Harvard was created to educate the elite not to create it. This is the fundamental issue here.
These institutions see their purpose as preserving western civilisation and hopefully shaping its future direction. Part of this joke was about turning Harvard into a trade school for asian doctors. From their point of view this would be the same as becoming a factory churning out plumbers or electricians.
The "secret sauce" of the admissions process is simply "If this candidate doesn't attend Harvard are they highly likely to become a member of the elite anyway?". This opens up things about our society we don't want to face. George Bush is related to the late Queen of England. Many of the elite are the same families who have ruled over us for the last thousand years.
Even at the local level your chance at becoming an important person in your city is closely related to who your parents are.
By accounting for the structure of society and distribution of power at the time of application the admissions process becomes at best conservative and at worst racist.
These institutions see their purpose as preserving western civilisation and hopefully shaping its future direction. Part of this joke was about turning Harvard into a trade school for asian doctors. From their point of view this would be the same as becoming a factory churning out plumbers or electricians.
The "secret sauce" of the admissions process is simply "If this candidate doesn't attend Harvard are they highly likely to become a member of the elite anyway?". This opens up things about our society we don't want to face. George Bush is related to the late Queen of England. Many of the elite are the same families who have ruled over us for the last thousand years.
Even at the local level your chance at becoming an important person in your city is closely related to who your parents are.
By accounting for the structure of society and distribution of power at the time of application the admissions process becomes at best conservative and at worst racist.