<p>part of the idea behind Chinese parents' belief that an Ivy is crucial is the confuscian ideal of connections. Their whole belief system is based on knowing the right people to advocate for you. While it's prbly a stretch to attribute it all to that one thing, that plays a significant part. Especially when you hear about kids with alumni relatives get in. If that's not "who you know", nothing is.</p>
<p>Can you please not generalize your Asian friends with all Asians? As your thread title is Asians and College Prestige and you're talking about "Asian people, like my friend"--as with any race, not all Asians are the same, and the majority of Asians are not like that. In our willingness to perpetuate stereotypes these people may stand out, but really they are NOT a representative sample of what Asians are like.</p>
<p>And repliers too, keep in mind that maybe not all Chinese parents have a "belief that an Ivy is crucial to the confuscian ideal of connections"--maybe only a few do. Maybe most of them understand Confucian thought, but don't take it so simplistically. Maybe some of them emphasize education at top colleges for education's sake, and have ignored less prestigious colleges only because they were unaware that they existed, or that they offer the quality of education that they offer. </p>
<p>I'm sick of people generalizing the whole Asian race based on a few extreme outliers.</p>
<p>It's easy to be racist against Asians because we can be so racist against ourselves. Witness the threads above. Oh, I know you're not saying "all Asians" are so and so, but you *are *saying "most Asians..." Most Asians want to go to Ivies. Most Asians are brainwashed and selfish. Of course, you hold yourself to be in the minority that is not this way. Well, surprise, you're not as special as you think.</p>
<p>Grr, that got me a bit riled up. I'm better now :-)</p>
<p>i really wish I wasn't Asian...it sounds bad to say but i wish i was white or hispanic or basically anyone else because asians are pushed way too hard and have high expectations from others. i want to be normal, but i cant.</p>
<p>I am Asian and am proud of it!! Going to Umich !!!! (Parents wanted Berkeley) </p>
<p>Next target : Harvard Business, Wharton, Sloan :)</p>
<p>It's true. I'm Korean-American, and my family is prestige-hungry. </p>
<p>When it came down to Brown or Georgetown, I had family call me and say things like, "If you can't decide, just make us happy and got to Brown!" or "Ivy League blahblahblahblah Ivy League!!" It got annoying. But I wound up choosing Brown, even though Gtown was better for language and linguistics, because I felt A LOT more comfortable at Brown (in every possible aspect). But when I tell people, I can't help but feel that they're thinking, "Of course, he, an Asian, would choose Ivy over anything else."</p>
<p>Moral? I hate that Asians are like this. I know other people are like this, but why does it seem so prominent with Asians? x.x</p>
<p>
[quote]
...but why does it seem so prominent with Asians?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Why does a non-Asian student attend an Ivy League? "Fit."</p>
<p>Why does an Asian student attend an Ivy League? "Prestige whore."</p>
<p>Until we can change this mindset, it will always seem so prominent with Asians.</p>
<p>I'm asian and i dont care about the college name, but my parents do. they are going to kick me out of the house and and pay for college if I dont get into Ivies. That's the kind of pressure we are under.</p>
<p>omg i hate those people....reallly...i DO want to scream and punch them</p>
<p>except that i am kinda one :) but it's always fun to be a hypocrite!!</p>
<p>Well, it's hard not to when your parents and everyone else expect that from you. Education weighs a lot in Asian culture, even more than wealth. A wealthy guy does not neccesarily receives the respect that a scholar receives. Think of it as the better the college you go to the richer you are (in a non-materialistic sense). If you think of it in that term than it is logical that most Asians want to attend top colleges.</p>
<p>sǐ dú</p>
<p>The Asian mentality, literally "dead studying."
Come home from school, no television, no video games. Do your homework until this time, eat dinner, half-an-hour break to read and rest, then study until bedtime. Rinse, repeat. Forget critical thinking. Screw articulate speaking. Rational thought and open-mindedness? Unnecessary. A genuine love of learning for learning's sake? Rarely. Yet, the numbers speak for themselves: 2400, 4.0+, piano/violin, math/science awards. Ivy League school.</p>
<p>When I attend family gatherings, I sit around a table full of Harvard graduates. They are all doctors and they all drive Benzes. My great uncle never hesitates to brag about his children's accomplishments, the gestapo-esque training regimen he put them through, what's their latest object of lavish spending. When I told him that I would be applying to Princeton on one occasion, he looked at me as if I were stark raving mad.</p>
<p>Prestige and honor are everything, and shame is real.</p>
<p>Thank goodness my parents never pressured me to study or learn instruments. Everything I've achieved, I'm proud to have worked hard of my own volition to earn. I enjoy learning, and I have a sharp mind and a keen conscience, due to my Jesuit background. My parents have always trusted me to be a responsible and mature person, they have respected my independence, they want me to be happy, and they are proud of me.</p>
<p>I hope I don't get spit on at the next reunion, when I announce that I'll be enrolling at Amherst.</p>
<p>Good for you KWU, we could use more people like you in the world.</p>
<p>I chose Wharton over the typical "must go to from the mindset of an asian parent" universities :p</p>
<p>Accepted:Yale Likely Letter/Princeton/Wharton/Stanford/MIT/Columbia/Brown/NYU Stern
Waitlisted:Harvard
Rejected: Nowhere</p>
<p>Deposit Given To:Wharton :D</p>
<p>100% Wharton even if I get off the waitlist and into the "coveted" Harvard lol!!!!! [@#@! my Harvard Regional Head of Admissions :D]~[So Polite :D] lol!!!!!!!</p>
<p>Personally, I admire the drive and foresight that my Asian peers (I'm a white dude) have. A lot of kids in my classes don't really have a grip on the whole college application process, nor do they have much of an understanding of what they want to accomplish in life. But I can always count on a few of my Chinese and Indian friends to have it all figured out. I wouldn't say that the Asians I know are 'obsessed' with prestige--granted they have high hopes--but even if they were, I think that's superior to a complete indifference to prestige in higher education. Asians have the highest average income in the United States because of this commitment to excellence and preparation for the future that their cultural values seem to breed. Plus, this is CollegeConfidential--I think we can all agree that there's nothing that wrong with prestige-mongering--it does matter A LOT in some cases (see: investment bank recruiting).</p>
<p>So how important is undergrad prestige for dentistry?</p>
<p>hey Eli, thanks man. Finally someone who understands.</p>
<p>i hate the whole prestige game asian relatives play. </p>
<p>it's my life. i just want to find the best fit for me without them breathing down my neck about Ivies and US News Rankings.</p>
<p>I know! My family forced me to apply to at least one Ivy..but truth be told, I'm smart but not THAT smart. It's one thing when you're really intelligent and choose not to do Ivies. It's another game when your an average Asian student but no one wants to see that...especially when your cousins all went to Columbia and UPenn. On the whole, though, because I always had the support of my parents (who are the only two people who matter to me anyway) I didn't care much for anyone else. I appreciate their concern and understand they want the best things for me. But overlooking who I am, really, isn't fair. Now it's so embarrassing having to tell people outside that I had applied to a few Ivies when clearly, I don't even deserve to go to one.</p>