Jane Kim had a 3.7 grade point average at Westwood High School and made 1530 on her SAT. However, she was deferred to UT-Dallas because she did not rank in top 10 percent of her class.
Kim chose to go to Austin Community College and spend a year before transferring to UT-Austin. Now a pre-journalism sophomore, she thinks that top 10 percent law blocked her from getting into the University.
To prevent more high school students who have to go through what Kim went through, several plans to reform the top 10 percent law hovered around both houses of the Texas Legislature since the year began. These ranged from eliminating the law to mandating stricter prerequisites for high school students to be admitted under the top 10 percent law.
Sadly, none of these much needed reform proposals passed.
The top 10 percent law has helped maintain racial diversity at the University after a 1996 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against race-based admission in 1996. However, it is lacking in many senses and should be eliminated, or at least reformed.
In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1996 decision and allowed the use of race as a decision-making factor. Following this rule, the University currently uses race as one of many decision-making factors for students out of the top 10 percent, said Augustine Garza, deputy director at the University's admissions office.
Now that the University can use race-based admission to ensure a racially diverse student body, top 10 percent rule - which was billed as an alternative solution to keep the University racially diverse - is no longer needed.
I admit that there are some benefits involved with the law, such as race neutrality and improving geographic diversity on campus. However, we must ask whether the law fulfills its original design: to keep the campus racially diverse and whether it performs better than race-based admissions.
Statistically, there is no data proving that the top 10 percent law ensures either a proportional racial representation on campus or diverse classrooms.
Princeton University's Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project, which has closely studied the top 10 percent law over the past few years, found that the majority of black and Hispanic students who are admitted under the law come from predominantly minority high schools.
Moreover, African-Americans and Hispanics from predominantly minority schools are less likely to enroll in selective colleges such as the University of Texas, the study found.
The study also found that the top 10 percent law may even hurt minority students attending racially integrated high schools because minority students usually do not rank in the top 10 percent.
While the top 10 percent rule restored the overall racial diversity level to race-based admission era, a 2003 report by the UT Office of Admissions found the number of classes with no African-American or Hispanic students increased compared to pre-top-10-law period, showing that classroom diversity level got worse.
Undoubtedly, some increase may be a result of students spreading out. The University offers approximately 20 percent more class sections compared to 1996. However, the numbers are staggering.
In 2002, 80 percent of classes offered at the University had one or no African-Americans, up from 72 percent in 1996; and 30 percent of classes had one or no Hispanics, up from 25 percent in 1996.
Contrary to its original design, the top 10 percent law showed that it could not increase enrollment of African-Americans and Hispanics, as their enrollment numbers have been stagnant since the law's implementation.
The top 10 percent law is even more problematic because it clogs the flow of qualified incoming freshmen to the University like Kim. This year, 72 percent of incoming freshmen were admitted under the top 10 percent rule, up from 66 percent last year. Garza said the University's hands are tied because it has to accept all students who meet requirements and apply on time.
At this rate the University will no longer have room for students who have extensive extracurricular activities and have comparatively lower GPA than students who take unchallenging courses to keep a high GPA.
Ironically, the top 10 percent law negatively affects minority students, keeping them from having an equal opportunity. To strive for a racially diverse university, the top 10 percent law has to go, or at least reformed to solve its growing problems.
Mark Son is a government senior.
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