[moduspol]

I think this is the kind of mindset that is being challenged here.

You actually can set up objective criteria for entry to a college. That some groups perform better than others in no way means they are not objective.

The unwillingness to accept the possibility that objective criteria might not result in equal outcomes from all groups is the problem. The rabbit hole of "that can't be objective because it challenges my assumption that all groups would perform equally" only ends in bad places.

[s73v3r_]

That's not the issue. The issue is that the objective for these schools is to have a diverse student body, not necessarily the "objectively best students based on the things we decide to measure."

[moduspol]

Perhaps--but that wasn't the claim in the comment I was responding to.

And if that's the case, they should be comfortable saying openly that they're intentionally discriminating against Asian Americans for the good of the diversity of the student body.

[intended]

Iirc the head of one of those schools has already said that they can fill their class up with valedictorians if they do choose.

If they followed the pure merit route it would be exactly like it is today in other countries - people would over prepare for the exams and entrance will depend on who got 0.05% more than another person.

That’s the main draw of the American system- these schools long ago saw that there would be a problem because of baked in bias and took steps to equalize it while keeping their own interests constant.

And let’s not ignore the raw ability of the people who are aiming for Harvard - if a candidate for Harvard doesn’t get in, their safety school is still the first choice of a massive chunk of college applicants.m

Ps: in this sub thread I was not specifically talking about diversity; but it is an argument I do make and it is also a short throw from where my previous comment in this thread.