Is Race a Deciding Factor for College Admissions?

As Seniors in high school all around the country are receiving letters of admission or rejection to colleges, I can't help but think about how someones "race" plays a role in the decision.

We would like to think that race has absolutely no factor when applicants are being looked at by admission offices, but unfortunately that's not the case.

According to the New York Times, some highly selective schools, like Rice University, take race into account when looking at their applicants. Chris Muñoz, vice president for enrollment at Rice since 2006, says, “From an academic standpoint, the qualifying records, the test scores, how many AP courses, they may all look alike,  that’s when we might go and say, ‘This kid has a Spanish surname. Let’s see what he wrote about.’ Right or wrong, it can make a difference.” 

How much a "difference" does it actually make? Unfortunately, it's very unclear at Rice University and many other institutions. The one thing we can look at however is the numbers--they can't lie. Although its a small margin, multiracial applicants being admitted is 23%, while whites are being admitted at 19%. Four percent can really make a difference when looking at thousands of applicants. 

Do you think college admissions should take race into a factor when looking at applicants?