Study Finds the Vast Majority of Americans Say Race Should Not Be a Factor in College Admissions

A new survey from the Pew Research Center has found that 73 percent of Americans believe that colleges and universities should not consider race or ethnicity when making admissions decisions. Only 7 percent say race should be a major factor in admissions and 19 percent say it should be a minor factor.

When broken down by race, 78 percent of White respondents thought that race and ethnicity should not be an admissions factor compared to 62 percent of Black respondents. Additionally, there was a disparity seen among political parties; 85 percent of Republicans and those who leaned more towards the right said that race should not be an admissions factor compared to 63 percent of Democrats and those who leaned more towards the left.

The two factors that the majority of participants thought should have the biggest influence on admissions decisions were high school grades and standardized test scores. In addition to race, the other two factors that the majority of respondents thought should not influence admissions decisions were gender and whether or not a relative had attended the particular college or university.

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8 COMMENTS

  1. If 60% of blacks think race should not be considered, then blacks will be virtuslly driven out of the Ivy League, and out of elite society.
    Are black people that ignorant about what it takes to defend the gains of the civil rights movement? Shame on us.

    • I am black, but with all due respect, I don’t think most black people properly understand that race considerations in admissions is only a thing at elite universities, and they don’t understand the difference career and life trajectories for grads of elite schools versus all others.

    • Ewart,
      Agreed. I wonder how many of the Black respondents earned a four-year degree? Was this a case of the talented tenth ignoring their own privilege? Perhaps a large number of the sample were not degree holders and know little about the issues of affirmative action. I have more questions after reading this result of this survey.

      • During the eugenics movement, black leaders encouraged the Talented Tenth to breed interracially with “intelligent” whites. In her dissertation at Princeton. Michelle surveyed fellow black classmates who expressed their disinterest in not helping the Black community following graduation. So yes, these ivy schools are a different world once one has granted entrance into their gates.

  2. I’m not sure where the 62% of Black respondents live, but they obviously don’t live in the real world. Any Black American who cannot see the current strategic and deliberate attack on the accessibility of education for Blacks has blinders on. I would hazard to guess that most if not all of these “respondents” have a false sense of reality and think they have arrived. NEWS FLASH….YOU STILL HAVE NOT ARRIVED!!! You are not now nor will you ever be equal in the minds of White America! STAY WOKE!!!

    • Here is the thing, blacks who do make it among the elite echelons of society are still viewed as less than compared to their White counter parts. In fact, I read that blacks who graduated from the Ivy Leagues are viewed the same as Blacks who attended a public university. And trust me, elite Whites are still going to look after their poor white brethrens and still elevate them over Blacks of their status. No matter what, they still view Blacks as peasants or sharecroppers and slaves.

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