<p>Piggy-backing on that, I read some place (probably here on CC) that if you are Asian you are better off if you can get your reccommdations to focus on how creative, spunky, social, and fun you are to have around, it is better than if they use the words “diligent” or “hard working” to describe you. I guess that there is the stereotype. Diligent and hardworking aren’t stand-out qualities. EVERYONE applying to these schools is diligent and hardworking.</p>
<p>That said, when we toured Berkeley, Harvard, and Wellesley, more than 1/2–maybe 3/4-- of our tour groups were Asian. Asians represented far more than any other race. So there’s that. I’m not sure what it means, beyond, Asians want to go to these kinds of schools. If you wanted to branch out, being Asian might then become an advantage. Is it possible to just simply not declare race at all (“prefer not to answer”)?</p>