<p>Well, being Asian-American is one thing, being a resident Asian is another. I had thought about ticking "other" but they would've found out from my name and from my area of residence.</p>
<p>But if colleges wouldn't have any ways of knowing whether an appicant's ethnicity, I'm pretty sure that more than half of their freshman classes would be brimming with Asians.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley is about 40% Asian and that's in California. Most top colleges are around 15% Asian. Are you saying an Asian applicant is 3 or 4 times more likely to get in under a race neutral system? The effect of affirmative action on Asians is, imo, often greatly exaggerated.</p>
<p>Lee is probably the only asian last name that might be confused for white. All the other popular ones: Chang, Wang, Kim, Chai, Zhu, Zhang, Xu, Li, ... how could any of those NOT be asian? Unless you're lucky enough to have your last name be Lee, colleges can pretty much tell within 1 second of reading your name if you really are Asian, and it doesn't matter whether you checked off your race or not, because your name gives it away instantly.</p>
<p>Usually when one checks "Race : other", college admissions assume the worst.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Now, the Asian stereotypes (omg, these annoy me).</p>
<ol>
<li>I'm a loner and I have no friends</li>
<li>I play video games 24/7 and I don't play sports.</li>
<li>I study 24/7 and I live in the library.
[/quote]
</li>
</ol>
<p>Listing these stereotypes only serve to reinforce them. </p>
<p>
[quote]
The Facts:
1. I was nominated both Homecoming King, and Mr. THS senior year. Trust me, I have alot of friends. I'm a senior class officer (my senior class has 704 students).
2. I don't play video games, period. Don't have the time for them. And I play all kinds of recreational sports--bball, soccer, football, ice-skating, you name it! The only reason why I couldn't pursue my sport of choice on the varsity level at my school (ice-hockey), is that it costs multiple thousands of dollars per year (to buy ice-time, refferee salaries, etc).
3. I rarely study. I do homework for 2 hours a night, and I study for exams maybe 30 minutes, and thats being overly-generous. Oh, and I'm not in super easy classes either. By the end of my HS Career, I'll have taken 9 AP exams, and 6 IB exams.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Good for you. I'm glad that you have a lot of friends. It's great that you don't play video games. Congratulations with not having to study. Get over yourself.</p>
<p>What I don't like and understand how it comes about is that the second you have marked Asian on your application, the school will expect near perfect from you. Well I am sorry I am nowhere near there. It is majority of the Asians that have lifted the standard so high for all other Asians that have led to this tendency.</p>
<p>I know a Norwegian-American Minnesotan whose family name is Wang. There are quite a few Scandinavian names that could pass for Chinese names--or should I say that the other way around? </p>
<p>Anyway, plenty of colleges report plenty of students as "race unknown," so a lot of colleges aren't second-guessing their applicants if the applicants don't indicate an ethnicity. </p>
<p>Here are some colleges we talk about a lot on CC with high percentages of students reported as "race unknown." </p>
<p>(22 percent at Case Western) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Case Western Reserve University - Case - At a Glance </p>
<p>(21 percent at Cornell) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Cornell University - At a Glance </p>
<p>(21 percent at William and Mary) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - College of William and Mary - CWM - At a Glance </p>
<p>(21 percent at Brandeis) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Brandeis University - At a Glance </p>
<p>(20 percent at Amherst College) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Amherst College - At a Glance </p>
<p>(18 percent at Princeton) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Princeton University - At a Glance </p>
<p>(18 percent at Reed College) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Reed College - At a Glance </p>
<p>(16 percent at Chicago) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - University of Chicago - Chicago - At a Glance </p>
<p>(15 percent at Penn) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - University of Pennsylvania - Penn - At a Glance </p>
<p>(14 percent at Pomona) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Pomona College - At a Glance </p>
<p>(13 percent at Harvard) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Harvard College - At a Glance </p>
<p>(13 percent at Brown) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Brown University - Brown - At a Glance </p>
<p>(13 percent at Vanderbilt) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Vanderbilt University - Vandy - At a Glance </p>
<p>(12 percent at Carnegie Mellon) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Carnegie Mellon University - At a Glance </p>
<p>(11 percent at Yale) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Yale University - At a Glance </p>
<p>(11 percent at Columbia) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Columbia University: Columbia College - At a Glance </p>
<p>(10 percent at NYU) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - New York University - NYU - At a Glance </p>
<p>(10 percent at Agnes Scott) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Agnes Scott College - ASC - At a Glance </p>
<p>(9 percent at Whitman) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Whitman College - At a Glance </p>
<p>(8 percent at Washington U in St. Louis) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Washington University in St. Louis - Washington U. - At a Glance </p>
<p>(7 percent at Berkeley) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - University of California: Berkeley - Cal - At a Glance </p>
<p>(6 percent at MIT) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT - At a Glance </p>
<p>(6 percent at Virginia) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - University of Virginia - UVA - At a Glance </p>
<p>And here are some other colleges: </p>
<p>(59 percent at Savannah College of Art and Design) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Savannah College of Art and Design - SCAD - At a Glance </p>
<p>(35 percent at Metropolitan Community College: Penn Valley) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Metropolitan Community College: Penn Valley - At a Glance </p>
<p>(28 percent at Rhode Island School of Design) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Rhode Island School of Design - RISD - At a Glance </p>
<p>(27 percent at Champlain College) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Champlain College - CC - At a Glance </p>
<p>(26 percent at George Mason) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - George Mason University - Mason - At a Glance </p>
<p>(24 percent at Lansing Community College) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Lansing Community College - LCC - At a Glance </p>
<p>(23 percent at Hartwick College) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Hartwick College - The Wick - At a Glance </p>
<p>(21 percent at Lynn University) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Lynn University - LU - At a Glance </p>
<p>(20 percent at SUNY Stony Brook) </p>
<p>(20 percent at New York School of Interior Design) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - New York School of Interior Design - NYSID - At a Glance </p>
<p>(19 percent at Eugene Lang College) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts - Lang - At a Glance </p>
<p>(18 percent at SUNY Albany) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - State University of New York at Albany - UAlbany - At a Glance </p>
<p>(18 percent at Fashion Institute of Technology) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Fashion Institute of Technology - FIT - At a Glance </p>
<p>(17 percent at Northeastern) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Northeastern University - NU - At a Glance </p>
<p>(17 percent at Whittier College) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Whittier College - At a Glance </p>
<p>(13 percent at Tuskegee) </p>
<p>College</a> Search - Tuskegee University - TU - At a Glance</p>
<p>MODERATOR'S NOTE TO "Being an Asian: The ultimate college admissions turnoff?!" THREAD: </p>
<p>As usual, I will merge a thread pertaining to affirmative action into the general FAQ thread about ethnic self-identification in college applications. That's Occam's Razor in action.</p>
<p>I have to agree with the OP, it's ridiculous. It's just pitiful that people are forced to hide their race to attempt to boost their admission chances.</p>
<p>Who cares if asians are over-represented at elite universities? These kids worked hard and deserve their place there. If asians in general tend to be more intelligent/driven/whatever, let them be!!</p>
<p>The world's top 10 sprinters are all black. Does anyone complain about this? Does anyone think asians should get a head start in the 100 meter dash? Such a notion is nonsense.</p>
<p>If you were born with shorter legs and weaker fast twitch muscle fibers you aren't going to be competitive. Your race shouldn't be any excuse.</p>
<p>The only validity i can see to the not picking the most competitive applicants score wise, is that many of my friends (asian/eurpoean) who study 24/7 have little to no personality. They also have less time consuming extra curriculars, as opposed to other friends who play 3 varsity sport (which takes up LOTS of time) among other things which hurt their grades slightly. I mean...a kid with a 4.5+ GPA can handle a college workload...period. The same goes for 2200+ SAT's.</p>
<p>Just a quick reality check: you don't have to use AA to practice holistic admissions practices.</p>
<p>Some schools (like Tufts in MA) allows students to write a fourth, optional, and less serious essay (short: 250-400 words) to demonstrate their personality.</p>
<p>Extra essays don't make Harvard's ethinicity pie chart all nice and ethnically supportive. Many people buy into propaganda telling "politically correct" ideas, so it is important for a colleges image. I know many people who would think a college is racist if over 90% of the student body is asian/white.</p>
<p>Edit: I agree with you completely, but that is what I believe they want.</p>
<p>Malcolm Gladwell's review of Jerome Karabel's book The Chosen </p>
<p>gladwell</a> dot com - getting in </p>
<p>provides an interesting perspective on a strictly "by the numbers" admission system. Another interesting perspective is that of Ben Jones of the MIT admission committee. </p>
<p>MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: "Many Ways To Define "The Best""</p>
<p>As it is many people think colleges are racist because not 90% of the student body is Asian or White. <em>shrugs</em> (Or more like 80, I suppose. I think without affirmative action there could still be over 10% Black, Latino, and American Indian acceptees). </p>
<p>I totally agree with the running analogy. You don't second guess... how good would this person be if he weren't Asian? How about we give him a head start on the race. You just don't, and accept the fact that the top runners in the world aren't very ethnically diverse.</p>
<p>There are disadvantaged kids everywhere and of every race. If they want to take into consideration disadvantage factors, why not evaluate those holistically and not give advantages based on race to the affluent children of educated blacks, but still give a boost to people who are low income/first generation? There's too much individual variation within any race to make that kind of generalization that AA makes.</p>
<p>"The world's top 10 sprinters are all black. Does anyone complain about this? Does anyone think asians should get a head start in the 100 meter dash? Such a notion is nonsense."</p>
<p>Runners complain about this. I've overheard my fellow XCers (jokingly) complain that they aren't Kenyan.</p>
<p>Re the Norwegian family with a last name of Wang.. come on now, we all know how often it is that you see a white family with a last name like Wang (aka 1 out of a million)</p>
<p>I think that particular argument is facetious.</p>
<p>ironically (in response to the last post) i have a norwegian exchange student living with me this whole year, and she is actually chinese by descent</p>
<p>The example was not at all facetious. I worked in an office in which Mr. Wang was a senior supervisor, out of the office on the business trip when I was first hired. I heard many people around the office mention his name, and was surprised to find out that he, like several percent of the people in the United States with the surname Wang, </p>
<p><a href="http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/Top1000.xls%5B/url%5D">http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/Top1000.xls</a> </p>
<p>was not of Chinese heritage. Living as I do in a state with a very high number of "interracial" marriages (and a lot of adoptions of children from foreign countries), I am now quite cautious in assuming anything about a person's ethnicity solely from the person's surname. As I have related, to the point of this thread, colleges likewise </p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1059891389-post327.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1059891389-post327.html</a> </p>
<p>often record many of their applicants and many of their admitted students as "race unknown," even though they surely know the name of every student they admit.</p>
<p>Imagine that you are the admissions department of an elite college, and you decide that you want to keep the number of Asian admittees at no more than 15%. Do you think your desire to do this would be thwarted by Asians who don't identify their race on their applications? Of course, if all you care about is the percentage of identified Asians that you admit, then this might work, but if the school really wants to limit the number of actual Asians that make it to campus, it wouldn't be difficult.</p>
<p>our hs counselor insists that a few years ago a very qualified asian kid was denied to two ivys and when he called it was because of race...the asian quota had been met. now that could be a way for admissions to deny you if they already were going to anyway but seems odd to say this if not true. things like this cause kids to try to kind ways around the truth. if all schools did not care about sex, race, wealth, connections, etc and just judged you kids on your ability it would be great but then you would have complaints from every group and jesse jackson would be marching down every college street.</p>