[kanbikioku]

Hello, I just recently started applying for colleges and my top choice is University of Rochester, and one of their supplement essays was:
Describe an experience from your own life that help you understand and appreciate diversity.

I was just thinking about this topic when i realized this "preservance of cultural diversity" in colleges is a whole lot of bull. It's disgusting how they find a the applicant's "diverse" race more appealing than their intelligence. To me, the importance of cultural diversity seems to be just a form of racism. How colleges choose to only accept, x% white, x% asain. x% Hispanics, x% Black, x% Other, sickens me because an applicant's qualification should not be judged on their race but their ability. Some people say maintaining cultural diversity allows people to be more exposed to different cultures and people of another culture may "cover up" what other cultures lack. This is stereotype to judge how a person thinks or acts based on one's culture. How can they be sure that a white or black person can contribute to the college more effectively than an asian. I DONT understand how college deans of admissions can choose to accept someone who strictly average student over an exceptioinal hardworking student because of the difference in race. It happens in the Ivy league school and it's despicable and should be abolished. Good news is The UCs no longer consider race as an admission factor.

What do you guys think about this issue?

[ChunJin]

Liberal colleges are that way for a reason =p. Intelligence alone does not provide a great environment for people to learn. I would find it uncomfortable if there were a person who was incredibly smart but not culturally diverse enough and therefore harbored hatred towards Asians, Africans, Spanish etc. due to what he's read in books =).

I think you're kind of confusing things more than anything (a misunderstanding). Race has been a slight factor, but that was in the past. These days colleges are very good at who they choose and why they choose them =).

[empress727]

REMMEBER!: diversity isn't strictly limited to race. diversity can include perspectives, academic interests, personal experiences, etc.

for example...one of my academic team coaches applied to the university of michigan intending to major in law. UMich is really hard to get in for law and for undergraduate studies, there is no law major to declare. Since she was interested in anime and japanese culture, she signed up as a japanese major and they liked this diversity since many law students usually delcare political science as their major.

good luck on your essay!

[mochamist]

Diversity isn't only about race. It's about different kinds of people and different perspectives, maybe even in high school....the ones you label a nerd, a jock, a loner, an emo, an overachiever, a dork, etc. It can also be different types of political views and upbringing.

[joonieballoonie]

It sounds like to me it's not cultural diversity you're opposed to but affirmative action. Affirmative action isn't implemented to "diversify" the student body - it's to "level the playing field" among minorities,something I really take offense to as the process of AA sort of defeats its purpose.

[little mixed girl]

Hello, I just recently started applying for colleges and my top choice is University of Rochester, and one of their supplement essays was:
Describe an experience from your own life that help you understand and appreciate diversity.

I was just thinking about this topic when i realized this "preservance of cultural diversity" in colleges is a whole lot of bull. It's disgusting how they find a the applicant's "diverse" race more appealing than their intelligence. To me, the importance of cultural diversity seems to be just a form of racism. How colleges choose to only accept, x% white, x% asain. x% Hispanics, x% Black, x% Other, sickens me because an applicant's qualification should not be judged on their race but their ability. Some people say maintaining cultural diversity allows people to be more exposed to different cultures and people of another culture may "cover up" what other cultures lack. This is stereotype to judge how a person thinks or acts based on one's culture. How can they be sure that a white or black person can contribute to the college more effectively than an asian. I DONT understand how college deans of admissions can choose to accept someone who strictly average student over an exceptioinal hardworking student because of the difference in race. It happens in the Ivy league school and it's despicable and should be abolished. Good news is The UCs no longer consider race as an admission factor.

What do you guys think about this issue?

i think you need to do some research on the topic of affirmative action (since that's what you seem to be against) and then come back and speak.
...cuz, obviously ALL white people in universities are totally qualified to be there.

[joonage]

Yeah ... I believe Affirmative action has been banned in college admission through somebody vs. Reagents of California ..

Something like that ... Learned it in AP Gov this year ... obviously I forgot everything over winter break. haha

[Love Virus]

i remember couple years back
my sat prep teacher's daughter was pissed that a black girl got into the college she didn't get into, when the daughter's qualification was met more then the black girl's
but i don't think race plays THAT much of a factor now days..or so says the word on the stree :T

[abc123__]

I think Affirmative Action has lots its purpose as well.

We've gotten to the point where they'll take a rich Hispanic student over a poor white student whose done the same things, just in order to get more "diversity." Because of this, many big name institutions have gotten to the point where even though they are diverse in race, they are lacking in economic diversity, where probably over 90% of the students are rich.

Affirmative Action was implemented in order to level the playing field, indeed. But that does not make any sense because not all blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans have suffered difficult lives. Asians get the butt end of the stick because we are, according to the stereotype, always driven by parents to study and we are the richest minority out there.

I think they should focus more on "leveling the playing field" through economic means, not racial. There are poor Asians and whites out there as well, just as there are rich Hispanics and blacks. The rich students will always have the advantage in that their families tend to come from backgrounds that champion education and will pay thousands of dollars for SAT tutoring and will hire counselors to help them get into Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc. Those who are poor will not have the opportunity to spend $12,000 for a trip to Africa and help out the poor, nor will they be able to attend private high schools or receive SAT tutoring. So of course, wouldn't it make sense to help out the economically disadvantaged, rather than take students according to race?

But that's just my opinion.

[little mixed girl]

^
it's terribly wrong of you to assume that affirmative action is race only.
again, you all need to read up on the history of affirmative action.

and in case you didn't know, affirmative action DOES help poor people, and the group that has benifitted the most from affirmative action is WHITE FEMALES.

knowledge is power, so get your knowledge on.