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<p>Good point</p>
<p>I’d like to give a bit of a straight answer, but not with respect to the political issues. What I noticed in the OP’s post was that his son is “car fixin’, outdoor loving, no nonsense.” I suspect that some adcoms will react negatively to an application that suggests anti-intellectualism. So, I would suggest that for many schools, if you are asked what you will bring to the campus, don’t say “well, the school needs at least one NASCAR-lovin’ good ol’ boy who loves to hunt.” This may be fine lots of places, of course. Teenagers may need to be counselled not to show disdain for differing ideas and experiences in their essays–that’s true for kids at all points on any spectrum of views you can name.</p>
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<p>A lot of assumptions are being made in this post. First, that 18-year-olds who love cars, the outdoors and hunting are by definition non-intellectual or disdain intellectuals. Also, that NASCAR fans and hunters are “good-ol’ boys,” which connotes small-mindedness. And your stated presumption that such students, by describing themselves, are ergo “showing disdain for differing ideas and experiences” - huh?</p>
<p>Your post reads like the presumptive admissions bias raised by the OP.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if you read it that way, Bay, but I do think that a lot of adcoms would look askance at a person who portrays himself that way. Perhaps I was reading too much into the OP’s statement that his son is “no nonsense.” I continue to believe that focusing essays on things like hunting and NASCAR will not be helpful in obtaining admission to many colleges, especially in the Northeast. In some places it may be neutral, or even help.</p>
<p>Some of the most racist people I’ve met are African American and Asian. As an African American man from NYC, I can tell you first-hand that African Americans say some of the most horrific things about people of other races. I spent time in Asia and have never felt more uncomfortable as a black man. In the US, it’s safe to assume that bigotry is something only whites feel, but that is a fiction. All races are bigoted. We Americans just give a pass to be racist to all those who are not white.</p>
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<p>Why do you think Northeast colleges would look poorly on applicants who write about these subjects?</p>
<p>Because I think the adcoms will harbor unflattering stereotypes associated with these pursuits–especially hunting. Whether they should or not is an entirely different question.</p>
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<p>What do you mean?</p>
<p>Let’s say a student applies to Harvard or Yale with a GPA and SAT scores in the upper ranges, excellent leadership experience, community service, work experience and teacher/counselor recs (like probably nearly every realistic Harvard applicant), and in his beautifully written essays he relates about his love for NASCAR and hunting.</p>
<p>What unflattering stereotypes will the Harvard and Yale adcoms associate with him?</p>
<p>I think they will think he is a hick who wouldn’t fit in at Harvard. They will also think that he might be violent, since he likes guns.</p>
<p>If he’s a white male from the South, they may be all too ready to think this way even if he doesn’t talk about NASCAR or hunting.</p>
<p>Id have to second Hunt. You would not fit into Harvard if you liked NASCAR. Or Boston for that matter. The perception of the south is fairly negative.</p>
<p>Actually, a person who liked NASCAR might quite easily fit into Harvard, as long as that’s not *all *he likes. I’m just talking about the stereotypes that are likely to be held by the adcoms. I think people in the South may not quite get the horror some people in the Northeast have toward guns (as an example). In fact, a kid from the South who likes to hunt is not very likely to shoot anybody.</p>
<p>that is true. but the preconceived notion would be very negative</p>
<p>Do you think it would be different at Rice?</p>
<p>supporters of Sarah Palin are definitely the minority and generally are looked upon with some level of surprise,disdain and ***-ness for lack of a better word.</p>
<p>Rice is fairly liberal in that respect. Other aspects that would set you aside in Harvard, such as driving a pickup truck, owning guns or wearing cowboy hats is very accepted and prevalent in some ways</p>
<p>Rice is politically liberal but socially more moderate</p>
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<p>You can’t draw just a simplistic equivalence for the different kinds of racism around the world.</p>
<p>In America alone, you have to be insightful enough to distinguish between active racism and defensive racism. Active racism can be defined as feelings of superiority over another race, while defensive racism can be defined as feelings of bitterness and resentment due to harms and perceived harms inflicted upon one by another race. That’s an important difference.</p>
<p>Also, in the case of your experience in Asia, you have to take into account the fact that most countries in Asia have had very little direct experience with blacks. Most of their “knowledge” of blacks come from Western media, or in the case of some countries like South Korea or Vietnam, from American GIs. Neither of those forms of exposure are bound to be very flattering of blacks. </p>
<p>Americans have had a relatively long time to deal with race, unlike many parts of the world. Therefore, it’s not fair to claim that it’s okay for an American to be as ignorant of his black/white/whatever neighbour just because some people in more homogeneous parts of the world exhibit xenophobic beliefs.</p>
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<p>How can we have a debate about supposed admissions bias against conservatives when there seem to be different ideas of what a conservative is?</p>
<p>Without a rigorous definition of what a conservative is in this case, this discussion is meaningless as we could all be on different tracks.</p>
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This is not the debating forum, Chris. This is the admissions advice forum. Note Hunt’s posts. The poster was asking about a specific concern. You can certainly bring the topic for debate in the politics forum, but in this forum it’s about helping the OP’s son preare the best application. Do you see the difference?</p>
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<p>Those are very ignorant stereotypes. Ironic that the reputably most educated among us would hold such limited views of people who are “not like them.” I’m not sure I even believe it.</p>
<p>Bay, I agree they are ignorant stereotypes, but I also think it’s prudent to be aware of them.</p>
<p>Bay- I agree 100%- this thread is eye-opening.</p>