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OUT OF OUR
hands Admission
policies like affirmative action and legacy preference all affect the college admission game. How you navigate this complicated system could land you in the admit pile– or make you lose out on a seat.
STORY Sahit Dendekuri, Sam Goldfarb ADDITIONAL REPORTING Lyle Ochs ARTWORK Matthew Coleman
Affirming a committment to diversity on campus
Ever since frustrated parents of Asian-American Harvard applicants accused the university of discrimination the airness o a rmative action in college admissions has been called into question. Director of College Counseling eronica ulido re ects on the accusations leveled at Harvard and the merits and drawbac s o a rmati e action. Sam Goldfarb: What is affirmative action and how do colleges use it in the admisison process? Veronica Pulido: In terms of how colleges use the word or how they are going to use affirmative action is they are affirming that they are representing the world population. Colleges in general are going to want students from different walks of life, whether it s socioeconomic, whether it s ethnic diversity, whether it s religious preferences, the whole nine yards. The most selective colleges are still trying to be representative of the world and not necessarily have ust one particular point of view. The common theme in terms of how colleges use affirmative action is that they are affirming that they're continuing to be inclusive of populations. SG: Recently, affirmative action has come under fire with the Harvard case. What is your perspective on that case? VP: The case with arvard is is something that definitely has been in the news as a possibility where folks have found it to be discriminatory. In terms of that argument, having worked on the college admission side myself at uke, at otre ame, having traveled with uke, arvard, enn, eorgetown, I know their their process pretty intimately as well. nd I can tell you that if any, any college is going to be looked at, it s not going to be arvard. Because arvard does always such a nice ob of being inclusive, even in their application process, with offering students a chance to put in a r sum , to put e tra letters, to put in e tra supplements. It s not ust a one read or two read process. arvard in particular has multiple committees. They committee, committee and committee. They want to make sure that they get the full understanding of a young person before they make a final decision. So I think from the personal perspective, I can speak to arvard. It does not discriminate, and they really are in. It s not ust lip service. I think again, it has come under fire, obviously, because arvard is a highly selective college, so everyone is looking for holes to see m I being discriminated against in the application process ’ So I understand it.
SG: What do you think the importance of diversity is on a college campus, and how does that contribute to a student's learning and their college experience? VP: I think it goes back to the being representative of society, because ultimately students go to college, but then they re going into the workforce and going into continuing education. It s a better representation as to how we re going to live and grow together as individuals. I think that having that voice and not necessarily that checkbo , that I m of this ispanic culture, but I don t speak Spanish, and I m not going to add anything that's going to be different. ersonally, I do think, and having worked with ispanic students at uke niversity, and at otre ame, I was the main representative for those two populations. nd I really wanted to make sure that it wasn t ust a student ust clicking a bo , but what they are going to bring to the table if they are coming from this background. I think that s an important piece to understand that it s not ust you re clicking off , and , it’s what you re actually adding. SG: Some applicants greatly exaggerate claims of ethnicity. Do they get away with that during the admission process? VP: I think the admission officers are savvy enough to understand what s happening in the process. nd again, it goes back to how, if that is who they are, in terms of their identity, how is that relevant r how is that going to be different to bring to the table nd so they definitely do not. nd again, because spaces are so few and far between in highly selective admissions, the admission officers need to know that students are trying to do the best that they can, and potentially some students are grasping at straws. But for the most part, they really are trying to get a sense of how is this individual going to be different on our campus. Sahit Dendekuri: Considering the practices being called into question with the Harvard case, are there any modifications to affirmative action to make sure it’s more fair, or is it good as-is? VP: I do think affirmative action started in terms of there being some potential discrepancies of some populations getting an advantage over others. I think that though the colleges in particular are trying to put the people on the same playing field, there are always going to be students that have
an advantage ust regardless of where they are, where they come from, their resources or uency.. rom standardi ed testing to going to good schools, there's always going to be an advantage. I think ultimately, if a college wants to make sure that they are being inclusive, and I think that definitely is the trend nowadays. If you sit in college admission sessions, that s one thing that colleges are always talking about being inclusive about first generation college students, about socioeconomics. I think the colleges are wanting to see more of that on college campuses. So if you want that, then affirmative action in my opinion does need to be something that’s, again, not clicking off a bo and not having a uota. But saying ‘if we want to mirror society then this needs to be something that is at least considered in the application process,’ it does not make sense to admit a student that's coming from a certain , and background who s not ualified. Because then they won t make it. Then they will drop out, you know, and it becomes a revolving cycle. That s not what you want. So the students still needs to be competitive academically to be at any institution. This is ust an added dynamic that s talked about, hopefully at the committee table. SD: We’ve talked a lot about admissions at highly selective colleges. How is affirmative action implemented in less-selective environments? VP: I still think in college admissions, it does need to be something that's considered in the process, even if they re not as selective ust in terms of being that mirror of society. Because regardless of where a student goes to college, they re still going to enter into the workforce with different individuals, and being able to collaborate and to understand each other, that does make a difference once they are into the real world. SD: Would socioeconomic status be a better indication as to a student’s circumstances or do you think affirmative action as-is should both be considered? VP: I think socioeconomic diversity can be different from ethnic diversity, because socioeconomics can cut in lots of different ways. It does not need to be a student that’s from an underrepresented background, but from backgrounds that are economically diverse. I think that's why both of them do need to be looked at at the same time. — Director of College Counceling Veronica Pulido
Harvard admissions lawsuit timeline The issues raised in the Harvard lawsuit have been public concerns for years. Here's how the case has developed over time, from its start until today.
2013 Fisher v. University of Texas Supreme Court case deferred
A website seeking Asian-American testimony regarding Harvard's unfair policies appears
2014
2014 Current lawsuit against Harvard is officially filed
Supreme Court rules in favor of affirmative action in Fisher case
2016
Harvard discrimination lawsuit comes to Boston district court
2018
2019 District court will be required to present official ruling
ectives
THE REMARKER • DECEMBER 14, 2018
From generation to generation: legacy in admissions Legacy consideration has long been a part of the college admisisons process. Students can benefit from the extra boost on their applications, but the policy is also essential to a university's economic and financial security.
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t’s not written in a will. ot handed down as a gift, not held in a safe deposit bo or trust fund. It’s a family heirloom of a different sort, but it could be ust as valuable as a grandfather’s gold pocket watch, a grandmother’s diamond wedding ring, the family’s classic . It s another kind of legacy the difference between re ection and landing in the admit pile of a highly selective college. ••• “Colleges define legacy as an applicant who has a parent who attended the university,” ssociate irector of College Counseling Casey endason said. “Some colleges have e panded the definition to include when a sibling has attended the university and will give the student legacy status.” ccording to endason, legacy consideration is in alignment with the long term, strategic mission of any university, e tending beyond a student’s time on campus. “The goal of a university is to create happy families that want to support the university, that have close memories and ties to institution,” endason said. Considering legacy applicants helps schools achieve that goal. By keeping families involved across multiple generations, colleges and universities build lasting relationships that can yield important benefits. “That turns into the alumni talking so positively about their university e perience,” endason said. “It can turn into giving monetarily and in terms of service to the university, and so colleges want to honor their alums. ne of the ways to honor their alumni is to encourage their children to consider the university and in return, the college is going to give that applicant who is a legacy some additional consideration.” owever, universities do face a trade off If a legacy applicant isn’t the right fit for that school, then they may have to re ect an alumnus’s son or daughter. situation like this has the opposite effect discouraging giving and potentially harming the relationship between alumnus and alma mater. “ ot all legacies are going to be admitted,” endason said. “ nd the more selective
the college, the harder it will be to admit all legacies. There is going to be disappointment if you offer some kind of e tra consideration to legacy and it does not work out.” Legacy doesn’t play enough of a role in the admission decision making process to guarantee acceptance. pplicants must already be competitive in their own right before legacy boosts their chances of acceptance. “It's safe to say that in highly and most selective admissions, the applicant has to be has to be about to percent of the way on his own in terms of having a profile that aligns with what the college typically accepts,” endason said. “ nd then the final ten to percent of being a legacy could be that final push that the person needed to make it into the admit pile. So it probably helps between five and percent varying from from school to school. But it s rarely a make or break sort of thing.” Cal ushton ’ has parents who attended anderbilt niversity. espite that legacy, he chose to study elsewhere and is currently a freshman at niversity of irginia. “I have no strong feelings about legacy,” ushton said. “It’s ust a part of the world we live in. It’s the same when you get older in the ob search. epotism will always e ist in some form or another.” ushton acknowledges the importance of legacy consideration from a school’s financial perspective. “ t the end of the day, colleges are business and they want alumni donations,” ushton said, “and helping a kid get into a college for sure boosts donations.” Jimmy odrigue ’ is currently a freshman at uke niversity, where his mother went to school. In his e perience, legacy wasn’t an important part of his decision. “ or me, I wanted to feel like I went to a place I earned,” odrigue said. “I felt I worked hard enough at St. Mark’s that I could go to a pretty good college. If I used legacy, I would never know if I got accepted or if my parents got me accepted.” owever, he understands the value and importance of legacy as a piece of the comple
admission process. “I’m not trying to put down anyone who uses legacy,” odrigue said. “If you have legacy at a college and you want to go there, use it every time. It ust wasn’t for me.” odrigue ’s own e periences, not those of his parents, were the deciding factor for him. “I applied to the schools where my parents went, and my mom actually did go to uke, so I ve been a uke fan since I was a baby,” odrigue said. “But it honestly didn t really affect where I decided to go, and I don t really think it affected my chances of getting accepted.” ushton faced a similar situation. is parents supported his own feelings and intuition over their student e periences. “My mom even told me, lease do not think that ust because I went there I want you to go there more than other schools. Just go where you want to go,’” he said. “She didn t put any pressure on me at all, and neither did my dad. e told me Just go somewhere where you think you ll be the happiest, and we ll be happy wherever you end up.’” ith many years of e perience working in college admissions before coming here, endason can attest to ust how challenging getting accepted to selective schools is. “The college admission process is far from fair,” endason said. “ ou can do everything correctly you can work diligently, form great relationships with teachers, study for standardi ed tests, get involved at your school, be a leader, show initiative, take advantage of what s offered to you, and it may not turn out the way you would like it to. That is a reality of highly selective admissions, so the process is not fair.” But with that understanding, legacy consideration hardly changes the rules of the game enough to be unfair, according to endason. “Is legacy admission fair I would argue yes,” endason said. “Because if you ve done your time at a university and formed a relationship with the university, why shouldn t your children be given some e tra consideration when they apply ”
Legacy Family Tree
Pulido's five tips for college
Some students come from a long line of prestigious college graduates. That family legacy might be the tipping point between acceptance and rejection.
How to make your college application stand out Veronica Pulido
Director of College Counseling
Don’t worry too much about seeking out an academic passion or interest. You’ll find one– or it’ll find you.
“If you start to develop a certain interest then definitely let s see how you can continue to have that ourish, whether it s writing, whether it s math, with whatever the sub ect is.”
For students applying to college soon, use summers as an opportunity to explore the passion you found or anything else that interests you.
“If you have decided on a particular career interest, take advantage of the summer to combine that whether it’s research, interning at a business or being a curator at a museum to see if that’s potentially what you want to do.” Find the balance between time to relax and taking advantage of powerful opportunities over the summer.
“Students shouldn’t have their lives programmed , but it is very helpful for them to be active and to use their resources wisely.” Explore unique interests beyond academics, interests that can make you who you are.
“Students are studying all the time, so do something different. If you always wanted to take a painting class or learn how to uggle or do an online coding class start and then build on it.” Find what you want to do. The rest will take care of itself.
“ very individual who graduates and walks across that stage will have an ama ing academic foundation [from attending school here.] hat are you going to do beyond ”
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The college admission process is far from fair. You can do everything correctly, and it may not turn out the way you’d like it to. — ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING CASEY GENDASON ON LEGACY ADMISSIONS