Michigan applicants to pen diversity essay
The admissions policy will replace a numerical point system struck down by
the Supreme Court
By Jodi S. Cohen
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 28, 2003
Future applicants to the University of Michigan, the focus of the U.S.
Supreme Court' s affirmative action decision in June, will be required to
write an essay about diversity and will be asked for extensive information
about their backgrounds, according to the university' s new undergraduate
application.
A revised admissions policy, expected to be unveiled formally in Ann Arbor
on Thursday, replaces a numerical point system that automatically gave
minority applicants extra points. The earlier policy was outlawed by the
Supreme Court, which ruled that colleges and universities can consider an
applicant' s race to build a diverse student body but cannot use strict
formulas that resemble quotas.
In a new essay question that reflects why the court said it approved the
consideration of race, high school seniors will have a choice of writing
about how they would contribute to campus diversity or how diversity--or a
lack thereof--has made a difference in their lives. They also will be asked
to supply information about their parents' and siblings' educational
backgrounds and their family' s socio-economic status, including how many
people depend on the family income.
A Michigan spokeswoman said Wednesday that applications will receive more
individualized attention, and additional admissions counselors will be hired
to review applications, a process that will be more expensive. They will
scrap the use of points, which the court said was too formulaic and
inconsistent with the notion that every applicant should be judged
individually.
" It is going to require additional resources, including additional staff,"
said University of Michigan spokeswoman Julie Peterson. " Our president and
provost have been saying from the moment of the court decision that they
would be willing to invest the necessary resources to comply with the law."
The application and an explanation of the new procedures were to be released
Thursday during a morning news conference, but a draft copy of the
application accidentally was posted on the university' s Web site and was
viewed by the Tribune for a short time Wednesday.
Applicants will be required to submit short answers to two of four
questions, and a longer 500-word essay on one of three topics. The new
application, which will be put in place for fall 2004, also asks applicants
optional questions, such as whether they work to supplement the family
income, live in a single-parent home and whether their grandparents attended
college. As on the old application, the new one gives the students the
option of indicating which race or ethnicity describes them.
1 essay with old system
On the old application, one essay was required and the maximum number of
points an applicant could earn for an excellent response was 3. Applicants
who reached 100 points on the 150-point scale were usually admitted.
Minority applicants automatically received 20 points, and points also were
awarded for grades, the difficulty of a high school curriculum, personal
achievement, socio-economic status and whether the student was from
Michigan.
Peterson wouldn' t comment on how much weight each factor would receive under
the new process, but experts said the changes reflect a move toward putting
more emphasis on non-academic factors.
" By the very act of asking these types of questions, you can tell that they
are moving in the direction of very intensive, individual review of each
application," said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Counselors.
" They will certainly factor in the answers quite significantly as important
criteria."
Cost of reviewing applications
The challenge will be paying for the changes. The University of Michigan has
employed about 20 admissions counselors to review 25,000 applications for
5,000 spots. Private schools that use a more individualized review generally
have fewer applicants and require a smaller staff. The University of
Chicago, for example, employs 11 admissions counselors to review 9,200
applications.
The Supreme Court' s landmark 5-4 decision in June allowed the use of race in
college admissions, endorsing a practice used by most colleges and
universities nationwide but one that had been challenged in the courts--and
in some cases overturned. In two separate decisions, a majority of the
Supreme Court approved the Michigan Law School admissions policy but limited
how much race can be a factor, finding unconstitutional the undergraduate
program that gave automatic extra points to African-American, Hispanic and
Native American applicants.
A majority of the court supported Michigan' s claim that the educational
benefits of a diverse student body justifies the consideration of race. In
the decision upholding the Michigan Law School system, Justice Sandra Day
O' Connor wrote for the majority that " attaining a diverse student body is at
the heart of the Law School' s proper institutional mission."
The new undergraduate application resembles the Michigan Law School
application, which requires a personal statement " to aid in constructing a
diverse and interesting class."
The lawsuits against Michigan were brought by white students who said they
were unconstitutionally rejected in favor of less-qualified minority
applicants. A spokesman for the Center for Individual Rights, the law firm
that brought the lawsuits, said the center has not yet decided whether to
ask a federal judge to review Michigan' s new admissions policy.
Since the Supreme Court' s June decision, college officials have been
reviewing their admissions policies to ensure they comply with the law.
University of Chicago and Northwestern University administrators said they
haven' t made any revisions, while educators at the University of Illinois at
Chicago medical and nursing schools, which used point systems, are reworking
their policies.
" We are paying close attention to what is happening in Michigan," said Mark
Rosati, UIC associate chancellor for public affairs, adding that the medical
and nursing school policies are " all under review based on the court
decision. . . . There may need to be adjustments."
Watching Michigan
Ohio State University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst also
used point systems, and officials at both campuses said they are finalizing
details on new policies. Texas universities, which were barred from using
race after a federal appeals court decision, have indicated they will return
to a system that considers race.
Most schools do not use a point system when evaluating applicants. Still,
educators, students and civil rights activists will be listening carefully
to what is announced Thursday.
" We will be looking to see what they do," said Keith Todd, Northwestern
University' s admissions director. " Not necessarily to copy, but to see their
reaction after being such a central player on these issues."
- - -
University of Michigan changes
OLD ASSIGNMENT
Previously, students applying to become University of Michigan
undergraduates were given this writing assignment, with an assigned length
of one to two typed or handwritten pages:
Submit an essay that will help us learn more about you and what you hope to
accomplish through a college education. You may emphasize, for example, an
important milestone in your life, an educational goal or an interesting
question you have creatively addressed.
NEW ASSIGNMENTS
Students will have three writing requirements--two of 250 words each and one
of 500 words--plus an optional fourth essay. One of the 250-word essays
deals with diversity, with applicants choosing from the following two
questions:
1. At the University of Michigan, we are committed to building an
academically superb and widely diverse educational community. What would you
as an individual bring to our campus community?
2. Describe an experience you' ve had where cultural diversity--or a lack
thereof--has made a difference to you.
I do not believe in ethnic, hence cultural diversity. If other cultures and peoples are to be lauded and praised, should they not have surpassed that of our white western european culture? Becuase someone comes from a country that has been in starvation and civil strife for centuries or is known for its graft and corruption, does this afford them the opportunity of being the poster boy/girl for a proselytizing orwellian government instution such as yours? Can you please point out for me the passage in our constitution, or in the Michigan constitution that gives you the right to practice social engineering? The fact is, you DO NOT have that right, nor should you ever be granted that right.
If these cultures that are either real or made up ( made up such as the american inner city ***** culture) are so wonderful, why do all foreign countries have throngs of people waiting to get here? Aren' t their own cultures hence civilizations greater than ours ???
Why do you insist on tearing down institutions that were set in stone by the founders, for the sake of making someone not as qualified or civil feel good about themselves at the expense of someone else ? You take resources away from one deserving candidate and give them to another in some sort of egotistical radical egalitarian move - that is a moral outrage.
In short, my lack of " cultural diversity" has allowed me and my family to remain safe and sane without the indiginities imposed on the soul by bowing down to every two bit marxist loser such as yourself.
University of Michigan still hates whitey !
