Please ignore Canedude. He has great confidence and little credibility. Rather, he has stereotypes and anecdotes…nothing more.
Some facts:
*it is an incredible accomplishment to be admitted to Harvard. 3.9% admission rate in 2022.
*18% are first in their families to go to any college. (not first and second generations quoted by Canedude, just first). Harvard is offering those students social mobility at the highest levels.
*26% of freshman are Asian. True, if grades and SAT scores were the only criteria for admission (they aren’t), Asian student might be 40% +. That’s where the lawsuit comes in. Does Harvard have the right to consider race (Black and Hispanic) among other factors in selecting students? If, so does that discriminate against Asians? Very tough issue.
*Harvard admission policies help Blacks and Hispanics. No doubt. Is this a good thing or an unfair thing?
The idea that Harvard is a finishing school for elite white kids is absurd. It’s a multi ethnic, multi class institution.
Look at the student body, what I noted has a ton of merit. But hey, let's live in la la land. The typical large state institution is closer to what this country is in regards to class and racial makeup than the typical Ivy and that's fine. It's almost like what I said struck a nerve, because it's been true for centuries. Not an accident that Harvard has spent decades trying to up the number of minorities on campus, by any means, because they want to move in a new direction. They understand that a diverse community of scholars is beneficial to all, and I mean diverse in regards to life experiences and class, not just race. A rich Black kid and a rich White kid aren't as different as you'd think. Lawrence Summers has talked about this for years.
That said, the concept of a meritocracy based solely on grades and test scores can also be viewed as problematic, mostly because it goes to the crucial question of "What truly makes a person educated/intelligent?". There are plenty of intelligent people that could survive and thrive at an Ivy, that will never have the top end grades, mostly because of things beyond their control. I went to high school with kids that were the children of domestic workers, they got jobs as soon as they could, because the family needed them to. Of course that kid wasn't going to have a ton of extracurriculars, when they are working 25-30 hours per week and maintaining their solid B average. That said, those kids would contribute a ton to the academic vitality of an institution, because they bring a different outlook. I also had classmates that were upper middle class that got As all day, but lacked any kind of problem solving or critical thinking skills. They could follow directions and do what the teacher expected them to do, and that will get you an A in a lot of cases.
Yes, there are kids that are able to combine both and do very well. The phenomenon of kids falling apart in college because they are expected to do more than simply regurgitate the info is also real. I saw that happen in law school where kids that weren't used to getting a B losing their crap because it happened, mostly because some instructors believe top margin work is few and far between.
We as a society have to find a way to combine having academically talented kids, while also being cognizant of the fact that intelligence can manifest itself in a variety of ways, and a grade can sometimes be a result of things beyond someone's control.