lookingforward

It's more complex than all that. Gotta remember, most get their "info" from media sources- and hype sells, fear sells. And, too many of us settle for easy stereotypes. The black kid doomed to fail, the beleaguered Asian-American, just trying to get the level of education he or she deserves. The high-performing friend of a neighbor's cousin, who got bumped.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy opens: Affirmative action” means positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. When those steps involve preferential selection—selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity—affirmative action generates intense controversy.

Colleges expand this to include geographic diversity, first-gens and a host of qualities that may be needed on their campuses.

According to LF (me,) critical thinking means not accepting your first gut reaction to something, applying a few brain cells, weighing.

Btw, wannabe: here are no magic formulas. If you are from the quoted category, let your GC rave about how you overcame. Let your ECs, awards, stats shine for you and write a great essay that makes adcoms like you, see your strengths, not feel sad for you. You might benefit from your own thread on this.