Word: criteria
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...many academically qualified students seek Harvard admission; academic prowess cannot adequately determine who receives the mythical big envelope in the mail. Without examining other criteria--region, race, background, extracurricular experience, interests and special skills--it would be impossible to decide whom to admit. An admissions system that relied solely on academics would ultimately and necessarily result in admissions far more arbitrary than they lready are: admissions officers would have to randomly select 2,000 names from the pool of thousands of "qualified" applicants...
Second, oppressed white males like Stonecypher falsely assume that factors like grades and standardized test scores are superior to other criteria because they are objective. In fact, no objective measure exists to determine who deserves admission to Harvard or any other school...
With no objective measure of a person's qualifications to attend Harvard, it is fitting that Harvard relies on more than one or two subjective criteria. By considering not only grades and test scores, but also demonstrated leadership ability, interesting cultural or educational background and other factors, Harvard has a better chance of assembling a representative and even a more qualified student population...
Third, Stonecypher and other members of the Harvey C. Mansfield school of thoughtless rhetoric wrongly assume that students accepted as a result of criteria that include, but are not limited to, academics are not qualified to perform academically here. At their most extreme, these people argue that when race is a consideration, schools like Harvard are forced to accept underqualified African-American students to ensure a diverse student body...
There is no formula to gauge whether a student should be admitted or rejected, admissions officials say, and subjective criteria such as extracurricular activities and personal qualities also play a significant role. The Stonecypher complaint takes issue with the soft criteria the admissions office uses, and focuses on the issue of race...