Mismatched students, as this theory labels affirmative action beneficiary studients, did earn lower grades, but they did rather well in general and benefited from being at more competitive institutions.

One argument supporters of affirmative action often make, is that blacks deserve a certain kind of compensation for decades of mistreatment. Although the situation of blacks in the United States has improved, there is evidence that there areof scontillnuing socioeconomic disparities based on race. According to a study by the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States, in 2010, white Americans held more than 88 percent of the country‘s wealth, makingd made up 64 percent of the population. Black Americans, madewho constitupted 13 percent of the population and, held only 2.7 percent. Furthermore, the racial wealth gap nearly tripled after the Ccivil Rrights Eera, according to a study of athe Brandeis University. Nevertheless, this does not mean that every black American is poor, neitheor that every white American is rich.

Regarding the unequal distribution of wealth and its influence on affirmative action policies, President Obama said the following: “We have to think about affirmative action and craft it in such a way where some of our children who are advantaged aren’t getting more favorable treatment than a poor white kid who has struggled more.“ Although Obama admitted that he himself benefited from the program during his academic career, he prefers class-based affirmative action, which means that colleges should consider the social status of a student rather than his skin color. HiObama's election in 2008 had a significant influence on the public opinion concerning affirmative action policies. A study conducted by Cheryl R. Kaiser at the University of Washington found that das a resue lt of Obama's election, a larger number of people think that anyone, regardless of life circumstances, can be successful in the United States through hard work. Therefore, his election is also associated with less support for policies that address racial inequality, such as affirmative action.

Undoubtedly, affirmative action has contributed to reducing discrimination against minorities as far as colleges and employment are concerned. However, it is politically problematic because of its potential to divide the diverse ethnic groups in the fight for equality. Given the controversy that surrounds race-based affirmative action, some reformers advocate using class-b as thed obasis instead. PossiIt may bly,e that affirmative action policies do not have to be entirely ended; perhaps they just need a reorientation, whichto isbecome more appropriate to our era and thus supports the economically disadvantaged rather than specific racial groups.