<p>Hey...I was reading some posts, and one thread had a lot about an Asian Stereotype. I'm Asian (of course) and I was wondering what people considered the "Asian Stereotype." </p>
<p>This is what I've decided so far is the Asian Stereotype for College:
-Pianist or Violinist for all their lives
-2400 SAT, 240 PSAT, 3- 800s SAT IIs.
-Into science and math</p>
<p>Any input on how to escape this stereotype would be great too. </p>
<p>Basically, I feel that I've been very un-Asian in many ways, and wonder if this will put me apart, and give me a better chance:</p>
<p>-Run track and cross-country (varsity in both)
Do sports set me apart? (there are like 4 asians in my school, so I can't tell)
-Also, does the fact that Im a girl and into the sciences counteract the Asian-ness?</p>
<p>Not so much, if you include Brown as Asian. I play football and golf, and they don't really set me apart. I still haven't met anyone with a 240, and at my school all asians are into the math and sciences.</p>
<p>Yes, I count Brown as Asian. Though I think that colleges (and CCers) tend to think of Asian=Chinese, Japanese, Korean,etc. The so-called "yellows". Also, I do believe that Indians, etc. play more sports...In my school probably 1/3-1/2 of the Indians play sports, while I'm one of the only "yellows" to do so...the other being my sister.</p>
<p>I thought that lots of Asians are in track, at least this is the case in my school. If you did some other sport, that might set you apart. However, I wouldn't worry too much about being a stereotype. If you love what you do and who you are, colleges should respect you for it. Besides, someone who can successfully fit into the stereotype you described can probably get into some pretty good colleges.</p>
<p>This asian stereotype is largely fueled by Taiwanese and Koreans. Unfortunately, a large portion of the Chinese immigrants in the US are from Taiwan. Playing an instrument is actually somewhat uncommon among teens who's parents come from China at leaset from my experience. I go to a school with a large proportion of Taiwanese almost 40% (since it is considered a "good" school so all the Taiwanese in the silicon valley try to move here). Many of these asian asian kids tend to play an instrument, give large gifts to teachers before grades come out, and get tutored for SATs by MIT instructors. But I seriously think that these people should not represent all asians. I do not mean to appear racist by any means, but it is a fact that an unproportionally large proportion of such people exist among Koreans and Taiwanese. However, there are also quite a few east asians out there with their own minds who do what they actually want to do. For example, everyday I go out and bike for an hour rather than study SATs or play some sort of instrument. It may not help my college app, but it is what I like. Doing such activities, I believe, are much more beneficial to the individual in the long run since you are not blindly following the dream of your parents. You are in a position to realize what you as an individual want in life and that is most important overall. So to the OP, don't stress about "being Asian". I really don't think colleges will care if you are stereotypical or not. So what if we do not use our free time after school to do what we want rather than impress colleges? Individuality > Conformity.</p>
<p>that is so unfair. theyd pick a dumb white person over a 10x smarter asian person. no wonder america is going down the toilet. yay george bush! he's really acceleratign the process there</p>
<p>well most unfortunately i am asian as well yet i find myself at a school of 51% asians [meaning chinese, japanese, n korea] thats it! i find myself one of 10 or less asians on the football team, the only one on the baseball team. those are the "white" sports but i escape that asian stereotype as best i can. i wear my abercrombie, im 6 foot, i date white girls, hang with the "jock" crowd and a couple asians at most. sadly i dont have that 2400 but a 2200 and a 214 on psats. ive got the straight a's with highest gpa at school stereotype and the stereotype of wanting to go to a HYPS or other big name top schools. as much as i try not to be asian i cant help being the top at math n science. its really the fact that most asians are 1st generation in america and learn from their parents math and science because math is the universal language of the world. just do the things other asians arent</p>
<p>btw i dont play the violin and play the saxophone and piano [yeah] instead but mainly in the jazz form so thats pretty unasian. and sadly i am on the robotics team, science and math team etc so i guess im pretty "asian"</p>
<p>I think you're making some generalizations here that, while a product of your experience and true for your region, cannot be said of everywhere. Where I live, the Korean and Taiwanese kids are much less academic than the Chinese kids, and virtually every Chinese teen I know plays piano or violin at a pretty advanced level. I know Taiwanese and Korean kids who fit the stereotype, but there are also many, many Chinese kids who do as well. And while I, like you, cannot purport to state my observations as universal facts, I'm also fairly certain that this isn't an extreme anomaly because my friend reports the same from her school, which is a couple of states away. </p>
<p>This final note is probably going to make my entire post sound insanely defensive, but I'd like to point out that, to someone from mainland China, you sounded rather, well, racist. There was no need for such a country-specific piece that really added nothing to the discussion besides this rebuttal.</p>
<p>But anyway, to the OP, I don't think track and cross country will distinguish you by much. Track & CC are actually the only sports that many girls here will do. I have a good friend who is actually THE stereotype PLUS those two things you mentioned that you're hoping would set you apart. </p>
<p>xli-One question, are you from Taiwan?
Traditionally, learning music is uncommon since Chinese parents tend to try to save money after events like the cultural revolution and such. Taiwanese who have lived affluent lives highly stress such activities as music, SAT prep, and such. Most mainlanders and their kids tend to just pursue less costly activities such as sports. It is a bit of a cultural phenomena if you have not noticed. I've lived in Vancouver and in California and this has always been the case, but then again maybe as you have said "Korean and Taiwanese kids are much less academic than the Chinese kids, and virtually every Chinese teen I know plays piano or violin at a pretty advanced level."</p>