[Hostage]

Uh, the undergrad system that was struck down does not explicitly imply that race can't be used as an admissions factor. That's not a win in any book. You will see race used as a factor at the undergrad level without a codified system. An admissions committee will be given a stack of applications and will be told they can use race as a factor in their decision so long as no point system is used.

Here's a likely scenario:

Committee member A:
"This candidate is black from State X and brings a view of the world that other undergrads will find broadening".
Committee member B:
"The candidate that I am looking at is white from our home state and has a track record of academic achievement".
Committee member A:
"Yes, but the State X candidate will diversify the background of this year's class."
Committee member B:
"I agree."

Where is the point system? Where is there a quota? Answer: there isn't one. The admissions director will need only be careful as to the overall SAT average of the entering class. So if too many poorly prepared applicants are admitted and this drags down overall SAT averages, then it's time to weight academic performance until an SAT average overall goal is reached.

Sadly such a system will not stop with the admissions process but will continue through to graduation.

[george wythe]

I guess you're more pessimistic than I am.

IMHO, the fact that the Left have fought so fiercely for these antiquated AA policies demonstrate the difficulty of achieving racial quotas without race as the primary factor.

Race as a factor is much more difficult to use to achieve a desired number.

I've read enough about the college admission process to know that there are too many variables and unknowns that can derail any surreptitious quota system.