You Can't Sit With Us: Racial and economic barriers in college admission

By Dalton Raykowski

Co-Managing Editor

November 2021

The college admissions process is inherently biased, and in the near future, that will likely not change. According to the article “Nine Forms of Bias in Admissions” this bias can come in many forms: stereotype, groupthink, halo effect, etc. Stereotypes are generally the idea that comes to mind when people think of bias. They can vary from race, to gender, socioeconomic class, and location. As could be imagined, stereotyping is one of the most harmful forms of bias in the admissions process. Entire groups of people can be disqualified based on some arbitrary, potentially racist, perception of them. Furthermore, stereotypes can often be so psychologically ingrained that they are difficult to recognize. One such example would be microracisms, such as officers having an internal preference for a particular race they may not consciously acknowledge. This is why the admissions officers must have thorough training to not only recognize, but correct these potential biased thoughts.

As if that was not enough of a set-back, there are also the issues created by the economic divides in society. There will always be the group of students that come from wealth, and they will always have an advantage over those who do not. They may have access to expensive college admissions advisors or formal test prep opportunities. In some cases, they may even have connections with the university via legacy status. These privileges give them a huge advantage in working the admissions process. They are almost guaranteed high standardized test scores simply because of their wealth. If their scores alone did not get them into the school, they have their college advisors that may have been shaping their every step for admissions: from the classes they take, to the clubs they join. All of it tailored to getting them into top universities.

There are indeed students that come from schools that are specifically tailored to getting students into top universities. These schools are often referred to as feeder schools and are typically private schools. They often have higher tuition than some universities. On The College Preparatory School’s website, tuition alone is listed at being $49,990. There is almost no way someone of middle-class background could reasonably go to a school like this. The wealthy's privilege once again places them above the average student. As if they needed more of an advantage.

Even more, there are some wealthy people, typically celebrities, that essentially buy their childrens’ way into top schools. There have been times where buildings were donated to universities, which would obviously give that student an advantage. But also, there have been straight up bribes to officials, be it coaches, officers, even standardized test administrators. One instance, as mentioned on Time Magazine is “Huffman (a 56 year old award-winning actress), pleaded guilty to the charges against her on May 13, admitting that she paid $15,000 for someone to correct her daughter’s SAT answers.” All of this to give their child a spot at a school that they haven’t earned.

This system is broken. There is no way to sugar-coat it. As long as there are corrupt officials there will always be bias. As long as the immense class divide exists, there will always be economic barriers. So, for the time being, those of low-income families or minority groups, will have a more difficult time getting into schools. In the present system, they have to work much harder than a majority member to get the bare minimum of what society has to offer. I know this first hand as I am currently in the process of applying to schools. Personally, I do not come from a family with the highest income so I do not have the liberty of applying to any school without the thought of tuition. Even facing that challenge, it is nowhere near as difficult as what many other students face in the admission process. And somehow people still have the nerve to say privilege does not exist.