<p>I’d argue that they very much do base it on culture rather than race, which is why the bland Asian candidates who all have the exact same resume–and who probably wouldn’t have much/at all higher chances if they were white!–don’t do as well as Asian candidates who are actually in touch with their own cultural heritages.</p>
<p>Also, I used to think the socioeconomic thing, but then I decided to carry it to the extreme and posit a school of all white kids who cover the full socioeconomic spectrum. Would that school be very much missing something in terms of diversity? Oh, yes.</p>