<p>delicatess - funny how you said that your mom was the opposite. my mom doesn<code>t really care, either. i mean, she wants me to get good grades, but she</code>s never in my face about it.</p>
<p>yeah, biology, engineering, pre-med, and law are the most popular among asians. or maybe that`s just according to my environment.</p>
<p>Ah, the notorious M. I really don't understand the appeal. If you don't enjoy it, you will seriously die, especially at M with the workload and the supposedly repressive atmosphere. </p>
<p>This is an irrelevant question, but are you guys having finals right now? I know UCLA is on the quarter system, so your finals schedule is probably different to Berkeley's.</p>
<p>Kchen: Aye. My mom is actually half-Caucasian, so I guess maybe that's why she's not in my face? hehe Or maybe it's just mothers aren't as mean...that's probably the reason.</p>
<p>Her emphasis is on me being happy, while my dad emphasizes academics and money.</p>
<p>delicatess - my mom is 100% chinese. she emphasizes health over intelligence. my dad is more academics. i think it`s because the way they were brought up.</p>
<p>I do understand that these parents want what is best for us, but honestly, it won't necessarily make us satisfied. I mean sure, we would have great jobs following their philosophy, but maybe we would hate them and live off of the notion of retirement lingering in the distance!</p>
<p>Ah,well funny you mention that. My dad's family consisted of farmers who owned land for generations in Taiwan. His mother was a cook; his dad died when he was 5. He has an older sister who went up to the 6th grade, because his mother is sexist and doesn't believe in educating women. (Yes, I'm serious...) Yet somehow my dad and his brothers became: doctors, engineers, architects. I'm "confuzzled"as to how they became successful and how they got these notions of emphasizing academics.</p>
<p>Perhaps it was my grandmother's emphasis on male superiority? I really don't know...it's an interesting thing to think about though.</p>
<p>I believe five generations. To be honest my dad knows nothing about his heritage nor how long his family has been on Taiwan. Supposedly it's hundreds of years...</p>
<p>Ok, the question was deleted, but damn you, I SAW IT!!</p>
<p>my dad<code>s side escaped the communist v. nationalist war in china, and settled in taipei. he was a natural at everything, i suppose. he went to ntu, and i</code>m sure you know what that is.</p>
<p>my mom came from a family that`s between well-to-do and upper class. her family had all of these business & industrial connections... used to own a lot of property. hm.</p>
<p>hahahaha. wow you`ve been watching this thread seriously.</p>
<p>at least you<code>re at berkeley now. i</code>m suffering as a high school junior, piled under test prep books and AP books. how fun. so, what do you major in?</p>
<p>Oh wow! How cool. My grandmother on my mom's side escaped the Communists too. Her father was a Senator in China and had to flee before they chopped people up, to put things bluntly. They took everything, and now my family--on that side, barring my uncle--no longer consists of millionaires. I don't think she's stepped foot in China again. </p>
<p>Er, is NTU the top university? Because I heard that my dad studied at the top males' university in Taiwan for engineering. (He later came to America and got a graduate degree here, at a not-so-prestigious university, and met my mom at the same time. )</p>
<p>I'm majoring in Economics and English. Yes, yes, killer for the parent to know that his child is majoring in a social science and a liberal art. :)</p>
<p>I'm sure that you will be fine though. In all honesty, AP exams aren't really all that important. On the other hand, I have finals right now, but I am on CC, so I probably won't be fine.</p>
<p>are you from socal? seems like it.</p>
<p>NTU is the top university, but it`s co-ed. my dad studied chemical engineering... haha. similarities.</p>
<p>my relatives on my dad<code>s side still go back to china. in fact, my dad left america two weeks ago to meet up with his parents who left taiwan to go to china. i have about ~30 relatives there that i</code>ve never met in my life before.</p>
<p>economics & english. interesting. you decided on it?</p>
<p>hahah! what the freak, my dad went to National Taiwan U. too
i guess thas why we're in america right now.</p>
<p>im asian. im applying to HYPSMDBP</p>
<p>i guess one disadvantage on being asian is the tough competition.</p>
<p>and tough competition is because of parental pressure, self-centered image, and fear of letting down others.</p>
<p>and i guess that would originate from other asians that have gone ahead before us and experienced such situations.</p>
<p>and that would come from the way asians were brought up.</p>
<p>and sadly, it is all for the sake of getting into a good college, which seems more like a life or death matter nowadays.</p>
<p>
<p>NTU is the top university, but it`s co-ed. my dad studied chemical engineering... haha. similarities.</p>
<p>my relatives on my dad<code>s side still go back to china. in fact, my dad left america two weeks ago to meet up with his parents who left taiwan to go to china. i have about ~30 relatives there that i</code>ve never met in my life before.</p>
<p>economics & english. interesting. you decided on it?
</p>
<p>So Cal eh? What gives you that impression? Actually no, I'm not even Californian to be honest...my mother doesn't live in California and I attended high school out-of-state. I've lived in totality, including university, 5 years in California.</p>
<p>And yep, I have decided on the majors. I enjoy one and other is not-that-painful. :)</p>
<p>oh wow. you<code>re not californian. never mind then. you sound like someone i know, that</code>s all. but i guess not.</p>
<p>Sorry to disappoint you.
I should study! Or sleep; I can't decide.</p>
<p>I'd just like to add that when you have older siblings who follow their parents' expectations and the result isn't quite what they were hoping for, then they won't anticipate you to do the same anymore. :)</p>
<p>The original post sounds all too familiar....wow.</p>
<p>I get the same thing from my mother once a week minimum. It always ends up in a gigantic fight; we have...hehe...kind of a tenuous relationship.</p>
<p>Just to give you guys advice.</p>
<p>Following what everything your parents tell you and not doing your own "thing" will show up on your application.</p>
<p>Super Elite colleges receive thousands upon thousands of apps from the "stereotypical asian" applicants with the same exact EC's: math, math, classical music, orchestra, violin, piano, math club, no athletics, no "unique" activities. They will definately have the highest chance of being rejected and when they do, they don't understand why their 1600 SAT's didnt get them in.</p>
<p>The ones who have the best chance are the ones who show to the colleges that they're their own person, not controlled by the wishes of the parents or their friends.</p>
<p>Alot of my asian friends at Exeter got into HYPS had special qualities about them. Those who were athletes conveyed to the colleges how they were different from alot of their friends in that they decided to focus on sports, which was very very uncommon. They didn't obsess about their SAT scores, but they displayed their uniqueness. Alot of the asians who did get rejected were the ones like "OMG OMG MY 1600 SAT didnt get me in. UNFAIR, RACISM AGAINST ASIANS!!" </p>
<p>Show uniqueness, not conformity. Elite colleges value diversity of interests, and genuine PASSION.</p>
<p>Just to give you guys a heads up.</p>