The Georgia students on this recruiter's mind

Stephenson grad Chloe Thompson, for one, was groomed early for college. In high school she played soccer, tooted on the trombone in the school's marching band, and studied arduously to score high on her SATs. UGA "recruited heavily at my school, doing things like having parent nights and giving out T-shirts," says Ms. Thompson, sitting in her room at UGA's crowded Creswell Hall dorm.

Unlike UGA, American universities often weigh minority applicants in a different scale, giving them an advantage for their race. The result is increased diversity, and opportunities for many from disadvantaged backgrounds.

But the system also draws criticism by setting a higher hurdle for qualified whites or Asian-Americans.

Moreover, many African-Americans resent the view that they have gained admission based on skin color, not merit.

"I'd be insulted if someone told me I got into this school because of my race," says UGA sophomore Shaun Foster, cutting a sharp figure in a tan leather coat and a shell necklace. A track star from Gainesville, Ga., he didn't receive any extra points for his race.

UGA officials say it's too early to tell whether the new recruitment push is the reason minority enrollments are inching up at UGA.

Nationwide, diversity-boosting experiments are young enough, and the results murky enough, that both sides in the debate can claim vindication.

Defenders of more overt preferences point to a plunge in African-American enrollment at top-tier schools such as the University of California, Berkeley. Advocates of new policies say overall diversity is growing in many experimenting states.

Nationally, minorities made up 28 percent of enrollment in 1999, up from 20 percent in 1990.

"I'm not sure all these new programs are equally successful on racial diversity" as affirmative action,says Curt Levey, the director of legal affairs at the Center for Individual Rights in Washington. "But I do think they're more successful in the fact that they're much more within the bounds of the law."

Still, some worry that an end to affirmative action in admissions could sharply reduce the number of minorities on many campuses. "Flagship universities like ours have a broader social responsibility, and that is to create leaders for all the communities in our state," says Gene Nichol, dean of the University of North Carolina's law school. "I'm not sure we could do that" without the school's race-sensitive admission standards.

Back at Stephenson High School, a crush of students jostle as their moms arrive to pick them up in minivans and Mercedes cars. Looking out over the sea of dark faces, school guidance counselor Bobbi Neal says she largely supports UGA's new admissions system.

By starting early, the intensive recruiting effort prepares younger students for the inevitable hardships of college, she says, while the application process holds them to a high standard for admission. "They make it clear to students," she says, "that color doesn't have anything to do with their ability to perform."

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