Admissions at Harvard and Oxford and how elite students view racial and social class diversity

What is it about?

Undergraduates at elite universities in the US and UK are, according to Dr. Warikoo, conflicted about the relation of racial diversity to meritocracy. In the US, White students view racial minorities as academically less qualified but as providing a diversity benefit; UK students view minorities as equal members of a meritocracy but turn a blind eye to racial disparities on and off campus. What Warikoo’s narrative overlooks is the role played by differences between the US and the UK in the educational paths and testing regimes that produce these disparate mentalities.

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Why is it important?

Claims that minorities are academically under prepared are mostly based on SAT/ACT scores; yet due to the social biases and predictive weaknesses of standardized test, over 40 percent of America’s colleges offer test-optional admissions. Racial attitudes may differ at test-optional colleges from those, like Harvard and Brown, that still require SAT/ACT scores. Test biases and the predictive superiority of high-school grades are not widely understood. Institutions, such as Harvard, with a 5% admission rate should stop propagating the myth of meritocracy. They should teach the world a true lesson about the randomness of life by putting all academically qualified youths into an admissions lottery. The chosen few are just the lucky ones from among the thousands of equally deserving youths.

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