Nov. 1 marks the deadline for early action and decision to many universities. Among these schools is Harvard University, which offers early action and regular decision on Jan. 1. Senior Greta McNamee is applying early action to Harvard.
“I love Cambridge, my parents lived there for years, and the town atmosphere is gorgeous,” McNamee said. “Plus the academic rigor is nearly unmatched, and I am seeking an intellectual challenge in my [post] secondary schooling.”
Harvard, however, has recently received fire for possible race-based discrimination in their application reviewing process. Despite the controversy, federal judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled in favor of the university Oct. 1. Burroughs’ decision, written in a 130 page document, admits the school is “not perfect;” however, “the court will not dismantle a very fine admissions program that passes constitutional muster, solely because it could do better.” On Oct. 4, the plaintiffs, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), filed an appeal.
Currently, race quotas in universities are unconstitutional, according to the earliest affirmative action Supreme Court case, University of California v. Bakke (1978); still, as reaffirmed by the Harvard lawsuit, race is a fair consideration in the holistic application.
Edward Blum of SFFA initially brought forth the case in November 2014, gaining traction in late 2018 when in front of Burroughs, who distinguished herself as one of the first judges to oppose President Donald Trump’s travel ban, the Boston Federal District Court received the case.
Blum’s career goal is to change the college admissions into a race-blind process, something he tried in various lawsuits such as the 2016 Supreme Court case Fisher v. University of Texas, which he lost on a 4-3 decision. The basis to eliminate race in application, Blum said, is because it violates the Fourteeth Amendment’s Equal Protection Protection Clause. This clause arose from the Civil Rights Movement stating the government can “not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, creed, color, or national origin.” Blum claims the different standards for admission based on race are inherently unequal.
An analysis contracted by SFFA, which included 160,000 Harvard student records, found Asian Americans consistently scored lower on the subjective “personal rating,” a component of holistic review which includes judging character traits such as likeability and courage. In contrast, however, Asian Americans had the highest test scores, GPA and extracurricular average rating compared to any other race category. SFFA claims Harvard uses the “personal rating” as a way to impose a soft quota as a way to racially balance classes.
Harvard, however, disagrees with the SFFA’s methods of the analysis. It claims statistical analysis does not account for the intricacies of the admissions process. Additionally, the school conducted their own analysis that found Asian American admission rates grew 29 percent in the last 10 years.
“Harvard does not have any racial quotas,” Burroughs wrote in her ruling. “[The school] provides tips to applicants to help it achieve a diverse class. Those tips are necessary to achieve a diverse class given the relative paucity of minority applicants that would be admitted without such a tip.”
Seniors Anushka Jalisatgi and Jerry Hou both admit to feeling disheartened by the outcome. Jalisatgi said, however, she isn’t surprised.
“I mean [it’s] a school of lawyers,” Jalisatgi said. “They’re going to have good lawyers.”
Hou said, though, the lawsuit might not be for nothing. He believes Harvard will try to divert attention away from the controversy by accepting more Asian Americans this year. Despite not fully agreeing with the school’s admissions process, he still plans on applying to various Ivy League schools
“The chances are a little more that they will take a little more Asians this year,” Hou said. “It’s a good school, . . . [and] their application is like the easiest one.”
Unlike Hou, Jalisatgi said she plans to boycott the Ivy League, although she may reevaluate for Princeton. While her decision was not entirely because of the court case, she said it “has just left a bad taste” in her mouth.
“I genuinely think [Harvard is] overrated,” Jalisatgi said. “I wanted to [apply] for the longest time, like I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, and I knew Harvard had the best law school. And so when I was younger, I was like, ‘I’m going to go to Harvard. I’m going to work hard. I’m going to go to Harvard,’ but then when this whole Asian American thing came out, I was like, ‘Forget it. I’m not going to Harvard.’”
Born in California, Jalisatgi is looking toward the West Coast for college, as she said she misses the area. She’s interested in the various public universities in California such as University of California Berkeley and San Diego. Additionally, she said she is considering University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, a large, highly ranked public school.
“There are so many other wonderful schools,” Jalisatgi said. “I didn’t want to [go to the Ivy League] anyway, so like, why bother?”
Both Hou and Jalisatgi have taken the “personal rating” to heart when writing their personal essays and asking for recommendation letters as they said Ivys and other prestigious schools have made it harder for Asian Americans to achieve high scores in this category.
Guidance counselor Carrie McKee writes recommendation letters for students with the last name starting with A,T-Z. McKee used to be a third grade teacher but became a counselor when she noticed the need for them. McKee said she tries to get to know each of her 200 students by having conversations with them and getting on a first-name basis.
“I really tried to speak to what the student has. We have them fill out [a counseling form], so that way we get to know you better,” McKee said. “So I really try to speak to the strengths of each student no matter what their race or whatever their background may be.”
McKee said she doesn’t factor in race when she writes her recommendation. Still, she said college should take in account race in the admissions process; however, she empathizes with both sides.
“Because when you go to school, you do want to have that diverse setting. In the real world, with all the different types of diversities and different types of cultures, so you do want that,” McKee said. “But then again, it is hard, I can see, from a student side if you’re not being seen as like other cultures.”
Jalisatgi believes there is a better solution to finding a diverse class without using race as a determinant. Instead of labeling by race, she said it would be more relevant to give consider socio-economic standing. While she does not foresee it being a perfect plan, she said it would be less controversial and more objective.
“If we don’t try so hard to be cookie cutter diverse,” Jalisatgi said. “I think it’ll be more natural.”
Should race be considered while reviewing college applicants? Let us know in the comments below.
