The idea is to take race into consideration, preferably alongside a variety of other attributes, in an intersectional manner when deciding between highly-qualified candidates. In my opinion, affirmative action doesn't go FAR ENOUGH...it should have been taking into account factors such as religion, disability, sexual orientation, etc.

Where programs titling themselves as "affirmative action" tend to go wrong is when they use sterile "points systems" (or similar methods) to reduce applicants to color swatches. This was somewhat addressed in the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling...but, obviously, some college admissions folks will abuse their power by taking the lazy route of broadly profiling applicants rather than intricately vetting the applications themselves. This doesn't happen all of the time, of course -- but the fact that it does happen is a flaw inherent within the nebulous application of affirmative action to which the current SCOTUS has just "overcorrected."