<p>Hey guys, so my dad had this theory that kinda got me thinking. I'm an asian american (Indian) who is fluent in Hindi and also reading/writing sanskrit (Hindi). A majority of my other asian friends (not just Indian, but Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.) are also bilingual and can read/write their respective languages. My dad said that while affirmative action puts asian applicants at a major disadvantage, the extra language(s) they speak can at least partially make up for that, because colleges see additional languages as major "application candy". Does this claim have any merit? Obviously since I'm in this position I want to think optimistically and believe it, but I'd like to hear some other opinions as well.</p>
<p>Great discussion guys! Keep it going</p>
<p>I don’t really think so. Colleges just look at the numbers. URM obviously makes your case better. ORM makes it worse. Colleges have enough students who can speak languages from Asia. An average private has about 16 percent Asian American, while Asian Americans make up only about 4 percent of the general U.S. population. URMs such as hispanics are consistently underrepresented, as the acronym suggests. In my opinion, students should be accepted on two factors: merit and the family’s socioeconomic position, not their race. There is a lot of correlation between race and the ability of the student to succeed, but it is not a direct causation. </p>
<p>It won’t impact you unless you did something with it, like write an essay on your identity and why it matters to you. </p>
<p>I’d file it under “Doesn’t hurt”. but if a majority of a particular demographic has a particular skill or attribute I would imagine it stops being unique trait that sets an applicant apart, no?</p>
<p>Yeah. I have to agree with everybody else. Honestly, most Indians (and Asians for that matter) know how to speak another language (me included). Having said this, speaking another language is great after college, but so many colleges see that Asians being bilingual so it’s not much of a hook. You can try to make it a hook like agreat said, but it is not “application candy”. </p>
<p>thanks for the blunt truth guys. ahh being this race is pretty discouraging when it comes to admissions </p>