My son is Asian American, will his chances reduced based on article below ? Why Harvard is discriminating Asian American ?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/harvard-faces-admissions-bias-complaint-145515949.html
Oh my. This topic got a lot of discussion in the fall. Here is one of the longer threads: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1708291-harvard-you-have-been-served-p1.html
Don’t be surprised if this thread gets closed very quickly.
My own take:
The use of holistic admissions makes it difficult if not impossible to document whether the alleged discrimination actually takes place.
Discrimination cases in the past have focused on situations where minorities (typically African-Americans) have been admitted a rates far below their representation in the overall population. The case of Asian American is complicated by the fact that admission rates far exceed the group’s representation in the overall population. I don’t mention this as an excuse for discrimination (if it happens); just that it makes the situation more difficult to analyze.
Harvard has at least some legitimate interest in maintaining its historic identity. The extent to which that identity would be changed by a larger Asian-American population is unclear. The extent to which Harvard’s interest outweighs the interest of Asian-American applicants is unclear.
Comparisons to actual discrimination against Jews in the early 20th century are not fruitful. The people responsible for that are all dead. Harvard has seen many sweeping changes in the years since then that would make much of the university unrecognizable to former students. E.g., the assimilation of Radcliffe, need-blind admissions, and need-based financial aid.
@WasatchWriter: Thanks. Also it is well know fact that most top colleges discount Asian American SAT scores against other races. This is nothing but pure discrimination. It does not explain of one working very hard and one not doing enough to achieve certain score. It is almost saying because i am of this race I do not want to work hard because university like Harvard are helping them vs others have to work two time harder to stay in line.
What you are calling a well-known fact is what complaints like this are attempting to prove. Assuming it to be true or false on College Confidential leads to 40-page discussions that arrive nowhere and eventually get shut down.
Asian Americans attend the top schools at an inordinate percentage. However the top schools want truly unique individuals. Is that your son? When I speak with him as a 17 year old, will he be able to look me in the eye and easily convince me and the adults in his life that he’s truly one of the most remarkable young men at his school? And I don’t mean simply academics and a suite of ECs. The Asians and non-Asians alike, whom I’ve met who’ve rec’d offers from schools like Harvard are like this as were my classmates when I was at one of those colleges.
I’ll be blunt, many of my fellow Asian families have no idea of what I’m talking about. The applicant’s character matters greatly. I think Asian American parents do well to get their kids the best test prep and academic preparation but don’t do much to allow them to shine or take risks or to truly learn to soak up the world. Many would consider this frivolous. That’s too bad.
@T26E4: What you are saying “I’ll be blunt, many of my fellow Asian families have no idea of what I’m talking about. The applicant’s character matters greatly. I think Asian American parents do well to get their kids the best test prep and academic preparation but don’t do much to allow them to shine or take risks or to truly learn to soak up the world. Many would consider this frivolous. That’s too bad.”
It seems you are judging everyone based on one or two example or may be some Asian Parent who do not have clear English pronunciation. It does not make their kids to be same or any stereotype. What we are talking about is discrimination case and your comment appear to be judging on the same level. In fact Asian Parents try every possible thing for their kids to shine where ever it is possible.
yes they are greatly reduced. It’s a fact of life.
See the duke study ( a comparable university) where asian americans had the highest test scores, HS gpa, college gpa, harder majors, higher retention rate in harder majors, less wealthy than whites, and better rated ECs and personality traits. There is essentially a quota.
@theanaconda: Agreed what you said but then why not same case for similar quota for sports ? Why Asian American do not get priority on sports against others ? Why not discount same for sports ? Quota against certain Gender is pure discrimination unless it is publicly announced with right justification.
It is very unfair, but what can you do to change it? There a lot of injustices in life, and even as an asian, I feel that this is one of the more minor ones.
“It is very unfair, but what can you do to change it?” SPEAK UP where ever you can. It makes big difference. You will see result.
@Lordofthering: As a newbie poster to CC, you may not realize that besides being an alumni interview for one of Harvard’s peer school’s, T26E4 is also Asian. So his comments are based on observations of his own community and culture and those Asian students that he has interviewed.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
There really is nothing new that can be said. You’ve been directed to some older threads that have a lot of information. Closing.