Race in college admissions

After reading the affirmative action packet I came to the conclusion that it is not a person’s actual race or physical appearance that enhances the diversity, but the life experience that is associated with the different races.  When my group was asked to rate the applicants in order from first priority acceptance to last we looked at race as one of our criteria, but it wasn’t their actual race that we were prioritizing, rather what we assumed the impact of being that race would do to their life experience. Life experience is what seems to be the insurance of a diverse experience.  I believe that race should not be a factor in college admissions. Life experience should be a factor in college admissions. This will insure diversity in the classroom and a variety of life experiences are found among all races. Putting life experience as a factor in college admissions will achieve the school’s mission of diversity in different opinions and races found at their university.

                The University of Michigan has an inefficient way of insuring diversity. They use point systems when determining admission. Points are given justly for GPA, ACT scores, SAT scores, and other academic achievements. Points are unjustly given to applicants based on a non-reliable potential contribution to the learning environment. “Applicants receive 40 points for other factors that indicate an applicant’s potential contribution to the LSA. They may receive 20 points for one of the following: membership in an underrepresented minority group, socioeconomic disadvantage, attendance at a predominantly minority high school, athletics, or at the Provost’s discretion.”   This is completely inaccurate and unfair. “ LSA does not employ quotas, numerical targets or goals for admission or enrollment of minority students.” They claim to give no preference to minority students when admitting students for a class. It does not make sense and is incredibly hypocritical to claim this and then award students points for any being a minority or surrounded by one. These points ultimately help the students achieve admittance. Putting points on being a minority is ensuring that a certain amount of minority students are admitted. This is exactly what the University said they didn’t do.  Firstly their system operates in a way that a target number of minorities is admitted. Secondly they are assuming that being a minority will enhance the learning experience. When you assume you make an ass out of you and me. They value life experience and that is a justifiable platform for admissions.  Life experience creates a vast amount of opinions, stories, and viewpoints. This enhances the learning experience and creates a diverse environment. Life experience can come from infinite situations. To associate valuable life experience with minority students is naïve, unreliable, and unfair. When race is a contributor to admissions more qualified students pay the price. Race does not guarantee a diverse learning experience, therefore it has no place in college admissions.