This essay was assigned to be written from the perspective of a Race matters advocate, and does not necessarily represent the views of the author.
In the admission process of elite education there are many aspects that factor into who will be accepted, declined, waitlisted, who will receive financial aid and how much they will get. In order to come to these decisions, an admission team must narrow down from a huge applicant pool to the lucky few that are offered admission and hopefully end up attending the school. Applicants must present themselves in the best way possible, and sometimes having a certain background can improve an application. At The College applicants are ranked using a numerical system that included high grades, high SAT scores, and a high GPA. One of these enhancing qualities that many admission officers focus on is race. Even so admission officers have to be very cautious in the way they approach race. Since specific races cannot be assigned a numerical value, admission officers have to find a legal way to incorporate it into their decision-making. In the admission decision for The College the category used was diversity and not specifically race. This allowed a numerical value to be assigned to diversity, but it did not define what it meant; whether it was skin tone or an interesting instrument that an applicant played, no definition was set. Since it was an open-ended category, the selection process was legal and fair. Having a Racially diverse classes lead to more interesting and in-depth discussion where many different viewpoints are brought to light. Making it very important to have a color-conscious admission board in order to gain the best possible class.
The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Regents of University of California v. Bakke that schools could not determine whether a student will be accepted based on race. It can be discussed but not given a numerical value (Regents of University of California v. Bakke). This case was kept in close consideration throughout the decision-making process. The College’s admissions committee was color-conscious throughout the process, but never was there a quota or a number assigned to race. Another Supreme Court case that the committee kept in mind was Grutter V. Bollinger where the court stated that race can be a “…modest factor among many others to achieve diversity, but an educational institution must ensure, through sufficient procedures, that each applicant receives individual consideration” (Grutter v. Bollinger). Although legally schools can categorize race into five general types- “African American/black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and white” (Steven p. 154)- we the admission board still stayed away from these specific definitions and tried not to categorize anyone but look at applicants holistically.
The financial aid that was awarded to our accepted students had nothing to do with race. This was not even mentioned when discussing the amount a student would get; it was based solely on the Trinity College net price calculator, which did not take race into consideration (https://trincoll.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx). All students were rewarded the full amount of financial aid they required keeping it a fair and legal process.
Everything was done legally according to race, but sadly the enrolling class did not show as much diversity racially as it could have and therefore did not result in the best possible entering class. The College ended up with two white girls who only got a one in the diversity portion of the chart and one African American boy (4th round review). Although there is some diversity, looking at all of our applicants there could have been even more. Out of three admitted and enrolled students one was not the admission board’s top choice. Even looking at the applicants who were higher up on the list of who to accept, there still would not have been much racial diversity. A racially diverse entering class brings different cultures, beliefs, and traditions creating an invigorating environment. Also because students will have come from so many different backgrounds, there is a plethora of opinions that will be brought to class discussion and interactions among students. Not only is diversity important for in-class discussion but a diverse college also can have benefits for life after college. Diversity in “…higher education prepares students to become involved as active participants in an increasingly diverse society” (Dancy). In one of her articles Heather C. Hills writes about how in two of her classes one with all white students and one with black students the discussion was very different. “Students in the morning class were prompted to think about African Americans and their interests…” prompting interesting and passion-filled discussion (Hill). This was completely lacking in her afternoon class that had no diversity. The College’s entering class will not be totally lacking in racial diversity but there is still not a lot of it. Therefore, in the simulation it is not the best possible class that will be entering The College.
Even though this is not the most diverse entering class, there is still an equal educational opportunity for the students. It is not a solely white class one, of the entering students is an African American. Therefore interesting class discussions will still happen because there is different backgrounds within the classroom setting and therefore different viewpoints. If it has been an all white class to be accepted class discussion might have been good but they would be lacking more diverse perspectives. When all the students are in class they will compliment each other and no one will be at a disadvantage.
The admission board should continue to practice a color conscious outlook in future years. A very important method that was used during the admission process was looking at applicants as a whole not as individuals. Every applicant was given an equal opportunity to present themselves in the best light. No one person made the decision about an applicant. Many different people reviewed the files to avoid anyone’s bias or personal feelings. Also a numerical system was used to rate applicants. Once every admission board member rated the applicants those numbers were used to rank applicants in order of most desired to least desired.
The College’s admission board should focus on accepting a diverse student body in order to have a unique class with many perspectives. One of the definitions of diversity is race but that is not the sole definition. Since there is such a fine line between legal and illegal when it comes to discussing race, the word diversity allows the board to discuss race legally. This crates a policy that ensures a diverse incoming class racially.
Overall the process used by the admission board was legal and fair when it came to the aspect of race. By using the word diversity race could be discussed legally. It was noted which students were racially diverse, but that was not a deciding factor on whether they gained acceptance. This is very important because having a racially diverse student body is very crucial. The College tried very hard in accepting a diverse class, which should always be done in order to have unique perspectives, different traditions and different backgrounds on the campus. A color- conscious admission board will always allow for the best entering class possible and should always be strongly considered throughout the admission process.
Works cited
Dacny, T. Elon, II. “Beyond Affirmative Action in College: Fostering Culturally Responsive Climates in a Political World.” Ebsco Host. N.p., 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.
Grutter v. Bollinger Et. Al. Supreme Court. 23 June 2003.
Hills, Heather C. “The Importance of Minority Perspective in the Classroom.” The Chronicle Of Higher Education. N.p., 7 Nov. 1997. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.
Net Price Calculator. Program documentation. Trinity College Net Price Calculator. Trinity College, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Supreme Court. 28 June 1978. Print.
Stevens, Mitchell L. Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2007. Print.
4th round review, Color and Money Admissions Simulation Data, Trinity College, Fall 2013, http://commons.trincoll.edu/colorandmoney.