<p>The whole “only Asian parents care about sending their kids to the Ivies” is stupid and inaccurate.</p>
<p>Jews make up over 20% of the Ivy League student body (as high as 30% at some schools like Penn and Yale) despite making up about 1.5% of the college age population. In contrast, Asian-Americans make up 14% of the Ivy student body (actually less since a good no. are foreign students from Asia) while making up more than 5% of the college age pop.</p>
<p>Per capita, the presence of Jews at the Ivies WAY outnumbers that of Asian-Americans.</p>
<p>In addition, who do you think are the parents waiting in line overnight in NYC in order to get their children into the “most prestigious” kindergartens, never-mind the prep schools which are the known to be feeders into the Ivies? </p>
<p>Could it be WASPs (like the Bushes and Gores – except for the fact that the Bushes and Gores don’t have to wait in line or even be academically qualified to gain admittance)?</p>
<p>HaHa I was laughing at this thread while reading it.
I'm Asian, and I'm not smart as other Asian kids. I'm considenred "quite smart" among white kids though, but YES,,, I guess I'm disfunctional as Asian.</p>
<p>I am absolutely offended by what you have said.
Yes, I am Asian, and yes, I am aiming for the Ivies, but I'm sure there are PLENTY of non-Asians who are just as ambitious. The same can be said for Asians and any other ethnicity.
i'm also sure there are plenty of Asians who would be just as happy going to a state school, there's no relationship between being Asian and aiming high.</p>
<p>Should we castigate black immigrant parents from Africa and the Caribbean for wanting their kids to go the Ivies (and other top schools) as well?</p>
<p>Chinese are taught in China that prestige + academics are more important. In China, they have no problem having their families killed or arrested so they can get a little more money or prestige, which is why Chinese Immigrants here are so competitive - they see life here as a pure power struggle and nothing more - to them winning is money + prestige, and losing is not becoming rich and powerful.</p>
<p>This refers mainy to the adultish immigrants though - the kids usually aren't brainwashed into the "wealth is glorious" (Deng Xiaoping) philosophy yet.</p>
<p>Observing many fellow asian pepes, I've just gotten the sense that they want their kids to become financially successful, not wealth-obsessed pennypinchers</p>
<p>I'd worry if those Asians from Tibet want to go to Ivies, I know that would be the day when I know something is seriously wrong with this world.;)</p>
<p>I'm Asian, and I did research many of the colleges you were trying for, but ended up ruling out most privates because of cost and their religious affiliation (even if the affiliation is in name only), I'm not good enough for any Ivies + they're expensive (my family is probably too rich for good aid and too poor/cheap to pay for them anyways), and basically, I ended up applying to only the UCs (am going to UCLA in the fall).</p>
<p>For me, prestige (and by prestige, I mean like top 50-ish schools, so not actually THAT prestigious by CC standards) picks the group of schools from which I choose and location and cost end up picking the actual school, there's no way I'd end up picking a school solely because of it's rank, and I doubt that really that many people (Asian or otherwise) do. Bleh, the () keys probably hate me for abuse now.</p>
<p>I still maintain that the American Whites are most obsessive about Ivies and not Asians.</p>
<p>In support I will provide the following reasoning:
1. Ivies exist much before the Asian started getting to these colleges at large number (in the last 6 - 8 years).
2. The whole notion, of the Ivies and the select few that attend it, was created by American White.
3. If you go around all the private prep schools there are more American White that attend these school than anyone else and the only obsession of the students there is to get into Ivies.</p>
<p>So please get over the Asian bash, there are some Asians that try to cover them selves under this to escape the pressure by blaming their parent are the only one pushing in this society while the culture was long been the same among the elite American White. Asian might be bringing it closer to the mainstream.</p>
<p>That doesn't really demonstrate much other than the fact that Ivies are, by design, elite white institutions. What evidence does it provide that Asians are less interested in Ivies?</p>
<p>^^^: I'm in no way saying or conveying that Asian are any less interested but trying to refute the notion that Asians are the only one obsessive about Ivies.</p>
<p>The point instead is the American white were the most obsessive and Asian are just joining in.</p>
<p>Well that's somewhat of a no-brainer. Of course it was whites, mostly because whites were practically the only group going to Ivies prior to large-scale Asian immigration.</p>
<p>What gets interesting, however, is whether or not whites today are, on average, less or more concerned with their children attending Ivies or Ivy-equivalents.</p>
<p>Then my take is American Whites are still the most obsessive group towards Ivies followed by Asians. The obsession is more in the elite circle as it is attributed as not only success for the children but also of the parent.</p>
<p>Since elite population is mostly not accessible to average Joe, the feeling never caused issue with the majority in America. But with the arrival of immigrant elite, the situation changed. The immigrant elite were not in a condition to remain aloof from the majority as their children end up attending public schools and they have to live with the average middle class here. But their attitude towards the Ivies didn't change. Now the issue is that an average student at public school sees these Asian kids obsessed with Ivies as they have never been exposed to American white elite as they don't attend such schools, so the question of Asian being obsessive came up.</p>
<p>But in the end it is obsession of the elite whether White or Asian or any other ethnicity.</p>
<p>But I don't know that it's an "obsession" with elite whites. It's more of an expectation. Let's face it, if you have legacy at a top private, you're in pretty good shape to begin with. Elite whites, especially the "well-rounded athletic types," don't obsess about getting into top universities. They expect to get into top universities.</p>
<p>The Asian community, in my experience, comes from countries with much more meritocratic takes on admission to schools. Japan and Korea still maintain more or less Confucian-style exam systems that determine where you go to school. People rise and fall by the quality of their test scores. Take them to the US, and they think that that's how it works in the US as well. So they tend to push their children to excel academically, without seeing that it's not about academics alone, but character traits as well. </p>
<p>Asians tend to see top schools as the key to success. Elite Whites tend to see them as just another feature of growing up. You are a Bush, so you go to Yale. And so on.</p>
<p>Wasn't it only like 60 years ago that the Ivies were exclusively white male protestants? I have a friend in his 70s that was one of the first Jews admitted to Yale. So at the time the Ivies weren't prestigous as much as they were exclusive. And most people in America were not obsessed with getting into an Ivy as it was pretty much verboten for all but the wealthy elite.</p>
<p>At my daughter's school it was pretty much equally split between obsessed whites and asians when it came to Ivies. And considering the school has probably twice as many white students as asians, that would say the obsessiveness at this particular school leaned slightly toward the asians. Then again, less than 10% of the class even seriously applied to any Ivy. And I'm not even sure I would catagorize them as obsessed.</p>
<p>"Asians tend to see top schools as the key to success. Elite Whites tend to see them as just another feature of growing up. You are a Bush, so you go to Yale. And so on."</p>
<p>That is the point the American majority accept the Ameircan White Elite and recognize that If you are a Bush, so you go to Yale. But there are many Asian Elite that don't get the same recognition instead they get "How Come!" you want to go to Yale.</p>
<p>That is why it looks to you Asian are obsessive while you accept that Bushes/Clinton/Kerry's have the right or privilage to go.</p>
<p>You need to get the fact that many Asian are Bush/Clinton/Kerry and think their children have the right to Yale too.</p>
<p>
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It is ridiculously wrong to say that only Asian students or parent are obsess with Ivies as if that would have been the case then Ivies would have had similar representation of Asians as UCs. The obsession is most in Whites about the Ivies.
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<p>Uh, wouldn't the fact that affirmative action is practiced in the Ivies and not (by law) in the UC's have something to do with it?</p>
<p>You still aren't really getting to the point of whether the Asian population has a more "obsessive" attitude toward top schools. I never said that I "accept" anything. Please don't put words in my mouth. </p>
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You need to get the fact that many Asian are Bush/Clinton/Kerry and think their children have the right to Yale too.
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<p>Nobody, not even privileged whites, has a "right" to go to Yale.</p>