<p>by the way...I'm Indian...PATEL...and proud of it. My parents started off working in the slums of Jersey City. Right now, I consider myself fortunate to be living a "good" life and I owe to my parents HARD WORK and DEDICATION...and thus I try to work hard and hopefully one day it'll pay off.</p>
<p>I try not to be the typical indian kid (although I may get good grades) if you knew me in person, you would not call me the "typical indian kid"</p>
<p>Are you talking about me? I never complained about AA, but was simply angry at man on fire's posts. He basically said all asians in the U.S come from privileged backgrounds and are all members of the middle class. I used my parent's lives to prove every Asian isn't a part of the mid class.</p>
<p>I think that race shouldn't be asked to begin with. But then, you might end up with Ivy Leagues with 50% asian, 30% indian, 19.9% white, and 0.1% all others. =P</p>
<p>Just kidding. I really don't care. What's the point of sitting on your ass complaining about the system. Just try harder and beat the system. If AA is unfair, so be it. If you all think that's so hard to overcome, think about all of the great heroes of the world and the hardships that they had to overcome. I never heard Gandhi, King, or Mandela complaining about shuch trivial bull***t.</p>
<p>Why would you withold your race? Just tell them who you are and beat everyone else. If you are asian and you get into a good school, you can brag about how you beat all of the other azn violin prodigies, mathletes, overachievers, etc. LOL</p>
<p>merudh123 makes a good point. You don't have to be a stereotypical azn/indian nerd to suceed. You can enjoy your life and still get good grades.</p>
<p>I just got back from the West Point Summer Leaders Seminar; all of the kids there were really smart, but they weren't nerdy. They were all varsity athletes, leaders of their schools and communities, and knew how to enjoy life. Remember that success in life is not all about good grades and SAT scores. It is the overall quality of the person that will bring you success. A good personality, good speaking skills, and leadership qualities can often make up for a slightly lower SAT score or a slightly lower GPA. 20 years from now, who cares what your SAT score was? I know a guy who majored in history at Cornell. For many here, I know that being a Cornell graduate would be considered a great success in life. But guess what. He currently has no "job" so he works 2 part time jobs (carwash and waiter). On the other hand, this other guy in my town graduated from high school (no college) and became a plumber. He is 38 years old now and own his own plumbing business. He lives in a 1.5 million dollar house. I hope I made my point.</p>
<p>I was proving man<em>on</em>fire incorrect with my parents' case as well. There was nothing to whine about, its what happened. I simply found it rather ironic that man<em>on</em>fire would tell me to go "wallow in self pity" when he was the one advocating AA.</p>
<p>sentinent89 you really need to chill buddy. just ignore ppl that discourage you. feed off of positive energy, ignore negative comments. if 89 is your birth year, I assume that you are a sophomore or frosh in high school. I know you feel the pressure, but you need to find some way to blow off the steam.</p>
<p>now i'm not advocating that you go smoke pot to do this =P but you need to find an outlet for all the pressure of high school life. For me, the passion is lifting weights. It helps vent my anger. You need to find your own way to do this.</p>
<p>plumbers are RICH ...its true lol.</p>
<p>anyway, alright I got an idea to turn this thread in a different direction. Whatever you are post what you are that YOU THINK makes you different from other people of your ethnicity. Don't put socioecomnic factors...or GPA or SAT scoress...just put what you do, what you are in, what are your passions, and why you think you SHOULD BE ABLE TO BEAT AA.</p>
<p>good idea. you should go first to give everyone else an idea of what you are talking about.</p>
<p>Guys we already had our debate for this season on the College Admissions thread. We all agreed there to give up the fight and return later in January after all the rejecties get angry again. So until then just do you and live the diverse life of America</p>
<p>alright well to start...I would say first off one of my greatest pastimes is </p>
<p>dancing...I been in various dance competitions (cultural and non-cultural)
I also like to breakdance and like to have a good time by going out occasionaly and making the best of my high school career by hanging with people i care about and those who care about me)
at the same time i don't slak off in school either...I played soccer in freshman year on home high school soccer team and in middle school. (Regret not going out again in sophomore year but yeah there are many things in life I've learned from)
I've worked hard as Vice President of my class and President of public relatiosn commitee etc.
also part of some typical asian clubs that i am a great contributer to...tech club and math club
head of yearbook, and one of chief editors of newspaper/ art and layour director
Part of school HOSA team (Health Occupation Students of America)</p>
<p>I've volunteered in town library and 2 hospitals (medicine is a passion of mine - I'm proud to say I go to a magnet school (public not private) called Academy of Allied Health and Science. Contrary to popular myths that only nerds attend such a school...i've met some of the greatest people in my life here. i've made some pretty good friends too.</p>
<p>also just to put it out there...i do other things than just study (for whatever it counts...I have a gf)</p>
<p>I also like math and computer programming/ networking (not in a nerdy way, but as something I enjoy figuring out and learning more about)</p>
<p>um i'm also a big fan of MUSIC (music is something that helps me relax and it defines many aspects of my personality) i don't reject any kind of music...I take time to find good music and bad music...i don't just go to a particular genre.</p>
<p>um what else...I would say I enjoy working out.</p>
<p>This is just something rough...but you get the point. Don't put grades etc...cuz everyone knows that if you post here often, you have good grades and SAT scores.</p>
<p>First of all, I'm an Indian male so I don't know why eveyone's saying I am not Asian. I really don't want to argue anymore and turn this issue into a flame war. People like sentient keep talking about the generations of Chinese people that were grounded into this society like 100 years ago. i am talking new Asian IMMIGRANTS and yes, nearly all of them are at middle class or above. If any of you have some statistic thats hows otherwise, I'll be glad to change my opinion. I do support AA even though it hurts people like me the most. I believe it is the only current and effective way to give applicants of all races and backgrounds equal opportunities.</p>
<p>Again, I apologize for my previous posts as I do understand that they are very offensive and racist. I was having a bad day today....</p>
<p>ehh people make mistakes....its all good man on fire.</p>
<p>One point I'd like to make. Indians are technically classified as caucasian. Therefore you are not asian. Hehe. An Indian friend showed me in the dictionary. Caucasians are all Indo-European people.</p>
<p>Lets see... about me?</p>
<p>First of all, I love the military. Especially the U.S. Army. I believe in what they do and it is for the greater good. All bad decisions are made by the politicians; the soldiers themselves should not be put to blame (expect in rare circumstances such as the Abu Gharib prison scandal). I am not from a military family. After 9/11, I was really ****ed off. My friend's dad died in the attack. He was also my basketball coach.</p>
<p>I passionately hate terrorists. And now I want to make a difference. I hope to receive acceptance into the United States Military Academy next year. I attended their Summer Leaders Seminar this week and had a great time. Training with the 82nd Airborne Division was the best time I had in my life. Guess what? I missed a whole week of school for this. (OMG an asian missed a week of school? I'm sure ppl would think that, but hey, some things are more important than school).</p>
<p>I like to lift weights. I can bench 235 lbs. now =) Who says all azns are scrawny? lol. I do not like running though I do it for training's sake. I also volunteer at the hospital to aid the community. I work at the YMCA as the gym supervisor.</p>
<p>I am a varsity discus and javelin thrower. Throwing gives me the feeling of fighting in the ancient Greek wars, which is why I like it. I tore a shoulder ligament during wrestling season and now I must get surgery and I cannot wrestle anymore.</p>
<p>I like to play chess. I am on the chess team. Our chess team is the NJ State Champions for 2005. I play the clarinet and tuba in the band and I am the drum major for football season. Our band plays everything except classical music. Hehe. I can't stand classical music (few exceptions). My favorite band is System of a Down.</p>
<p>I am in the Spanish Honor Society (will take AP Spanish next year) but I can't speak the language fluently yet. I want to be able to talk to all of the Mexicans in the U.S. because their population increase is significant. Spanish is a very useful language to know.</p>
<p>Finally, I love to just hang out with my friends. This is how great memories are forged that you never forget. The funny moments, the serious ones, the happy ones, the sad ones. Don't ever just dedicate yourself into a certain clique. Hang out with all different types of people. You will learn a lot about people this way from all persepectives. Diversity is good. If you asked me to name my four best friends, one is white, another is black, the third is asian, and the fourth is Indian. I also have a good friend who is Mexican and another that is Muslim. That is the beauty of America, and don't you ever forget that ppl. I hate racist people (racist jokes are funny tho =P) so don't say racists things.</p>
<p>So that's a little bit about me (w/o the GPA and SAT scores) and I hope others will follow this positive idea that merudh123 has suggested to us. Life isn't only about numbers. It's how much of a "well-rounded" individual you are. And if for some tragic turn of events, you do not get accepted into your reach schools, it is not the end of the world. Life is too beautiful to waste away obsessing over a freaking decimal number of your GPA.</p>
<p>BTW merudh, do you go to the Allied Health and Science in Monmouth County? I live in Holmdel if you know where that is.</p>
<p>whoa...yeah I live like 10 min away from you lol in morganville aka marlboro. what a small world this is ahha...yeah...you a junior? </p>
<p>if so, I know a couple kids who go to my school from holmdel.</p>
<p>anyway, yeah you seem like a kid i'd get a long with =)</p>
<p>Cool. Nice to see someone from the area. Yea I'm a junior. Glad to see that you have a path you would like to follow in life (doctor right?) So many kids nowadays just want to get into a good college and they don't even know why.</p>
<p>Yeah I think we would get along well. You seem sensible, and umm... semi-Indian =P I'm glad to see that you have passions outside of academics. It just makes you a better person.</p>
<p>Anyways, I like Indians (but I don't like the smell of curry LOL) and I guess that's a good thing considering there are a lot of Indian kids in the area.</p>
<p>Man, if you quit soccer, you should seriously consider playing again. Or maybe try a new sport. People complain about how sports take up a lot of time, and I agree that it does. But a sport is a great way to learn about teamwork, compassion, and perseverence. I wouldn't give up being a varsity thrower even if it meant adding some points to my SAT scores. And sports also gets you into shape for beach season =)</p>
<p>Well, nice to meet you man, and I'm glad to see another kid that isn't so narrow-minded. Man so many of the ppl on this forum don't know anything about life after high school. I haven't experienced it myself either, but I try to keep a broad perspective on things.</p>
<p>my last name will give me away even if i with hold my race
but i don't really wanna go to a school that doesn't like asians anyway</p>
<p>No, I am positive that Indians are classified as Asians. Caucasians are individuals that are Hispanic/Latino/Carribean Islander.</p>
<p>
[quote]
U.S. = diverse and thus U.S. colleges have the RIGHT to be diverse.
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<p>lol..................you made my day............</p>
<p>ever heard of a term called "Melting Pot" :o</p>
<p>Cau·ca·sian ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kô-kzhn, -kzhn)
adj.
Anthropology. Of or being a major human racial classification traditionally distinguished by physical characteristics such as very light to brown skin pigmentation and straight to wavy or curly hair, and including peoples indigenous to Europe, northern Africa, western Asia, and India.</p>
<p>That's what it says on dictionary.com so Indians are definitely Caucasian. Sorry buddy, but it looks like you are wrong.</p>
<p>lol haha CURRY...I love curry.</p>
<p>That's not correct, Eugene. This is from the Oxford English Dictionary:</p>
<p>
[quote]
USAGE: In the racial classification as developed by anthropologists in the 19th century, Caucasian (or Caucasoid) included peoples whose skin color ranged from light (in Northern Europe) to dark (in parts of North Africa and India). Although the classification is outdated and the categories are not generally accepted as scientific, the term Caucasian has acquired a more restrictive meaning. It is now used, especially in the U.S., as a synonym for 'white or of European origin.'
[/quote]
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