Unfair Admissions Considerations

Link: http://www.good.is/post/college-admission-race-conscious-but-need-blind/

Khan, Shamus. “College Admission: Race-conscious but Need-blind.” GOOD Education.

GOOD Worldwide, LLC., 7 June 2010. Web. 27 September 2011.

In “College Admission: Race-conscious but Need-blind,” author Shamus Khan addresses a very popular topic in today’s college admissions race. He has two main issues. The first is that colleges should not be what he calls “need-blind.” In other words, colleges should take the wealth of the applicant’s family into account when deciding on admission and financial aid. The other is that colleges should take race into consideration in order for our country to become more integrated.

Khan’s intended audience is undoubtedly the admissions officers of colleges who are “need-blind” or “race-conscious.” However, his writing also appeals to people who want to know more about the subject – for example, teenagers who are applying to college and their parents. His writing is meant to be both persuasive and informative. He wants to show college admissions what the problems are and persuade them to fix these problems.

Khan addresses the fact that some colleges claim to use only the “hard work and talent” of students when making admission decisions. According to Khan, however, colleges should not be “need-blind” because this provides an unfair advantage for wealthier students. He writes that students from poorer backgrounds probably never had “private tutors… enrichment camps… piano lessons… cultural tours of Europe.” He also states that they most likely attended underfunded schools. His main point here is that poorer students simply do not have as many opportunities as their wealthier peers.

Khan’s second topic, race, is supported using factual evidence. He says that in 1951, African American students made up only 0.8 percent of Ivy League schools compared to 8 percent today. He uses this evidence to support his claim that NOT taking race into account would send us right back to the bottom of the proverbial hill. He ends his article with the haunting statement, “There is a missing revolution in our nation: one in which poor and average Americans can have a fighting chance of acquiring the kind of education and advantages that elite education provides.” This brings the writing full-circle by mentioning the need-based admissions once more.

Khan’s article is very biased. He is a college professor, but he is writing from the point of view of an underprivileged student. He very obviously leans towards colleges dropping “need-blind” policies and taking race into account. In fact, he states these opinions directly.

This article makes some very valid points. College should be an option for everyone. However, race simply should not be a factor. It shouldn’t make any difference if an applicant is African American, Caucasian, Asian, or any other denomination. The only thing colleges should take into account is the abilities of the individual student. As far as need goes, college should be an option for everybody. However, hard-working students that just happen to be from wealthy families should not be punished either. Financial aid solves this problem in part. However, shouldn’t wealthy students whose parents are NOT paying for their college receive financial aid benefits as well? It is very difficult to decide where and to whom aid should go.

This is a perfect topic for me. I have already turned in many college applications, and I am interested to know how race and the income of my family could affect both my admission and financial aid packages. It’s a good subject for others as well because many of us are going through these same processes and college admissions decisions will greatly affect us in coming months and years.