Affirmative Action is Overrated
The other day I was talking to a friend, and he was telling me that once of his friends got into an awesome college. He also told me that he was black, but he was really talented and worked hard and deserved the spot as much as anyone else. Now, when I first asked him about his friend, I had only asked whether the friend was a girl or a guy, because most of my friends accepted in that tech school were girls so far, and I wanted to see if more guys had gotten in that I had initially thought, you know, to dispell that idea that only girls could get into that school.
But then I realized, as my friend was describing this 'awesome' student, I realize that he was also trying to explain that although he was black, he was still just as qualified as anyone else. I'm sure if that kid was not African American, he would not have rationalized his statements as much. I mean, personally, affirmative action was not the first thing that came to mind. When I hear that someone has been accepted into an amazing college, the first assumption that i make is that he or she is smart. I've personally known so many minorities that got into colleges, and so many minorities that have been rejected from most IVY leagues that I know that affirmative action is definitely not the only determining factor for college admissions.
However, I think that the problem lies in the fact that there is a greater emphasis on Affirmative Action than there should be. Affirmative Action comes into play when two students basically have identical transcripts, identical activities, and are both qualified equally, yet one is 'majority' and one is 'minority.' I mean, its just a statement that tells the generally caucasian admissions officers that they should accept the 'minority' person because of a) diversity and b) Affirmative Action. So, although being an minority generally means that you have a greater chance, its not the definitive chance that you will get into college. Basically, it's like having a smaller pool to compete against, you know? People aren't accepted solely on their race or gender. If you dont have the qualifications to be accepted into that college, you will not get in, whether you're white, black, yellow, red, green ,or purple.
I feel that so many people put such an emphasis on minority 'advantages' that people tend to forget that college admissions people are not stupid. They recognize those who suffer from a poor socioeconomic background, and realize that that individual may not have had as many Princeton Review courses as the rich white kid in some snotty rich town. They might recognize that fewer qualifiied women apply to tech schools than qualified men. Honestly, from my experience, the people that get into the top-notch colleges must have some merit to back up their numerous accomplishments and expendable efforts into their passions and whatnot. I feel that people tend to forget that there's something more to the skin color or gender of a person... and forget to look inside at one's soul. We forget the aspiring physicist or civil engineer, we forget the insane writer who is determined that comptemporary literature is the way to be. We forget the abstract artist, the perfectionist musician, the diligent athlete or the freak who knows everything to know about history. College admissions is a brutal process because not only we become dehumanized, we also become a mere statistic. That is why that we should not forget that in the long run, we are not numbers and that we are people. We are individuals with a passion, with a desire to change the world or affect someone's life. To become role models or to learn from role models. In the long run, admissions or rejections don't change who we are.
You want to know whos the biggest influence in your life? It's simple. Look into a mirror. Look inside yourself. And what you see, no statistic or college letter will be able to see. And that, my friends, is fact.