43% of Harvard's White Students are ALDC Admits

[alexf.1990]

News reporting like this is both woefully irresponsible and ideologically driven. The racial animosity underlying the reporting is quite clear. The reporter simply didn't look at the study or they simply ripped the parts that support their ideology and posted them. Given the way this article has been regurgitated by various outlets, its not clear whether the journalists are lazy or inept.

The actual study simulates what admissions would look like under various conditions. The results are on Table 11 (Page 49), if anyone is interested. https://www.nber.org/papers/w26316.pdf

Under a model with no legacy preferences, white admits fall by 4%, most other races increase their admits by a similar percentage. Under a model with no athlete preference, white admits fall by 6%. Under a model with no race/legacy/athlete preference, white admits increase by 3%, African American admits decrease by 69%, Hispanic admits decrease by 42%, and Asian American admits increase by 51%.

For all the moaning about ALDC privilege, the actual impact it has on the number of white admits is minuscule. The benefits conferred by the current system on African Americans and Hispanics, and the corresponding penalty for being Asian American, is quite staggering. Of course, those results don't support the ideology of those writing the news, so they're buried, and we're left with the completely false implication that white admits would fall by 43% without ADLC preferences.