Alternative Admissions Practices

Race-Conscious Practices

Race-conscious admissions are among the most well known of the alternative practices and have been used actively by selective institutions for more than 40 years. Sometimes referred to as affirmative action, this admission practice gives consideration to an applicants' race or ethnicity as part of the review process with the overall intent of admitting a diverse student body. There has been much legal debate around the legality of this approach, with proponents offering that race-conscious policies are necessary to create a diverse student body from which all can benefit and opponents arguing that such practices are unconstitutional. Most recently, the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed as constitutional the consideration of race as a “plus factor” in holistic review of applicants but also again struck down the use of quota systems that allocate specifically designated points to applicants of identified races.

Economically Conscious Practices

Similarly conceived, economically conscious policies give special attention to an applicant's financial status. Proponents argue that economically conscious admission is a fair and effective way of achieving a diverse student body both because it captures the extensive overlap that exists in the United States between income and race and also includes the unique nonracial components of economic disadvantage as well. Critics, however, identify fundamental shortfalls to this approach, specifically in the development of a racially diverse student body relative to alternative admissions practices that directly consider race. They further criticize the approach to identifying applicants eligible for such consideration, which typically considers only a narrow set of income criteria. Capturing economic disadvantage as part of such a practice is complex, and, as Kahlenberg notes, is best accomplished by comprehensive consideration of such barriers as income, parental education, and wealth.

Automatic Admission Practices

Also referred to as percentage plans, automatic policies provide public university admission to a fixed percentage of top graduates from every high school in a state. The guarantees vary across states and campuses implementing this approach, including differences in: the proportion of students afforded entry; the extent to which a recipient has a choice of the institution he or she attends; and the supplemental services provided in connection with automatic admission. Texas, for example, promises eligible students automatic admission to [Page 91]the public university of their choice. California and Florida, by contrast, provide ensured entry only into the state's primary university system; individual institutions make the final decisions about the campuses to which students are granted admission. Similar to claims made for economically conscious admissions, proponents of automatic admission practices argue that it is an effective race-neutral approach to achieving a diverse student body. There is not ample evidence, to date, however, to support this argument. Further, there are critics who challenge the race-neutrality of the practice itself, arguing that the success of the process relies on the existence of racially segregated high schools and race-conscious outreach and recruitment.

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