My understanding is that race is one of the factors in UT’s PAI. Therefore it is intentionally obfuscating for UT to compare Fisher’s combined AI/PAI score with other non-white candidates and say that Fisher didn’t match up to those other non-white candidates. A fairer comparison would be to only compare the AI scores.
UT turned over the data to Fisher and now the AI and PAI scores are all part of the record. The numbers didn’t support her case or she would have argued them. UT showed that if she had been awarded the max PAI of 6 she would still have been denied admission.
“Although one African-American and four Hispanic applicants with lower combined AI/PAI scores than petitioner’s were offered admission to the summer program, so were 42 Caucasian applicants with combined AI/PAI scores identical to or lower than petitioner’s.”
this is not the same as
“In 2008, 47 such students were admitted who had lower grades or test scores than Fisher. Forty-two of them were white. Only five were people of color.”
You cannot draw any conclusions about how SAT or GPA of these 47 or other 168 stack up against Fisher’s. This PAI thing is not transparent. Maybe all these admits had much higher AI and lower PAI than Fisher and other 168.
This is another piece of the footnote that you truncated:
“In denying a preliminary injunction, the district court stated (without citation) that 64 minority applicants with lower AI scores than petitioner were admitted to Liberal Arts. Fisher v. Texas,
556 F. Supp. 2d 603, 607 & n.2 (W.D. Tex. 2008). That statement is not binding at the merits stage.
University of Texasv. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 395 (1981). Although the district court did not specify whether it was referring to admissions to the fall class or the summer program, that figure can only encompass admits to the summer program. As explained in the unrebutted summary judgment record, with her AI score, petitioner could not “have gained admission through the fall review process,” even with a “perfect” PAI score.”
So basically all these claims were about the Summer program and the Fisher lawyers statement that 64 minority applicants were admitted to the Summer program with AI less than Fisher’s was not questioned by the University lawyers. Obviously these students had higher PAI than Fisher.
How all this proves the Salon’s narrative that academically unqualified White students are admitted to UT because of White privilege? If the author is not happy about PAI and outcome of holistic admissions at the UT she should write about that.