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DON'T LET YOUR KIDS USE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TO GET INTO COLLEGE: A THREAD. I graduated this year w/ degree in mathematics. Four years ago, when I was applying, several people, including my doctor, told me I could aim much higher than I was applying (local state school). I am 1/7
deaf, I have PTSD, I have a bizarre backstory (an abusive childhood mostly spent in a church basement school reading Genesis for "science class"), and I write well (a childhood escaping reality by reading will do that). Grades in such circumstances are meaningless, but I did 2/x
respectably well on the SAT (740 verbal, 680 math). "Everyone wants diversity," they said. "A physical and mental health disability both, plus you've proven you can overcome adversity." I didn't go that route, partly because I had found a therapist who was helping me and 3/x
wanted to stay local, but mostly because I didn't want the pity. Guess what? Mathematics is hard! It's harder when you were your own high school mathematics teacher. I got up at 5am to study for years and worked much harder than my classmates. I cried with joy when I got B's. 4/x
But I did it--I got a mathematics degree. If I had leveraged my oppression points and gone to a much tougher school? I'd probably still have a degree, but it would be in English or Studio Art or some grievance study field--where an eloquently expressed opinion earns a good 5/x
grade, something without absolutes and right and wrong answers. If I had taken advantage of affirmative action policies? THERE WOULD BE ONE FEWER DISABLED WOMAN IN STEM. This was my experience, and I'm very, very grateful that I gave myself the best chance to succeed by going 6/x
to a school where work ethic and discipline were enough to make up for poor prep, compared to my classmates. If your kids have oppression points available, especially if they're interested in STEM, think twice about letting them leverage that. You might save their dreams. /end
