I attended MIT during a time of perceived reduced standards of admissions (IMO; I'm not sure it was an overt and public thing) for some under-represented populations.

I saw some good outcomes from that (friends I met there graduated and became successful who might not have gotten in otherwise), but I also some people come in un or under prepared and wash out, which in my mind is undoubtedly a worse outcome for them than "merely" not being accepted, attending another school and succeeding there.