(CNN) A group that claims Harvard puts quotas on Asian-American applicants contends the university scores them higher than students of other races on academics and extracurricular activities but ranks them lowest in a "personal" category covering such traits as likability and "attractive to be with."

In a federal court filing Friday in Boston, lawyers for the student group also asserted that while Harvard has a bias against Asian-Americans, it shows a disproportionate preference for black and Hispanic applicants.

"What Harvard will not admit," Students for Fair Admissions said, "is that race is not only an important factor, it is the dominant consideration in admitting Hispanics and African-Americans. An Asian-American applicant with 25% chance of admission, for example, would have a 35% chance if he were white, 75% if he were Hispanic, and 95% chance if he were African-American."

Harvard counters that the statistical analyses on which the challengers rely are flawed in multiple ways and say that the percentage of Asian American students has gone up over the past decade.

Asian-American students now make up nearly 23% of admitted students. African-Americans constitute 15%, Latinos 12.2%. A category of all others, mainly white students, is 50%.

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