate against Jews.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandeis_University

[Warpy]

2. I had to score that much higher than males to get in back in the mid 60s

It wasn't hard.

[Travis_0004]

3. Its not white privilege, its the effects of affirmative action

In order to equally represent all groups, some groups have an easy time getting in and other groups have a tough time getting in.

If having to score 140 points more than whites is white privilege, what is having to score 450 points more than somebody who is black?

[Lancero]

5. Don't expect a answer - I doubt the OP expected anyone here to actually call em on that.

[Reter]

4. And they usually do

[Lancero]

6. I can't help but laugh at the irony of cases like these.

The entire system is ironic really - If they went on equal standards, the racial makeup would be skewed.

For the sake of equal representation - for equality - they have to treat them differently for no reason other then their skin color.

Sad irony no?

Still though, this is probably the first time I've seen someone try labeling a case of Affirmative Action as white privilage. Whats next? Feminism being labeled as male privilage?

[The2ndWheel]

7. An example of our abstract ideals hitting against limits

Which is more equal?

When the human imagination bumps up against physical reality, it's nothing short of interesting. It keeps things fun, because we don't have all the answers, and nothing is simple.

[Drahthaardogs]

11. There is regional bias as well

Many students from the west do better on the ACT than the SAT and vice versa.

[Nye Bevan]

8. Blatant racial discrimination.

Taking race into account in college admissions should be illegal.

[whatthehey]

9. Look at those different typical scores and extrapolate what the Ivies would look like then.

Would that be an admirable example of racial policy?

[Nye Bevan]

10. The "racial policy" should be to have no racial policy. (nt)

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

12. Another alternative

Another alternative is to use socio-economic status as a criteria.

As surprising as it might be to some people, not all Asians are alike. We Asians are not a monolithic racial entity, who work and live like robots. An Indian Dalit is going to have less social and economic advantages (even in America) than your stereotypical Han Chinese overachiever. Should they be forced onto the same academic playing field simply because both can trace their genetics to Asia?

Using skin color as the primary criteria for college admissions is racist and outdated and does not take into account many historically disadvantaged Asian nationalities and ethnic groups.

[Xithras]

21. The goal of these requirements isn't to overcome socioeconomic disadvantage.

The goal of these policies is to ensure that the racial demographics of the college or university is representative of the population as a whole, and that smaller population groups have representation on college campuses. The lines actually ARE a bit finer than "White/Black/Asian" though. I believe that my last college broke the line down to East-Asian/Asian-Indian/Southeast-Asian/North-Asian/Japanese/Chinese/Other-Asian. Still not perfect, but it did try to acknowledge the wider cultural differences that exist across the different parts of eastern Asia. It would be great if colleges could weigh the ethnicities individually, that's probably not realistically implementable.

[whatthehey]

14. Again you avoid speaking to the inevitable results and their desirability.

We would see Ivies that are heavily Asian far in excess of the population, with much of the remainder being upper class white, and a truly tiny number of any other ethnically or socioeconomically marginalized origin. Now whether this would be a good thing or not is indeed worthy of at least some reflection, but to pretend that it would not be problematic, and predictive, is silliness.

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

16. Just a note

The Ivies heavily favor overseas, foreign born Asians, because overseas Asians are willing to pay a premium for admissions.

[kwassa]

13. I can predict where you will show up now. Any thread about race.

Edit to add: You are wrong, of course.

There are a wide variety of criteria colleges use to make their selections, and I am quite doubtful that the Asian-American litigants will be able to prove that test scores alone are either the critical factor, or the most important factor in predicating future college success.

[Captain Stern]

15. That isn't a good example of White privilege at all.

From the article:

The complaint against Harvard last year cited third-party academic research on the SAT exam showing that Asian-Americans have to score on average about 140 points higher than white students, 270 points higher than Hispanic students and 450 points higher than African-American students to equal their chances of gaining admission to Harvard.

The headline for that portion could just as easily read:

"White students must score 310 points higher than African-American students for Harvard Admission."

[frankieallen]

17. so your against affirmative action? First time i've heard it called white privilege.

funny you didn't mention the hispanics or AA's

[Bucky]

19. Asian American is a pretty vague term

It could describe Cenk Uyger, Gene Simmons, Michio Kaku, Governor Nikki Haley, Fareed Zakaria, or Cher.

[Xithras]

20. What the hell? Affirmative action is now "white privilege"?!?!

It's a crazy, upside down world!