The US Department of Education's recent decision to investigate a complaint of alleged racial bias in Harvard's and Princeton's undergraduate admissions against an Indian American has prompted a broad discussion of how prevalent the practice may be.
"I am certain that there is a correlation between race and (college) acceptance," Chirag Patel, a college student in the Los Angeles, Calif., area, told India-West. "These days, it is mandatory for colleges to generate diversity on their campuses and with acceptance rates slowly diminishing, college administrators are obligated to divide acceptance by race," he said.
"If Latinos or other ethnic groups get a score of 1900 on the SAT, the people reviewing the application may think it's great. But if an Asian American gets a 1900, they may not accept the individual," a community college student who wished to remain anonymous told India-West.
Asian Americans are expected to perform at a high rate, simply because of the influence of Asian American parents, noted the Indian American. "Since our parents are strict, and expect more from us, we perform better academically," he added.
On Jan. 11, the DOE's Office for Civil Rights decided it would take on a complaint filed by an Indian American high school student last August that alleged that both Harvard and Princeton rejected him because of his race.
A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed that the complaint had been made to OCR, but that they are prohibited under federal privacy laws to identify people involved in civil rights cases, especially complainants.
"Because the complaint raised substantially identical allegations as an existing compliance review underway at Princeton, OCR is considering the complainant's Aug. 17 allegations in conjunction with the ongoing compliance review there. This compliance review is still under investigation," the spokesperson told India-West.
According to Bloomberg News, the student's father noted that his son was one of the top students at his high school.
"As a general matter, it is important to understand that Harvard College regularly receives far more applications for enrollment than we have places to offer - indeed, for the class of 2015, the College was able to offer admission to only 6.3 percent of its applicants," Harvard Universitysenior communications officer Jeff Neal told India-West via e-mail.
"Consequently, there are inevitably many strong candidates who will be disappointed. Our review of every applicant's file is highly individualized and holistic, as we give serious consideration to all of the information we receive and all of the ways in which the candidate might contribute to our vibrant educational environment and community," he added.
According to Harvard University's admissions Web site, the freshman minority class of 2015 consists of 12 percent African Americans, 18 percent Asian Americans, 12 percent Hispanic or Latino and two percent Native American or Pacific Islanders.
The admissions committee does not resort to one aspect of a candidate's portfolio; but the committee does consider involvement in extracurricular activities and work experience in addition to academic excellence, according to a list of frequently asked questions on Harvard's Web site.
According to Princeton's Web site, roughly 37 percent of the undergraduate student body is made up of American minorities. The student body is made up of one percent American Indians, 19 percent Asians, eight percent Black or African Americans, seven percent Hispanic/Latinos, 11 percent non-resident aliens, five percent two or more races and 49 percent Whites, according to the College Board.
"We treat each application individually and we don't discriminate on the basis of race or national origin," Princeton University spokesperson Martin A. Mbugua told India-West via e-mail.
"We seek to enroll and we do enroll classes that are diverse by many measures. We make admission decisions on a case-by-case basis in our efforts to build a well-rounded, diverse class. SAT scores are only one of the many factors that we take into account," he said.
Princeton is aware of the complaint and will provide the Office for Civil Rights with the information requested, said Mbugua.
According to the Associated Press, Asian students often have higher SAT scores than other ethnic groups. A study by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade, which focused on college applicants from 1997, revealed that Asian Americans needed a 1550 SAT to have an equal chance of getting into an elite college as white students with a 1410 or black students with an 1100, reported AP.
According to the College Board, the middle 50 percent of first-year college students at Princeton received 700-790 in critical reading, 710-800 in math and 700-790 in writing. For those applying to Harvard, 50 percent of first-year college students received 690-790 in critical reading, 700-800 in math and 690-790 in writing.
Several college students from the San Francisco Bay Area also offered their insight on whether Asian Americans are at a disadvantage when including their race while filing out application forms for colleges and universities.
Adil, a student at UC Berkeley, who chose not to reveal his last name, noted that he was somewhat hesitant in including his race when applying to Ivy League schools.
"I applied to MIT, but didn't mark 'Asian American' because I thought it would put me at a disadvantage," he told India-West.
James, a UC Berkeley Asian American student, told India-West, "I don't think the admissions process is balanced. There is no transparency in how students are chosen." "Even though I don't have proof, I felt that being an Asian American male put me at a great disadvantage when applying to graduate school," he added.
"I am certain that there is a correlation between race and (college) acceptance," Chirag Patel, a college student in the Los Angeles, Calif., area, told India-West. "These days, it is mandatory for colleges to generate diversity on their campuses and with acceptance rates slowly diminishing, college administrators are obligated to divide acceptance by race," he said.
"If Latinos or other ethnic groups get a score of 1900 on the SAT, the people reviewing the application may think it's great. But if an Asian American gets a 1900, they may not accept the individual," a community college student who wished to remain anonymous told India-West.
Asian Americans are expected to perform at a high rate, simply because of the influence of Asian American parents, noted the Indian American. "Since our parents are strict, and expect more from us, we perform better academically," he added.
On Jan. 11, the DOE's Office for Civil Rights decided it would take on a complaint filed by an Indian American high school student last August that alleged that both Harvard and Princeton rejected him because of his race.
A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed that the complaint had been made to OCR, but that they are prohibited under federal privacy laws to identify people involved in civil rights cases, especially complainants.
"Because the complaint raised substantially identical allegations as an existing compliance review underway at Princeton, OCR is considering the complainant's Aug. 17 allegations in conjunction with the ongoing compliance review there. This compliance review is still under investigation," the spokesperson told India-West.
According to Bloomberg News, the student's father noted that his son was one of the top students at his high school.
"As a general matter, it is important to understand that Harvard College regularly receives far more applications for enrollment than we have places to offer - indeed, for the class of 2015, the College was able to offer admission to only 6.3 percent of its applicants," Harvard Universitysenior communications officer Jeff Neal told India-West via e-mail.
"Consequently, there are inevitably many strong candidates who will be disappointed. Our review of every applicant's file is highly individualized and holistic, as we give serious consideration to all of the information we receive and all of the ways in which the candidate might contribute to our vibrant educational environment and community," he added.
According to Harvard University's admissions Web site, the freshman minority class of 2015 consists of 12 percent African Americans, 18 percent Asian Americans, 12 percent Hispanic or Latino and two percent Native American or Pacific Islanders.
The admissions committee does not resort to one aspect of a candidate's portfolio; but the committee does consider involvement in extracurricular activities and work experience in addition to academic excellence, according to a list of frequently asked questions on Harvard's Web site.
According to Princeton's Web site, roughly 37 percent of the undergraduate student body is made up of American minorities. The student body is made up of one percent American Indians, 19 percent Asians, eight percent Black or African Americans, seven percent Hispanic/Latinos, 11 percent non-resident aliens, five percent two or more races and 49 percent Whites, according to the College Board.
"We treat each application individually and we don't discriminate on the basis of race or national origin," Princeton University spokesperson Martin A. Mbugua told India-West via e-mail.
"We seek to enroll and we do enroll classes that are diverse by many measures. We make admission decisions on a case-by-case basis in our efforts to build a well-rounded, diverse class. SAT scores are only one of the many factors that we take into account," he said.
Princeton is aware of the complaint and will provide the Office for Civil Rights with the information requested, said Mbugua.
According to the Associated Press, Asian students often have higher SAT scores than other ethnic groups. A study by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade, which focused on college applicants from 1997, revealed that Asian Americans needed a 1550 SAT to have an equal chance of getting into an elite college as white students with a 1410 or black students with an 1100, reported AP.
According to the College Board, the middle 50 percent of first-year college students at Princeton received 700-790 in critical reading, 710-800 in math and 700-790 in writing. For those applying to Harvard, 50 percent of first-year college students received 690-790 in critical reading, 700-800 in math and 690-790 in writing.
Several college students from the San Francisco Bay Area also offered their insight on whether Asian Americans are at a disadvantage when including their race while filing out application forms for colleges and universities.
Adil, a student at UC Berkeley, who chose not to reveal his last name, noted that he was somewhat hesitant in including his race when applying to Ivy League schools.
"I applied to MIT, but didn't mark 'Asian American' because I thought it would put me at a disadvantage," he told India-West.
James, a UC Berkeley Asian American student, told India-West, "I don't think the admissions process is balanced. There is no transparency in how students are chosen." "Even though I don't have proof, I felt that being an Asian American male put me at a great disadvantage when applying to graduate school," he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment