Being the right race triples your chances of admission

In 1997, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine was three times more likely to admit an applicant if they checked the race box marked "black" or "hispanic" than if they checked "asian" or "white."

How can you tell they practiced race-based admissions? Obviously you can't look at individual applicants -- individuals have unique qualities that are considered by the admissions process. But if you study large groups of applicants, certain patterns emerge.

In 1997 the UCLA School of Medicine had approximately 5,000 applicants for 200 seats. Applicants checking the "black" or "hispanic" box are considered as disadvantaged racial minorities. Applicants checking the "white" or "asian" box are considered non-minority applicants. How did these two groups compare?

How can it be that Black/Hispanic applicants are 3 times as likely to be admitted as Asian/Whites? It can't be explained by higher academic qualifications -- on average, the "black" or "hispanic" applicants have lower grades and test scores. Despite claims of "equal opportunity," despite the U.C. Regents decision in 1995 to halt the consideration of race in admissions, the University of California clearly cared a great deal what race you were. They cared enough to triple your chances of admission if you checked the right box.