ALTERNATIVES TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN HIGHER ED. With any luck, this will soon become a pressing concern. Also makes an interesting point: while the U.S. population has increased by around 50% since the 1970s, the number of “prestigious” schools, and the number of students they admit, has barely budged. This lends a lot of credence to the idea that, despite their protests, they’re selling prestigious credentials, not education.