A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1996 may have led to one of the most controversial higher education policies of all time. The ruling made it legal for the flagship University of Texas at Austin school to drop affirmative action in their admissions process (Hopwood v. Texas). In 1997 a response by affirmative action advocates proposed and passed what is considered a race-neutral admissions procedure that they believed would actually increase minority admissions to flagship schools in Texas. The now infamous Texas Top Ten Percent law requires that any high school graduate in the top ten percent of their graduating class from any school will get automatic admission to state public universities (Rangel). On the one hand there is evidence that
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Many students are finding it very difficult to balance their own social life with their college life ever since this law was put into place. This law has forced many students who have the desire to be in top ten percent to put in as much hard work, effort, and determination as they can into their schoolwork. Due to all the schoolwork that students receive, many of them are having a difficult time with their time management. “Failure of top 10 percent graduates to pursue postsecondary schooling constitutes loss of valuable talent in the context of an admission regime that guarantees admission to rank-eligible students.” (Xinchun, Niu) A majority of students are unable to spend some time with their family and friends because of the amount of schoolwork they’ve been given. So many students are giving all their attention, hard work, and time into just entering top ten percent of their class. Most of their days are spent just studying and doing classwork non …show more content…
Bollinger) from 1996 was overturned and University of Texas at Austin began using race to admit non-top ten students. (Watkins, Sanjita) Abigail Fisher, a 2008 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land, TX was the subject of an 8 year lawsuit suing the University of Texas Austin for not admitting her because she was white. She was a red haired, white suburban girl who had a 3.59 GPA, an SAT score of 1180/1600, played the cello, and had the unfortunate ranking of being just outside the top 10 percent in her graduating class and like thousands of others, failed to get admissions to her chosen school University of Texas at Austin. (Aaronson) The case was heard over and over again in courts only to ultimately rule in favor of the University and they are allowed to continue using race as a basis of admissions. In conclusion, the top ten percent rule is causing numerous students to have an huge amount of stress, depression, and decreasing family relationships. This law has brought a great change in the lifestyle of many students. The acceptance into schools should not be based upon personal rankings but it should be determined from the student’s overall grades. This law has brought a drastic change in the overall school system and should be
Many students are finding it very difficult to balance their own social life with their college life ever since this law was put into place. This law has forced many students who have the desire to be in top ten percent to put in as much hard work, effort, and determination as they can into their schoolwork. Due to all the schoolwork that students receive, many of them are having a difficult time with their time management. “Failure of top 10 percent graduates to pursue postsecondary schooling constitutes loss of valuable talent in the context of an admission regime that guarantees admission to rank-eligible students.” (Xinchun, Niu) A majority of students are unable to spend some time with their family and friends because of the amount of schoolwork they’ve been given. So many students are giving all their attention, hard work, and time into just entering top ten percent of their class. Most of their days are spent just studying and doing classwork non …show more content…
Bollinger) from 1996 was overturned and University of Texas at Austin began using race to admit non-top ten students. (Watkins, Sanjita) Abigail Fisher, a 2008 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land, TX was the subject of an 8 year lawsuit suing the University of Texas Austin for not admitting her because she was white. She was a red haired, white suburban girl who had a 3.59 GPA, an SAT score of 1180/1600, played the cello, and had the unfortunate ranking of being just outside the top 10 percent in her graduating class and like thousands of others, failed to get admissions to her chosen school University of Texas at Austin. (Aaronson) The case was heard over and over again in courts only to ultimately rule in favor of the University and they are allowed to continue using race as a basis of admissions. In conclusion, the top ten percent rule is causing numerous students to have an huge amount of stress, depression, and decreasing family relationships. This law has brought a great change in the lifestyle of many students. The acceptance into schools should not be based upon personal rankings but it should be determined from the student’s overall grades. This law has brought a drastic change in the overall school system and should be