In the spirit of Christopher’s previous post giving advice on the infamous college essay, I thought I’d share an old scholarship essay of mine on affirmative action.
Like America as a whole, I can’t really decide how I feel about affirmative action in the college application process. On one hand, it is a necessary measure (at least right now) to have some semblance of diversity on campuses. On the other hand, it is a flawed system that doesn’t really help who it is intended to help.
Anyway, the following scholarship application essay (I got the scholarship!) argues just one side of the affirmative action debate. This is not one of those open-ended Common App type essays. The assignment was to write a persuasive essay on any topic. I adapted this from a speech I wrote for a Congressional debate topic, which in turn was adapted from an essay for my eighth grade English class. I posted it here less as an example of a college/scholarship essay but more because I thought the topic would be of interest to the intended audience of this blog. I’d love to hear any comments/counterarguments!
(Note: This essay is MINE. Please do not plagiarize.)
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The Racism of Affirmative Action
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “A person should not be judged by the color of their skin, but on the content of their character”. He was referring to segregation in the American south during the 1960s. In the years since, great strides have been made to combat racism against African Americans in the United States. Today, however, a different kind of racism exists in the form of affirmative action in the college application process. In the past, affirmative action served to balance the playing field for those with backgrounds traditionally discriminated against. Now, affirmative action justifies the acceptance of less qualified applicants into college in lieu of more qualified applicants simply because of differences in race. Racial factors should not be taken into consideration in the college application process.
A Princeton Review article regarding college admissions suggests to applicants of African, Native American or Hispanic descent to attach a photo of themselves along with their application. Below that, it states, “The above does not apply to Asians.” A person’s racial background can play a significant part in their acceptance to a college. In 2005, Princeton sociologists Thomas J. Espanshade and Chang Y. Chung conducted a study to see the affect race had on the admissions at Harvard, MIT, Brown, Penn, and Georgetown. According to their research, which was done based on the old SAT scale of 1600 points, African Americans had a 230 point advantage compared to Caucasians, and Hispanics had a 185 point advantage compared to Caucasians. Asian Americans, on the other hand, had a 50 point disadvantage compared to Caucasians. So, a Caucasian candidate with a score of 1600 would be considered equal to an African American candidate with a score of only 1370. In an effort to fill up quotas for minorities, less qualified applicants are let in, leading to a less qualified student body. This then brings down the merit of the institution as a whole. In addition, the achievements of minority students who are let in based on their own merit are undermined as people assume they were accepted largely due to their race.
Supporters of including racial factors in the college application process argue that it is necessary to make up for past discrimination against those races. However, the great grandchildren of slave owners should not be denied the spot in a college given instead to a less qualified great grandchild of a slave. As an article in the American Thinker stated, it is reverse racism. It is important to note that many Asian groups, such as Japanese Americans during World War II, were also greatly persecuted. Yet, they do not receive any compensation for that past discrimination.
There is though, as Stephan Terstorm, a Harvard University historian, states, an undeniable racial gap in academic achievements. The root of this problem is not race though. It is financial class. A possible solution to close the racial and economic gap would be to create more pre-college opportunities and programs for lower income children. This way, even lower income non-minorities will benefit. Then, when students apply to college, lower income students, a majority of which are minorities, will be just as qualified as their non-minority counterparts. Thus, including racial factors in the college admission process will not be necessary to create a diverse college campus.
Students applying to college have worked hard for several years to ensure success for their future. It is disheartening and unfair to all students involved to know that one’s racial background, a factor that cannot be controlled, can play a significant part in the college application process. College is first and foremost an academic institution, and therefore an applicant should not be judged by their race, but by their overall merit.
After Admission 