Question

College admissions lawsuits have brought out another form of discrimination against Asians and Asian Americans who have been denied entry because of quota restrictions at some highly ranked schools. Substitute "Jews" for "Asians" and "Asian Americans," and students have replicated a policy that was common in many universities only a few decades ago. Why have these two groups been subjected to restricted entry? Should universities try to build their student bodies on the basis of proportionate population? Does that mean if 10 percent of Americans are of Scandinavian ancestry, they should have 10 percent of the slots at competitive schools? Is there ever any basis for schools to discriminate in enrollment? If so, what are some legitimate discriminating factors (for example, age, standardized test scores, high school curriculum, letters of recommendation, and extracurricular activities)?

Answer 1

Asians and Asian Americans are assumed to be significantly gifted in academics which gives them an "unfair" advantage over the average American student. As such, the quota is meant to level the admission field for all students. It is however, erroneous for universities to build universities based on population proportion; because, it ends up allocating admission slots to unworthy student who will not optimize the opportunity presented to them. Yes, that is the implied meaning of population of universities by proportion metrics, allocating admissions based on the distribution of students across the American landscape. Yes, discrimination is mean to help the disenfranchised or poor to secure quality educations in reputable institutions. There are therefore a few legitimate bases for discrimination and these are high school curriculum, academic performance in applicant's home county, sport capability of the student, and performance in standardized test.