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Asian American Discrimination in Harvard Admissions [pdf]

(public.econ.duke.edu)
376 points undefined1 | 11 comments | 25 Apr 20 00:54 UTC | HN request time: 0.427s | source | bottom
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umvi ◴[25 Apr 20 02:13 UTC] No.22974956[source]▶
This is obviously a controversial topic, and I have mixed feelings.

The bottom line (for me) is that diversity at universities and other organizations is either good, neutral, or bad. We've (mostly?) collectively agreed diversity is good as diversity in sex/age/race bring diversity in thought, which presumably results in more innovation/competition/challenging of status quo/etc. The only way to increase diversity is to practice negative discrimination on dominant groups or positive discrimination on minorities...

Either that or universities need to dedicate a large amount of funding marketing to minorities so that they get more competitive applicants from said group. However, discrimination is easier and cheaper to implement.

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1. skybrian ◴[25 Apr 20 02:16 UTC] No.22974967[source]▶
I think Harvard should be 10x bigger than it is. Why can't we have that? This needn't be zero-sum.
replies(5): >>22974985 #>>22975008 #>>22975012 #>>22975013 #>>22975787 #
2. MiroF ◴[25 Apr 20 02:19 UTC] No.22974985[source]▶
Because there is potentially merit in having institutions that are concentrated with the most talented. Not that it necessarily works out that way in practice, but 10x would entail lowering admission standards.
replies(2): >>22975006 #>>22975019 #
3. littleweep ◴[25 Apr 20 02:23 UTC] No.22975006[source]▶
Or allowing people who are equally as qualified get in? My understanding is the issue is capacity and not quality.
replies(1): >>22975015 #
4. hackinthebochs ◴[25 Apr 20 02:24 UTC] No.22975012[source]▶
The value of Harvard is in its exclusivity. If they just let anyone in over some SAT/GPA cutoff then the value of a Harvard diploma drops.
5. pzh ◴[25 Apr 20 02:25 UTC] No.22975013[source]▶
The value of a brand is derived from its exclusivity. If you making 10x bigger, then a degree from there won’t be as valuable.

I’m not saying that is right, but most exclusive colleges do brand management based on exclusivity.

6. MiroF ◴[25 Apr 20 02:25 UTC] No.22975015{3}[source]▶
Qualification is a continuum, there is no such thing as "equally as qualified." Regardless, if Harvard accepted 50% of applicants rather than 5%, the student body would not be equally as qualified.
7. gog-ma-gog ◴[25 Apr 20 02:26 UTC] No.22975019[source]▶
The number of people “qualified” to go to Harvard is probably more than 10x the current capacity of Harvard, though. Maintaining scarcity/exclusivity in the brand is more valuable than servicing the number of people technically qualified to go there, from Harvard’s perspective.
replies(1): >>22975025 #
8. MiroF ◴[25 Apr 20 02:27 UTC] No.22975025{3}[source]▶
Yes, but many of those people choose to go to other prestigious schools. If Harvard admitted 50% of applicants, I don't see how you can claim quality wouldn't suffer.
replies(1): >>22976083 #
9. BadassFractal ◴[25 Apr 20 05:17 UTC] No.22975787[source]▶
Same reason why clubs want to be exclusive and keep a long line of non-VIPs outside waiting to get in.
10. gog-ma-gog ◴[25 Apr 20 06:20 UTC] No.22976083{4}[source]▶
I claimed no such thing :D
replies(1): >>22978301 #
11. MiroF ◴[25 Apr 20 14:24 UTC] No.22978301{5}[source]▶
You said that they should admit 10x. Presumably that would mean 50% rather than 5%. I think quality would go down, you said it wouldn't. Seems clear cut to me.