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Constitutional Law Keyed to Maggs
Gratz v. Bollinger
Citation:
539 U.S. 244 (2003)Facts
Petitioners Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher were white students who were denied admission to the University of Michigan. They filed suit to challenge the University’s admission policies, pursuant to which the Office of Undergraduate Admissions used a “selection index” to award points to each applicant. The maximum score was 150 points, and all students with 100 points or more were admitted. Points were awarded based on high school grade point average, standardized test scores, academic quality of an applicant’s high school, strength or weakness of high school curriculum and other soft factors. In addition, racial minority applicants were awarded 20 points for their membership in underrepresented racial or ethnic minority groups. During the period in question, the University admitted virtually every qualified applicant from these groups.
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