College Admissions: Focus on Class, Not Race, for Fairer System

Is the college-admissions system in the United States fair? Many people would say no — for a variety of reasons. From legacy admissions to athlete admissions to the contentious policy of affirmative action, the system is hardly objective and, arguably, not meritocratic enough. Although elite colleges in the United States are proclaimed to be the best in the world, it is ironic and unfortunate that the admissions system is so mistrusted. Specifically, the topic of affirmative action has drawn significant ire across the country as a practice that undermines meritocracy and simply shifts discrimination.

Over the past two decades, the purpose of affirmative action has developed from a mechanism for reparations for African Americans and Native Americans to a policy of “diversity.” This change can be traced to the 1978 Supreme Court case Gratz v. Bollinger, in which the Supreme Court accepted the argument that racial and ethnic diversity can constitute a compelling state interest. The immediate effect of this change was to create race-based affirmative action, since increasing the representation of certain racial minorities in student bodies was prioritized. While the intention behind this initiative was to provide poor minority students with greater opportunities for education, the actual result from this decision was increased racial diversity coupled with a lack of socioeconomic diversity in elite American colleges.

RK

About the Author

Rohan Krishnan

Rohan Krishnan is a rising junior at Yale University and a summer editorial intern at National Review.

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Is the college-admissions system in the United States fair? Many people would say no — for a variety of reasons. From legacy admissions to athlete admissions to the contentious policy of affirmative action, the system is hardly objective and, arguably, not meritocratic enough. Although elite colleges in the United States are proclaimed to be the best in the world, it is ironic and unfortunate that the admissions system is so mistrusted. Specifically, the topic of affirmative action has drawn significant ire across the country as a practice that undermines meritocracy and simply shifts discrimination.

Over the past two decades, the purpose of affirmative action has developed from a mechanism for reparations for African Americans and Native Americans to a policy of “diversity.” This change can be traced to the 1978 Supreme Court case Gratz v. Bollinger, in which the Supreme Court accepted the argument that racial and ethnic diversity can constitute a compelling state interest. The immediate effect of this change was to create race-based affirmative action, since increasing the representation of certain racial minorities in student bodies was prioritized. While the intention behind this initiative was to provide poor minority students with greater opportunities for education, the actual result from this decision was increased racial diversity coupled with a lack of socioeconomic diversity in elite American colleges.