Affirmative Action: Prejudice in the College Admissions Process

Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of race in the college admissions process in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. Since then, affirmative action has become a big issue in the media; however, many people still do not even know what affirmative action is. Affirmative action is a policy to prevent discrimination on the basis of “color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Overall, it favors minorities that are often discriminated. It might sound like an excellent policy; however, the use of this policy in the college admissions process is prejudice. In the college admissions process, affirmative action lowers the standards for some races, while raising the standard for other races. For example, an Asian might need a SAT score of 2300 to be considered for admission at a top school such as Yale and a white applicant might need a score of 2100, while an African American or Hispanic only needs a score of 1700. While affirmative action provides equality in the workplace, it has no place in the college admissions process and should, therefore, be abolished and replaced. This type of policy can be repealed completely, replaced with a college admissions process that favors first generation college applicants, or replaced with a policy based on an applicant’s socioeconomic status.

Many people are pressuring colleges to change their admissions policy and abolish affirmative action. As a result, many colleges are abolishing their affirmative action policy. According the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), states like California, Florida, Michigan, and New Hampshire have passed laws prohibited the use affirmative action in public colleges or universities. In Michigan, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals rul...

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..., or replaced with a policy based on socioeconomic status. Abolishing affirmative action completely has its disadvantages, for it does not increase diversity on campus. An admission policy favoring first-generation college students helps to increase diversity on campus. However, the purpose of affirmative action should not be to increase diversity on campus; it should be about giving disadvantaged students an opportunity at a better life. A policy based on socioeconomic status does that. Affirmative action must be put to an end and replaced with one of these alternatives. This country was established on the ideals of equality for all races, and affirmative action goes against all these ideals. Martin Luther King once said, “All men are created equal.” The color of someone’s skin should not be a determining factor for admissions into a certain college or university.