<p>I once read that a very qualified Asian American applied to more than half of the ivies and got rejected to all of them because he was an Asian who applied for financial aid. I also talked to my guidance counselor and she said if I were to apply for Rice I'd have a tougher time getting in just because I'm asian (filipino). Not only that, but I'll need financial aid for sure.</p>
<p>So my real question is: is being a not-so-rich Asian gonna hurt my chances?</p>
<p>Yes. ORM.</p>
<p>But listen, don’t worry about these things. I mean, how does knowing that being Asian would/would not hurt your chances help you in any way? As long as you apply to a good range of schools, including “safeties” that you like, you should be fine. Might even get into a really top college.</p>
<p>thanks, but I just don’t like the thought of me being at a disadvantage before I even applied.</p>
<p>Yes, of course it hurts. The colleges group in the interest of diversity by race/religion. In other words, superficial diversity is how things are done now. There is an exception though; if you have Pacific Islander heritage. Yes, for example, if your mom was a citizen of thailand or from say, a wealthy family in Singapore.</p>
<p>so you’re reasoning that this person was rejected was because they’re asian? that’s not exactly Ivy-calibre logic, my friend…</p>
<p>Being rejected to many Ivies is a very, very common phenomenon among applicants to top-tier schools. </p>
<p>There is a nuanced difference between someone being at an advantage because of their background and you being disadvantaged because of your background. Moreover, if you look at the racial breakdown of the schools you’re looking at, I’m positive you’ll find more than a trivial proportion of Asian students.</p>
<p>MODERATOR NOTE: Questions and comments concerning AA belong on the Race FAQ sticky thread at the top of this forum.</p>