[Tax-chick]

There is a place for preferences in higher education -- for those who come from poor homes or tough neighborhoods.

Why? If students from "poor homes or tough neighborhoods" don't have the academic qualifications for a particular college, their results are going to be no better than those of students placed above their level by racial preference.

If the author is talking about need-based financial aid, she needed to have specified that.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Why? If students from “poor homes or tough neighborhoods” don’t have the academic qualifications for a particular college, their results are going to be no better than those of students placed above their level by racial preference.

---

Actually, it’s like taking the ball and chain off the ballerina. In some predictable instances, students who are doing solid but not outstanding work in the worst circumstances (e.g. holding down a job to support the family) can be predicted to flourish in a challenging and supportive academic environment when the old disadvantages are eliminated.

Unlike simply having dark skin, for those students, their grades and test scores underpredict their future performance.