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Of course not. It’s not national policy to recruit athletes or bassoon players, but colleges do that too. The UCs have dropped affirmative action from admissions entirely. Private colleges are allowed to admit whom they will. In 2003, there were 2071 Caltech applicants and 520 students accepted. 59 black students applied, 9 were accepted, and none chose to go. According to The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, on two other occasions in the last 10 years Caltech has had no blacks in its freshman class (the highest number of black freshman has been 8). Race is a tipping point at selective colleges- nothing more and nothing less. The “point system” went out with Michigan’s Supreme Court quasi-defeat several years ago. If an URM is otherwise qualified, then yes, (s)he is probably more likely to get in. However, many other factors (legacy, odd major, needed instrument, recruited athlete) can be just as important. Many of the Ivies have their pick of the litter (even among URMs), so be wary of the competition.</p>