I wish I weren't Asian

College Confidential Community
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<p>I like that...Separating yourself from the crowd of similar extracurriculars. Nowhere does race even get mentioned. Too bad that's not how it works. People see that you're Asian and a little lightbulb goes off in their head, and they start assuming a whole slew of things.</p>

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<p>Colleges DO pick the most qualified. It's just that their definition of "most qualified" and yours may not be the same. You may be thinking mostly about pure academic stats, whereas they may be looking for additional qualifications beyond academic excellence.</p>

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<p>b151 and b4nnd20 and coureur:</p>

<p>You are just reiterating my point. All you are saying is that college prefer Asians who don't fit the mold just and only because they are DIFFERENT. As for diversity, I am all for it. However, when it comes to DIVERSITY vs. FAIRNESS, I think FAIRNESS should win any day over DIVERSITY. BTW, when I say most qualified I mean everything else besides the color of your skin.</p>

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<p>my last response because I don't want to drag this thread on-
b4nnd20: Sure they might have a preconceived notion of it, but its not like it physically blinds them from seeing the rest of your application. </p>

<p>lukeli88: well in my post i said "presumably of equal or better qualifications in..." The whole diversity v fairness thing I'm sure diversity wins over fairness in a few cases but not significantly. But then again I havent been on the admissions side so I don't really know. </p>

<p>pm me if you want to make another point to me about this issue.</p>

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<p>In heaven maybe, but here on this earth diversity wins a lot - partly because everyone defines "Fair" differently just like they do "Qualified." Your "fair" is someone else's "injustice," and vice versa. </p>

<p>Under one definition of fairness, schools would have to abolish athletic recruiting, Affirmative Action, and in fact subjective judgments of any kind. Adcoms could be replaced by a computer. But in the real world that's just not going to happen, so you better learn to deal with it. </p>

<p>The collective wisdom is that schools offer a superior educational experience to the students when the students themselves are a diverse mix, a mix that at least to some extent reflects the world outside. The world is not all white kids from the midwest, or math/science whizkid Asians from California, or inner-city African Americans, or any other group. It's all of us. And so the schools strive to be all of us too. That's why diversity counts.</p>

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<p>I don't want to sound like a wet blanket, but if these same applicant can't differentiate themselves at college app time, what are they going to do when they get to job time? </p>

<p>I understand that it seems very unfair from the applicant's perspective. But when you're a university that has very limited space and high expectations for grads, you want only the most dynamic, interesting people.</p>

<p>And unfortunately, cookie-cutter good students lose out.</p>

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<p>Well, lukeli, your definition of fair and many colleges' definitions of fair aren't the same.</p>

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<p>Life's not fair.</p>

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<p>Then just dont' put Asian on your college appy</p>

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<p>1 word</p>

<p>interview</p>

<p>have an admissions interwiew so u can show them that u are social</p>

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<p>Yea you can not specify. But a college should be representative of the real world. Hispanics/Blacks/NAmericans can offer a diversity that someone from say, Oregon, doesn't see everyday. Isn't that what college is supposed to be about? A large learning expierience and growth in and out of the classroom.</p>

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<p>I'm asian and I'm proud.
Unlike the perceptions of some posters, my parents do not force me to stay home and study and yes, I have a life. Yet, I still have a 2300+ SAT score and do very well academically. Just because I get good grades and am a good test-taker doesn't mean that I have no life.
I'll admit that I know some asian parents that will tell their kids to just study all the time, but mine figured out a long time ago that they don't need to motivate me. I'm a varsity and state-ranked athlete, I have a job, I volunteer, and I have a pretty nice social life. I do what I do because I want to, not because I was forced to. So please don't group all asians together under one stereotype, because it's just not true. Asians are just like any other group where while some may follow the stereotype, many do not.</p>

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<p>Not all Asians are FORCED to study. Especially those who immigrated and has been in the states for a really short time. They don't need to. they can sleep in class and then get like twice as many points as the second smartest person in their class. they're simply smart. no need to be hard-working. If some folks say Asians have a TREND to be socially awkward compared to white kids, what if I say white kids have a TREND to be intellectually crude compared to Asians?
I don't mean to offend anyone except those who made those claims.</p>

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<p>Just portray your true self during the interview and they'll c ur not the typical asian :)_</p>

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<p>UCLA: discrimination rules apply for job apps that don't necessarily apply to private university admissions. </p>

<p>Not to say that there isn't a problem there, too--very good of you to notice it.</p>

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<p>tomtom, describe your day please?</p>

<p>me, an asian, hates school just like every other high schooler. however, i do good in school. why? i dont know, i just do.
i dont do my homework, i never study for tests, i have a job outside of school, a car that i need to pay myself to help maintain, and i even talk for more than half of the duration of my average class period length a day out of pure boredom in honors classes. what has this brought me? 2100+ on the sat general and all 780+ on subjects.
im not braging because its not as high as some of the other scores i've been seeing posted, but the truth is that i never went to any classes specifically designed to tackle the sats nor did my parents force me to do anything.
your argument has just been proven wrong</p>

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<p>Cozmo,</p>

<p>I think you're missing my point. It's not discrimination if it's not based on ethnicity. If it's based on achievements, then it (at least in my mind) should be acceptable.</p>

<p>I'm not even taking into account ethnicity.</p>

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<p>This whole diversity crap is illogical. If a 50% caucasian student population is considered diverse, I fail to see why a 50% Asian population wouldn't be.</p>

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<p>You will realize as you get further in life that admissions isn't about being fair. I faced this when I applied to colleges and I will be dinged again when I apply to med school next summer. The avg. MCAT score for accepted Asian applicants was 31.5 (highest among any ethnic group). The avg. MCAT score for accepted African American applicants was 25.3. So if you're Asian, to be accepted to med school, you need to score roughly in the 80th percentile. If you are a URM, you only need to score in the 50th percentile. Faced with this delimma you have 3 options:</p>

<p>1) B*tch, whine, and moan. Wallow in your self-loathing. </p>

<p>2) Sue Princeton. People may not agree with you but at least you're taking a stand.</p>

<p>3) Suck it up and score in the 80th percentile. </p>

<p>I chose option #3 but I think either #2 or 3 is better than #1. For those of you who think that Asians are being discriminated against, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. One stereotype of Asians I do agree on is that we are too passive. We are too complacent with being excluded from promotions or being denied admissions to top colleges. No one else will look out for our rights.</p>

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<p>merit based admission could be discriminating against people aswell, perhaps their natural born intelligence?
sure there are people that work hard, but then there is still the whole 'smartness' associated with certain things aswell.
i know people who try hard and hard and doesn't understand certain things and others who doesn't even pay attention to score perfects.
if discrimination is evaluation based on something one can't control, then merit based evaluation is also discrimitory.</p>