That may be, but the text I gave refers to how I would answer a query like this, not a college and its fundamental assessment of an applicant.
Surely, we are not saying that, all things being equal (which, of course, is the rub), a Vietnamese-descended student is going to get into Top College X, and a Chinese-descended student won’t?
I’ll leave that for the current or former AOs to answer.
This is maybe not a great example because a large number of American Vietnamese descended from those who fled in the wake of the Vietnam war are 1) ethnically Chinese 2) have families in Vietnam who were culturally Chinese 3) fled Vietnam as were targeted by non-Chinese Vietnamese.
A better example might be Hmong Americans and Chinese Americans.
This is the fundamental point of this thread. Merely because someone is “Asian” is meaningless.
There is a counter point (can’t remember where I read it) is that it would be meaningful if someone took the time to understand the many different flavors of Asian.
Doubt that happens with the 2 minute read or 5 minute read.
But the question still stands - does it make a difference to college admissions? You are saying (i think) that it couldn’t because the “Asian” category is too broad and surely intelligent admissions people would know that. I don’t think that is sufficient to allay the fear of Asian candidates.
The only way to allay that fear is to 1) allow candidates to be identified by number only no names and 2) not check the box. Of course, if you are a president of Asian American student council, that blows it.
@nyc10023 @mynameiswhatever
Which brings me back to my question posed up thread… do AOs see the “different flavors of Asian” in an app? And if so, would it matter?
To both you and @nyc10023, I TRULY have no idea.
I am hoping that the 2-5 minute read nyc refers to is the initial read on grades and scores. I really don’t know.
A very discerning AO would.
Someone here (?) said that was the total eyeball time on supps and essays.
There is NO DOUBT that is what I am saying. Anyone (AO or not) that thinks Bangladesh is the same as Japan is, well, how I can I politely say it…
Sorry, I can’t!
How? Is there a specific field that asks that information? Or should an applicant “know” to include it in an essay or the additional information section… “as a Hmong American”…?
I’m not Hmong American - I wouldn’t begin to know how to weave that in.
Then how would a “discerning AO” see that? And this is all supposing that the distinction would make a difference in admission otherwise why worry about it?
Not my kid. As I said, nothing on her app (except the check mark she chose to make) indicated she was Asian. Her name is Irish, she’s a US citizen, her activities were pretty main stream, her sport is lacrosse. She graduated from a high school that is only 5% minority, and most of those were Hispanic.
There was a time when everyone was trying to be 100% WASP, even if some minority race had sneaked into the bloodline. Now applicants are going the other way and looking for any reason at all to check a box that helps them stand out.
Oh, i gotcha now. I was being facetious. What I meant was this - to whatever (negative) extent AOs consider race, I doubt they are discerning. So I do think (unless one weaves a unique narrative) that East Asian candidates are most likely lumped in with all SE Asian candidates with similar last names. Huynh/Hwang do have the same ancestral meaning.
I don’t think that putting “Asian” in Chance me posts gives someone trying to ascertain their chances any more info than geography/HS.
Unless someone gets a complete data dump of admission files across the country and finds a measurable bias.
I’m skeptical about that thread. I have a feeling he is trying to drum up business.
This is an interesting thread. This whole issue is one that drives me absolutely bonkers. As the OP points out, using the term “Asian” to refer to this vast group of people - Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese, Japanese, Filipinos, Mongolians, etc., etc. - makes no sense at all and I would hate to think that people who are ethnically outside the “Asian” group could somehow think it does. (I am not “Asian” but everyone else in my immediate family is.) Leaving aside the question how AOs look at this issue, I always find it very sad when I see threads posted by “Asian” kids who assume they are going to have a tougher time than others just because they are “Asian” (there are a lot of these threads) and then, even sadder, when CC members provide responses that buy into that that assumption. I think every kid, regardless of ethnicity, should be encouraged to try and figure out what they are looking for from a fit perspective and then apply to a range of schools that fit their needs and budgets. And then they need to present themselves to those schools in all their individual glory.
Simply excellent! Thank you.
I am not sure that anyone can state the issue better than you did in this post.
Thank you.