The Supreme Court recently announced a landmark decision making it unlawful to take race into consideration in college admissions. Generally speaking, the ruling was cheered by conservatives and bemoaned by progressives. In my view, the decision generated more questions than answers.
First of all, most colleges could not really be considered “selective.” Of the roughly 2,500 four-year colleges in the United States, only 50 or so them admit less than 30% of the applicants. You often hear people say, “I could never get into my college today.” They’re talking about the truly selective colleges because most students can be admitted to most colleges. In fact, I wrote a piece for Parade Magazine 50 years ago entitled, “The College You Want May Be Looking for You” to convey that very point. For the most part, getting accepted to a given college is a less stressful issue than being able to pay for it.
Now to the questions. First of all, how on earth can the government enforce the Supreme Court decision? Colleges that don’t ask for a student’s race in the application can usually determine the ethnic background of a given candidate if they choose to do so. Moreover, they can rightly claim that they didn’t admit a student because he/she was African American or Latino or whatever but rather because the student had overcome a difficult home situation or exhibited great leadership ability or creative talent.
And then there’s the delicate matter of legacy admissions. Should colleges be allowed to favor a candidate because his/her parent attended the school? Moreover, should colleges favor candidates whose parents have given big donations to the school? Should colleges be allowed to give an edge to the offspring of political or sports or entertainment celebrities? Keep in mind that the contributions of wealthy donors can enhance endowments which, in turn, make it possible to give financial aid to more students in need.
And what about athletic admissions? Should there be affirmative action for athletes? Should “recruited athletes” (those whom a coach is pushing) get a huge edge over non-recruited athletes or other students. In fact, they do get a big edge now at all the elite colleges, although admissions officers won’t be totally honest about it. I’ve heard more than one college counselor say, in effect, “If the kid isn’t a student of color or a top athlete or a legacy, he/she has almost no chance of being admitted to a highly selective college.
Purists might argue that students should be admitted strictly by the numbers; that is to say, grades and standardized test scores. Even if that approach had merit — which it most certainly does not — it would be difficult to implement. Many colleges no longer require applicants to submit standardized test scores. Moreover, rampant grade inflation is a sad reality. The most common grade in high schools and colleges today, believe it or not, is “A.” To complicate matters, an “A” from High School X might be very different than an “A” from High School Y. Moreover, Advanced Placement courses are more difficult than standard courses. That said, should students be penalized if their school doesn’t offer many Advanced Placement Courses?
Some people might ask why an African American from an upper middle-class family from the Boston area, say, should get preference over a poor white kid from Maine, just because of race. Maybe the focus should be on affirmative action for students from low-income backgrounds. I can certainly see that point.
The big question, it seems to me, is this: Should we try to level the playing field by ensuring that students of all backgrounds and races get an opportunity to benefit from and afford, through various forms of assistance, an education beyond high school? I believe that we should. That next step, to be sure, doesn’t need to be at a four-year college, let alone an elite one. Many students would be better served at a community college or trade school of some kind, especially if they’re forced to take on a lot of debt to pay for college.
This is a complicated issue with no easy answers and lots of unresolved questions. I encourage readers to send your thoughts to The Times Record. Thank you.
David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” articles. dtreadw575@aol.com.
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