This book deals with the lawsuit Marco De Funis filed against the University of Washington which brought about the first court decision bearing on the issue of the legality of preferential admission of minority students to American universities. Background of the problem of reverse discrimination is given in a historical review of the events that led De Funis to appeal to the courts. It is shown that factors other than paper records and test scores in college admissions are neither recent in origin nor limited to disadvantaged minority students. The background nature, and extent of nonracial departures from rank ordering in the admissions process is explored in order to understand the De Funis case. Recent trends and current opportunities for minority students in American higher education, with special attention to legal education is also examined in the book. This analysis sets the stage for a consideration of the legal and constitutional factors impinging upon the admissions process. After stating the case in behalf of preferential admissions and discussing its relationship to the constitution, various nonracial alternatives such as nondiscrimination, the abolition of standardized tests, open admissions, and expansion of junior colleges and black colleges are studied. All of these alternatives are found to be ineffective. A discussion of the case against preferential admissions indicates that the education of preferentially admitted students is likely to be expensive in both tangible and intangible terms. Generally, it is argued that special admissions procedures are justified to remedy the extreme under-representation of black, Spanish-speaking, and other minority students in higher education. (Author/AM)