[aristeides]

Even if you take the racial component out, you are left with discrimination against good, but not top, students at good schools in favor of objectively less qualified top students at the worst schools.

However, this is unlike racial discrimination in that the victims of it are not helpless against it. There is something they can do. They can, for example, transfer to a school which is less good.

Maybe it's not a good idea to give students an incentive to do that. I suspect it is not a good idea. But it's less odious than racial discrimination because there are responses that are possible.

[fightinJAG]

And let not forget that students admitted under these 10% and 20% programs are NOT THE ONLY STUDENTS ADMITTED TO THESE COLLEGES.

These programs guarantee admission to those who apply under the program.

Let's say:

A state has college capacity for 100,000 students.

There are 100,000 students who will apply for college in that state.

In the 10% program, let's say 50% of those eligible for guaranteed admission apply.

Thus, 5% of students eligible for guaranteed admission actually are admitted. This 5% takes up 5,000 seats.

100,000 seats (capacity) less 5,000 (seats granted under the guaranteed admission program) = 95,000 seats are still available for competive admission.

Unless I am doing that fuzzy math. Which is very possible. :-)