how exactly do you get preferential treatment on your university / grad school apps as an illegal?
I'd kind of like to know that myself.
It all depends on the state. For instance right now my wife is attending nursing school where there are a number of ... uh .... hispanic students. It is now required by the state that all nursing students learn "Medical Spanish" the better they are at it the higher their grade but non-hispanics can not the graded as fluent in Spanish because they are not hispanic. The Hispanics are also given certain equal opportunity grants for their tuition and books. They are also moved to the head of the line for entrance into certain programs and classes that are harder to get into because of small size. The list goes on and on. All mandated by the state.