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Right, I agree…Whether or not he’s right about Asians having it tougher, the line about not being “MIT material” was inaccurate and uncalled for.</p>
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<p>Well, I remember reading that the pool of Asian applicants who are accepted to elite universities tend to have average SAT scores around 100-200 points higher than the average scores of the group of accepted white students. Or, to extrapolate, a student needs to score higher if s/he is Asian and in the high-scoring Asian applicant pool. It may not apply to MIT, or I may be misremembering. Either way, it doesn’t really matter - my point was that being Asian is certainly not an admission advantage any more than being white is.</p>
<p>^I’m not sure what universities were included in the Espenshade study, which was the study to which you are referring. It includes Princeton at least, which is where Espenshade is a professor. I don’t know how they would get access to such data from other universities, because they likely wouldn’t give that up unless forced. However, it’s unclear, as some articles about Espenshade’s study make it look like data from several universities were used.</p>
<p>The Asian percentage of the class has shrunk over the years. It used to be roughly one-third; now it is in the high 20’s. However, I don’t know whether the white percentage of the class has also shrunk. The URM percentage has increased over time, so maybe the white and Asian applicants are affected equally.</p>
<p>i still really believe that you shouldn’t do things just “to be different” or “to stand out” - especially dont do things you arent passionate about just to “look good”. asian or not.
do things you love. If it’s piano, so be it. if it’s math, so be it. take these passions to the max - i think you mentioned one of your goals was to go perform at Carnegie since someone else did. do it because YOU want to, not because they did and were successful.</p>
<p>build your own goals about piano and math. take them far, and develop these passions instead of wasting your time on what makes you stand out. because, i’ve found that people who develop their passions fully ARE able to stand out from those who do it just as a check box. this will show in your essays and your math/piano centered ECs. so, while i do agree that it is more competitive for asians to get into college, you stand out not necessarily by doing more uncommon things (like playing guitar) but more by developing the things you love in a way that makes you happy. start a math club. that sounds like something you’re genuinely interested in. compete in the USAMO. bring home a medal. :)</p>
<p>I do have an opinion on the matter. Now if you guys take it, that is up to you, but I believe it is worth reading. </p>
<p>The way I see it, people are emphasizing scores to much, grades to much, being different to much. Now who you are isn’t a score, or a grade, and doing something to be different, is all predicated on what society suggests is normal. You are letting things that either don’t matter, or are not you predicate who you are. In that sense, you are trying to contort yourself to become what you believe a school wants. Unless your single goal in life is to go to said college, I don’t believe that is a good approach. I believe that you should just be you. Don’t change who you are because you believe it will make you seem better to others. So if you really don’t like to push yourself to your potential. Then be honest and say that irrespective of how you believe others will see you because of that. This will ensure that you won’t be miserable. For example, say you forced yourself to seem enthusiastic, and forced yourself to become what you believe MIT wants. You got in. Then so what? You are going to be miserable, because you are now paired with people who are like the person you faked to be. You will feel like you hated every second of your time you spend at MIT, because your real personality doesn’t fit it. In conclusion, I believe that you should ignore what colleges are looking for, ignore your parents if they are telling you to become someone you are not, and do things and write about things that make you you. If you do so, no matter what test scores, or grades, or other things that most people believe define you here on CC, you will end up in the place where you are the happiest. The place you are the happiest is a thousand times better than going to a top school if they aren’t the same. If I wanted to be a football player, I don’t believe doing engineering at Caltech would be a good way to go, despite the fact that Caltech is a great school. (I use Caltech because Caltech doesn’t have a football team) If you are a prototypical Asian student, then show you are a "prototypical "Asian student. Then you will be surrounded by “prototypical” Asian students, and you will be right where you belong. </p>
<p>Also what college you go to isn’t nearly as important as what you do at those colleges.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, for your advice and opinions.</p>