0 6B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, January 30, 2003 The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursd " No matter what happens, there are going to be a lot of qualified students who won't get in.s - Julie Peterson University spokeswoman FILE PHOTO lthough he understands the value of diversity, Engineer- ing senior Rich Nam said he believes the University's admissions policies create an unfair advantage for students belonging to an under- represented minority group. "It's going to cut out people more qualified," Nam said. Race is one criterion in the points systems the undergraduate admis- sions office uses to evaluate appli- cants to the University. The points system used by the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts is a selection index of 150 points. The most controversial part of the system is the 20 points appli- cants receive if they belong to an underrepresented minority group. , LSA's use of race will be chal- lenged before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 1 during oral argu- ments in Gratz v. Bollinger. The University maintains that the point systems used for determining undergraduate admissions take seri- ously the belief that diversity is a compelling interest in higher educa- tion and that it accepts only quali- fied students. through a balanced system that considers many factors. "Taken as a whole, it works very well in accomplishing what we need to accomplish in order to fulfill our educational mission," University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said. "No matter what happens, there are going to be a lot of qualified stu- dents who won't get in." BACKGUSUND The University has been using race as a factor in admissions since the first Black Action Movement protests in 1970, although current officials say there are no records of what admissions policies the University implement- ed. After an eight-day class strike, University President Robben Flem- ing agreed with BAM leaders to have a 10 percent minority enroll- ment by the 1973-1974 academic year. Despite promises and more protests, the University would not rise above these numbers until the late 1980s and early 1990s when University President James Duder- stadt initiated the Michigan Man- date, a multi-point program providing a more defined strategy for improving the racial climate on campus. It was around this time that the policies of race-conscious admis- sions become more clearly defined. From 1995 through 1998, the University used a complex grid sys- tem, that compared grade point averages, geographical location, standardized test scores and other factors. All of the factors had sepa- rate grids for minority applicants and non-minority applicants, both in state and out-of-state. Although the grids were similar to the current point system, the University desired to have a neater and more straight- forward system. "At the end of the day, it's trying to be more quantifiable," Peterson said. As it was, in the December 2000 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Duggan, the grid sys- tem was ruled unconstitutional because of it's setup. Duggan deter- mined it reserved a number of seats for minority appli- cants, creating a quota. "It is undisput- ed that from 1995 through 1997, the LSA used facially different grids and action codes based solely upon an applicant's race. Under these differing grids, a certain group of n o n - p r e fe r r e d applicants were "i There s be a sense inequality A point systei The system to be moldi -Sc automatically excluded from competing for a seat in the class without any type Qf individualized counselor review solely on account of their race," Duggan wrote. BREAKING IT DOWN The current LSA system, established in 1997 and first used in the fall of that year to determine the Class of 2002, has a requirement of 100 points out of 150 for admittance. One hundred and ten of those points are based solely on academic factors. An applicant's GPA is recomputed by the University using college preparatory classes from the 10th and 11th grades. An applicant receives anywhere from 40 to 80 points for his or her GPA. But since school curriculums vary in. their level of rigor, an appli- cant gets up to 10 points based on their school's academic strength. This number is determined by admissions counselors who are assigned to certain parts of the country and know the schools they work with very well. The counselors base the school factor on the num- ber of Advanced Placement or Inter- national Bacculerate classes offered, the percentage of students going to college and school's average SAT I/ACT scores. "An A in one school might not mean an A in another school," Peterson said. A student also receives a range of negative four to eight points based on the geMS tog curriculum factor, which judges the Of extent to which a stu- dent challenged themselves during their high school career. For example, needs if a student did not take any AP classes Dd. in a school that offers 15, points could be ott Showalter deducted from his or her score. LSA junior "It is an individual measure of how much a student has challenged him- self," Peterson said. LSA sophomore Shilpa Murthy said this is where it is beneficial for the admissions policies to benefit. people who have a socio-economic disadvantage. "They're not going to have the same number of good teachers or AP courses," she said. The final part of the academic factors is standardized testing, based on a student's SAT or ACT score. The admissions counselor gives students up to 12 points in this area and the criteria differs slightly for students applying to the School of Engineering, where math scores are looked at more closely. The other side of the selection index consists of 53 points called "soft" factors, although no appli- cant can receive more than 40. The first factor is geography. All Michi- gan residents receive 10 points, and people coming from certain under- represented Michigan counties - such as Oceana, Newaygo and Mecosta in the northern part of the state - receive an extra six points. Applicants from underrepresented states - such as Kansas, West Vir- ginia and Rhode Island - receive two points. Peterson said the select- IL ed areas were decided by looking over the country as a whole and selecting areas from where the Uni- versity does not gain many students. "If you look across a population by chance, you would expect to get a certain number of students," Peter- son said. An applicant receives four points if a parent or stepparent is an alumnus, or one point if any other immediate relatives attended the University. Murthy said she feels this factor should not determine whether the University admits a student. "I don't think that has anything to do with your credentials," she said. "It's another business deal." A maximum of three points can be given for an essay, five points for personal achievements and five points for community service. The most debated part of the sys- tem is the 20 points received for coming from a socio-economically disadvantaged area, being a member of an underrepresented minority group, being an athlete, or other extenuating circumstances. When shown the point system and how it works, some students said they saw the importance of using race as a factor, but they thought 20 points was too many for the Univer- sity to give toward uncontrollable factors. "I think your essay should be 20 points," Murthy said, adding that she would like to see race as a 10-point factor. "(The essay) reflects more of who you are ... You put time and effort into it." "There are the kids who fit these categories but they don't do as well and they still get in," Nam said, not- ing that a student only needs 60 points from the academic factors if they get the full 40 points on "soft" factors. "I'm surprised that it's such a large proportion," LSA junior Scott Showalter said. "Being poor and black is such an advantage." But University Assistant General Counsel Jonathan Alger said race is not a huge factor, especially consider- ing the fact that an applicant's acade- mic credentials comprise 110 points. "There's no way that 20 out of 150 is the overwhelming factor," Alger said. "The Supreme Court is unlike- ly to fix in on a particular number." Some students think a socio-eco- nomic disadvantage is more justifi- able to gain the upper hand in admissions than being a member of an underrepresented minority group. Murthy noted areas of the Upper Peninsula, which is a very poor area, but largely white. "They may still have the same potential as people from suburban schools," she said. Some students say they want to see the system totally overhauled, whether it is to lessen the use of race in admissions or to not use it all. Showalter said he understands the advantage of diversity, but he feels the system hurts minorities' because they then get branded with the stigma that they were accepted because of their race. "There seems to be a sense of inequality in the point system," Showalter said. "The system needs to be molded." Alger said it is important to remem- ber that interest large ma the Univ "It is : for thos< larger wi Peters thorough a studen 100 poin sions coi cretion i larger ac mendatic ties. She will senc tee in or potential "This use, but can use,' SARAH PAUP/Daily Affirmative action attempts to ensure a diverse campus.