Marco Antonio Perez 

John Jay College of Criminal Justice 

Professor Olivia Woods

English 101

Research Paper

Topic: College Admissions and it’s issues 

Marco Antonio Perez 

English 101

Professor Olivia Wood 

Research Paper 

Topic: Bias in College Admissions 

 

          College admissions are an important decision that students make to follow their career they want. Colleges though, have a very unfair decision making system when it comes to enrolling students to their campus, especially Ivy League Colleges. They enroll students based on their family income, and ethnicity/race. They don’t take In consideration of their grades that matter the most. Many colleges have a bias especially against minority races such as Hispanics, Asians and African Americans. They are rejected based on their race which is unfair to many of these students. Another way colleges are seen as bias is when it comes to wealth/income. There are many low income students that have good grades and have a possibility to enroll in Ivy league colleges but can’t because of the tuition colleges ask for. For this reason, only wealthy white families can enroll their students to these schools which decreases diversity and segregation many talented/smart students who can’t afford to attend college. Many people believe that instead of allowing these colleges to continue being biased in admissions, all colleges should instead consider accepting students on a lottery based system. This way, there is no form of bias or discrimination.

          Colleges have been denying many students that are from low income families. Because of this, many students are rejected and have no choice but to choose a community college. The wealth gap between a high income class and a low income class is big. Many families of the high income class are able to enroll their kids to these schools, but in many cases, they are not qualified to enroll because  of their grades. This leads to many parents bribing or black mailing the colleges to accept their child. A recent case occurred early May of 2019 In which, ” a parent who paid $400,000 to get his son into Georgetown University, joined the list of 33 high-profile, celebrity parents who were brought up on charges.” (Nia E. Hulse July 11 2019). Many parents who have money pay colleges for their students to enroll which is unfair to those who can’t afford the tuition. These “Privileged” kids from the high income class usually don’t meet the standards or requirements that the college needs. Not only does wealth affect the college admissions system but also race, and ethnicity. These 2 factors also greatly affect the decision making system of college admissions. 

          Race and Ethnicity are also factors that make college acceptance bias. According to Pew Research Survey. Org, about “73% of Americans say colleges and Universities race or ethnicity when making decisions about student admissions.” (Nikki Graf, February 25 2019). More than half of the citizens in the U.S think this decision making is unnecessary but unfortunately it is. In a chart in hechinger report. Org, in the article called “facts about race and admission” by Jon Marcus, it shows that in enrollment there are more white students being enrolled with a percentage of 42% while Hispanics and Blacks are being less enrolled with a percentage of only 34%. This decreases diversity in colleges and discriminates many students.Also, Gender takes part of this bias admissions. According to the article, ” 50:50 isn’t equal when it comes to college admissions” in applerouth.com, when it comes to admitting students in Ivy League colleges, ” females need to work 34% more harder, on average, than males to achieve those coveted admission spots.” (Marshal Findlay, September 12 2017). There is a graph on this website as well in which 2 Ivy league schools have a difference when it comes to admitting students by gender. MIT has 13131 male applicants but only have 5889 female applicants. Cornell University has 23578 male applicants but only 21387 female applicants. What this comes to show is that females have to work twice as hard to be able to attend an Ivy League college in which males can easily admit into without discrimination against their gender. Not only does this look bias and discriminatory against women but it’s rejecting possible future adults that can cause positive change in society. A possible way to avoid this kind of bias is by creating a decision making system in the form of randomly selecting students. 

          A way to avoid this bias in student enrollment is by making a lottery decision system in which it does not take In consideration of a student’s race, ethnicity, wealth or gender. By doing this, it will create an equal chance for every student. In the article called, ” We are all complicit in the College Admission Scandal”, the author Scott Cowen states that, ” the admission system of elite colleges and Universities is biased, if not rigged, in favor of already privileged students.” What he is trying to convey is that there are parents who try to “smooth the college admissions process” for their children so they can get accepted to the elite schools. These parents bribe, send donations to the child’s dream school or ask a friend to put in a good word for their child so they have a higher chance of getting in. Many students who got accepted to these Elite Colleges without bribing the school have stated that, “certain kids would get into top colleges despite falling short on the characteristics commonly associated with highly admissible students.” (Scott Cowen April 8 2019). The kids whose parents bribed the college to accept their child usually lack behind other students who got in due to their high grades. This shows us that some elite colleges are biased. They prefer to choose students who have money to offer them then those who try to get In with their well earned grades. To avoid this bias, author Nia E. Hulse of the article, “Preference in College Admissions” explains how by doing a lottery based system, it eliminates the bias factors such as gender, race or wealth. This allows students to be accepted only if they are chosen by random. Some agree to this but there are those who reject this idea. They say that by doing this kind of lottery based system, they will not take in consideration the students’ grades or talents either. They will still be affected if they are not enrolled. Some elite colleges don’t offer an equal opportunity to students which they are meant to do. They should instead be more fair but at the same time strict when it comes to receiving bribes from rich families. They should be more awake and alert so they can be fair and at the same time strict.

          This impacts many students as well as me when I was choosing my colleges. I researched the colleges I wanted to go to and I also saw their statistics. In my case, I researched John Jay, Colombia and City Tech. I found out that these colleges were diverse and admitted more students from minority groups. These colleges also were affordable to what my parents could make. They were also fair to enrolling students based on Gender. The only reason I can think of why these 3 colleges were fair is that they aren’t really Ivy League colleges, therefore they accept more students since they promote diversity in their campus. 

        Elite colleges are known to be biased. Some of these colleges only choose particular students based on their gender, race and background. This kind of admission system is flawed due to the fact that many kids are being left out and not receiving an equal opportunity which colleges have to give students but are not. They prefer students who are white, and rich. Minorities such as Asians, Hispanics and Blacks are usually from the low income class and are not chosen because they can’t afford the tuition and therefore are not chosen. Colleges, especially Ivy League colleges should give every student an equal opportunity.