David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

What all three groups take for granted is
that being able to get into a great school
is such an important advantage that the
small number of spaces at the top are
worth fighting over. But why on earth
are people convinced that places at the
top are so valuable that they are worth
fighting over?
Affirmative action is practiced most
aggressively in law schools, where
black students are routinely offered
positions in schools one tier higher than
they would otherwise be able to attend.
The result? According to the law
professor Richard Sander, more than
half of all African-American law
students in the United States—51.6
percent—are in the bottom 10 percent of