Discrimination in Harvard Admissions?

By Quetzal Mama • May 18, 2015

As a “Harvard Parent” I frequently receive news alerts from Harvard. On Friday, the Harvard Crimson teased the headline, “BREAKING: Groups File Complaint AllegingDiscrimination in Harvard Admissions.” The federal suit filed alleges that Harvard relies on race-based affirmative action policies that negatively impact admission of high-achieving white and Asian students.

I used to feel angry when I read about pending lawsuits claiming racial/ethnic discrimination in higher education. I was angry because I know admission numbers intimately. That’s my job – to know the stats for competitive universities, including the Ivies. And, I know these numbers are not difficult to obtain. In fact, the stats are easily available every recruitment season for any person interested. Most of the data is published right there on the admissions homepage of selective universities. Because the numbers are transparent, I’m incredulous over claims of overrepresentation by minority students. So, let’s get right to the stats so we can see where all of the alleged overrepresentation is situated:

2015 Harvard Admitted Students*		US Representation 2013+
White	53%	White	62.6%
Asian	20%	Asian	5.3%
Hispanic	13%	Hispanic	17.1%
African-American	12%	African-American	13.2%

Do you see what I see when I look at these numbers? I see that more than half of the population of admitted students to Harvard are white students. Next, I see that Asians represent 20% of the admitted students (almost the combined total of both Hispanic and African-American students), and together white and Asian students represent just shy of 75% of admitted students. Now, let’s look closer to home (at least for me). Let’s look at UC Berkeley.

2014 UC Berkeley Admitted Students†		US Representation 2013+
White	31.8%	White	62.6%
Asian	45.5%	Asian	5.3%
Hispanic	14.1%	Hispanic	17.1%
African-American	3.5%	African-American	13.2%
Native American	0.6%	Native American	1.2%

And, because I’m a 2^nd year Doctoral student at UC San Diego, let’s throw in UCSD to see the breakdown of ethnicity at this top tier research 1 institution:

2014 UC San Diego Admitted Students§		US Representation 2013+
White	25.5%	White	62.6%
Asian	47.2%	Asian	5.3%
Hispanic	20.4%	Hispanic	17.1%
African-American	2.3%	African-American	13.2%
Native American	0.5%	Native American	1.2%

Hopefully, you can read these numbers and understand there is no logical cause for concern of over representation by ‘minority’ candidates flooding the Ivy gates or other competitive universities. In fact, year after year, it’s the opposite. In general, if you examine Latino, African-American, and Native American stats at highly competitive colleges, you’ll quickly see that as a combined group they comprise no more than 10% to 20% total. Looking at this another way, many times more than 80% to 90% of students at the selective universities are not minority candidates.

The fact is 95% of applicants to Harvard are rejected. So, if the piece of the pie for minority candidate admission is such a measly sliver, why are groups constantly going after minority groups? Surely, they can see there is a huge pool of ‘other’ non-minority candidates who are taking seats at these campuses? Perhaps we are viewed as more vulnerable – an easier target? Or, perhaps these groups know that throwing the label “minorities getting ‘preferential’ treatment” is so emotionally and politically laden that it will certainly cause a stir and gain valuable news space in a saturated medium?

Whatever the politics, strategy, or mindset, it truly saddens me that the groups most vulnerable to these charges continue to be those least represented. If Asian students are not gaining a spot at Harvard, it’s certainly not because a Latino or African-American student nabbed their spot. I feel compelled to make this point because I often hear the grossly inaccurate assumption that “unqualified” Latino students gain admission to top schools simply because they are a “minority.” This is absolutely untrue. I work with many highly qualified Latino students each year who do not gain admission to Harvard – and these kids have 4.0’s and 2000 plus SAT scores. If there is some unspoken “lower performing minority” quota, my students certainly have not benefited from it. In fact, I’ve never known a Latino candidate with less than exceptional stats to be admitted to Harvard or any other Ivy League campus.

To solve this college admission problem, some suggest candidates only be admitted based exclusively on ‘merit.’ Meaning – only college entrance exam scores and GPA. On the surface that seems logical, que no? However, most selective campuses can easily fill their entering freshman class with perfect 2400 SAT scoring and 4.0 holding students. There are simply more qualified candidates than there are available spots.

So then what? How does a college like Harvard differentiate from an overabundance of a ‘perfect’ pool and decide who gets in and who doesn’t? Well, the holistic admission process, that’s how. It’s not a perfect science, but it is a reasonable process to admit high performing students and allow for a diversified campus. Unfortunately, there is no simple, objective, “one-size-fits-all” solution to resolve equity in selective college admissions. However, going after Latinos, Native Americans, and African-Americans (the least represented), is short sighted and doesn’t resolve the larger, societal problem of current and historical inequities. Pitting one minority group over another is a disastrous proposal.

I’m relieved to see there are several Asian groups who are opposed to the lawsuit’s claims. I stand with groups such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ), Asian Pacific American Network, South Asian Network and Japanese American Citizens League, who disagree with this approach. More than 130 of these groups signed a letter supporting affirmative action policies and opposing the lawsuit. The following statement succinctly describes the flawed logic in going after fellow minority groups:

“Instead of asking Americans to come together to help address serious problems in our education system, these folks are trying to divide communities. We are in this boat together and Asians won’t save our children’s future by pushing other communities overboard,” said Christopher Punongbayan, executive director at AAAJ’s Asian Law Caucus in a statement on the issue.

My fellow colleagues in the selective college admission arena are currently questioning and debating the topic. They are asking, “Who do you think will win the suit?” My response – if the strategy is to go after minorities, no one wins. It’s a lose/lose proposition.

It’s going to be another long year. —Quetzal Mama.

*https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/admissions-statistics

†http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/freshman-admission-data-2014/

§http://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/factsheets/2014/fall-2014-admissions-table3.pdf

+http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html