<p>lol, i think NYU is probably the lower limit for Asian prestige. I think you guys are blowing this thing out of proportions, but i do think prestigewhoring is most highly concentrated in South Asian populations.</p>
<p>Ahahaha.</p>
<p>But really, I think this is much too exaggerated a story. I appreciate the fact that my parents pushed me towards the top. And my parents, as well as most of my family back in China, are very glad and proud that I will be attending Dartmouth in the fall.</p>
<p>Honestly, they just think Harvard, Yale, MIT, etc. are so awesome because they haven’t heard of the rest. A lot of the schools that are good in the sciences get thrust into the limelight, as well as those who are good at polysci. It’s just that in China, being a scientist is a respected position enough that these schools get much of the publicity.</p>
<p>I really don’t think there’s anything to hold against anyone. They push me towards top schools because they want to maximize my chances of success (networking and etc.), and I do the best I can. Fair trade.</p>
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<p>South Asians (from my anecdotal experience and observations) care a lot less about prestigewhoring when it comes to universities. </p>
<p>I do know that South Asians care greatly about career tracks though. They don’t care about school you go to (even if it’s a third or fourth tier university), South Asian parents just want to do whatever it takes to be a doctor, engineer, scientist, etc. South Asians pressure their children when it comes to career choices a lot more than school choices.</p>
<p>East Asians are much more prestige-mongering. They are obsessed with not just prestigious universities, but also which jobs allow them to earn and maximize the most prestige early on in their careers. Hence that is why a high number of Chinese and Koreans are foregoing medical or law school to go into investment banking or management consulting. They are going into those two fields strictly for the money and the glory of prestige.</p>
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<p>Yeah, tell that to many East Asians who are suffering from mental problems, depression, and suicidal thoughts because their dreams of chasing prestigious universities have caused them to break down. Of course much of this goes unreported because it will bring shame to their familes and tarnish the model minority image. </p>
<p>How about the epidemic of youth suicides hitting East Asia because many of these young people feel like they’re a failure? And how East Asian society views this as “social darwinism” and “culling the herd.”</p>
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<p>I think this largely depends on the parents/family. I’ve seen some parents who treat their kids like that, but some others are actually very sympathetic to their kids with this issue. My younger brother will be attending University of Illinois next year, and my parents, while very disappointed, eventually eased up and gave him many comforting remarks. And, I come from a very “elite” family.(dad graduated from Harvard, 1 cousin from Yale, 2 cousins from MIT, uncle a ph.d. from University of Chicago, older brother from NYU Stern.) </p>
<p>But, I agree, the “real world” ouside of family in China and Korea are pretty brutal to many average and below-average perfoming high school students. They are truly viewed as second-class citizens, by the societal, political, and economic point of views in mainland China and Korea.</p>
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<p>Illinois is an excellent university. The students there are hard working yet humble and well grounded. One of my closest friends went there and he loves it. It’s a great school academically but you also have a social life. </p>
<p>Best of luck to your younger brother.</p>
<p>Oh, I saw this documentary about the name Grace Lee, and the filmmaker (whose name is also Grace Lee) went to. . . The University of Missouri? It was a good film though. 
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<p>[The</a> Grace Lee Project](<a href=“http://gracelee.net/]The”>http://gracelee.net/)</p>
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<p>Nope. She went to UCLA.</p>
<p>Never heard about The Grace Lee Project, but I do remember about her latest film “American Zombie.”</p>
<p>^ Are you sure? I specifically remember her stating in the movie that she was as far away from the Ivy League as possible at the University of some Midwestern state.</p>
<p>Edit: Nevermind. She went to UCLA for grad school. She probably went to UMissouri for undergrad.</p>
<p>Naw. I’ve had enough suicidal thoughts myself to angst about and last me a long while, though not all of them due to prestigewhoring.</p>
<p>However, I am at a loss of what the core of this argument is. That parents pressure kids to get into top universities? Sure, that’s a given. That it’s wrong? Naw – what sort of parent doesn’t want their kid to succeed. That kids are shamed? In my experience (aka longtime interaction in the Chinese circle), it’s the kids who do that to themselves, with little help from their parents.</p>
<p>My advice for such kids is to not isolate themselves and start considering themselves as individuals rather than representatives of a certain culture. What anyone else does or accomplishes is irrelevant.</p>
<p>Or that’s my mindframe anyway.</p>
<p>What would you say about Southeast Asians?</p>
<p>I believe they are not nearly as fanatic as the South Asians and the East Asians.</p>
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<p>Fair points. </p>
<p>Reading a post from the other thread “Asians and College Prestige”, a non-Asian talks about how people having high expectations of Asians can be beneficial to Asians themselves. </p>
<p>I remember posting something like this similar on a Black Interest forum. The topic had to do with why Blacks aren’t as successful as Asians. A Black PhD in engineering basically put Asians on a pedestal and said how East Asians are great in everything and so perfect and never have any problems in life. I noted that Asians may be superficially successful, but that we often have high rates of mental illnesses, depression, suicide attempts, shame, etc. </p>
<p>The Black PhD lashed out at me and said that if you’re worried about your mental health as a result of pushing yourself to overachieve, you have some serious issues. The Black PhD says that he had to worry about poverty, having enough food on the table, and living with relatives who were drug users and couldn’t give a damn about his education. He says that he WISHES had had parents who would push him to overachieve. </p>
<p>The Black PhD says that we Asians should be lucky that society and our family demands so much of us. He says he does not sympathize with us if we have mental problems associated with feeling the pressure to succeed like other Asians – especially after what the Black PhD went through to get a PhD. He said that I had some “friggin’ nerve” to “allege” that Asians are suffering from mental health problems because we are pressured to live up to the model minority overachiever.</p>
<p>Athletes -
Norm Chow (NFL/college FB coach) – University of Utah
Dat Ngyuen (NFL) – Texas A&M
Haruki Nakamura (NFL) – UCincinatti
Eugene Amano (NFL) – SE Missouri State
Eugene Chung (NFL) – Virginia Tech
Jim Paek (NHL) – n/a
Richard Park (NHL) – n/a
Michael Chang (tennis) - Biola University
Anthony Kim (PGA) – (UOklahoma)
Kevin Na (PGA) – n/a
Grace Park (LPGA) – Arizona State
Christina Kim (LPGA) – De Anza Community College
Brian Ching (MLS) – Gonzaga
Sammy Lee (Olympic Gold Medalist – diver) – Occidental College
Kevin Tan (Men’s US Gymnastics) – Penn State
Yewki Tomita (Men’s US Gymnastics) – USOTC
Raj Bhavsar (Men’s US Gymnastics) – Ohio State</p>
<p>Military Officers -
General Soriano – San Jose State
General Taguba – Idaho State
Col. Young Oak Kim – LA City College</p>
<p>Politicians -
Mike Honda (Congressman) – San Jose State
Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa (Senator) – U of Manitoba
Elaine Chao (Labor Secretary) – Mount Holyoke</p>
<p>Designers -
Derek Lam – Parsons School of Design
Anna Sui – Parsons
Doo-Ri Chung - Parsons
Vera Wang – Sarah Lawrence
David Chu (Nautica) – Fashion Institute of Technology
Philip Lim – California State/Long Beach
Chloe Dao – UHouston
Josie Natori – Manhattanville College
Larry Shinoda – Art Center College of Design</p>
<p>Architects -
Minoru Yamasaki (designed WTC) – UWashington
George Nakashima (father of American craft movement) - UWashington
Gyo Obata (National Air & Space Museum) - WUSTL (before it was a top 30 school)</p>
<p>Entrepreneurs -
Steve Chen – (youtube) – UIUC
Jawed Karim (youtube) - UIUC</p>
<p>Musicians -
James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) – Loyola (Chicago)
Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park) – Art Center College of Design
Tony Kanal (No Doubt) – Cal State Fullerton
Kent Nagano – UC Santa Cruz
A lot of ther Asian-Americans in bands – but these are the most well-known bands</p>
<p>Directors -
Ang Lee – UIUC
Wayne Wang - California College of Arts and Crafts
M. Night Shyamalan – NYU
Chris Lee - USC</p>
<p>Actors/Performers
Daniel Dae Kim – Haverford
Yunjin Kim – Boston U
Ken Leung – NYU
BD Wong – SF State U
Russell Wong – Santa Monica College
Kelly Hu – Pepperdine
Margaret Cho – SF School of the Arts
Archie Kao - George Mason
Henry Cho – UTennessee
James Lee – BostonU
Linda Park – Boston U
Dustin Nguyen – Orange Coast College
Keiko Agena – Whitman College</p>
<p>News Anchors/Reporters
John Yang – Wesleyan
Michael Kim (ESPN) – Westminster College
Betty Nguyen - UTexas
Connie Chung - UMaryland
Alina Cho – Boston College
Kaity Tong – Bryn Mawr</p>
<p>Cartoonist/Animators
Frank Cho – University Maryland
Peter Chung – CalArts</p>
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<p>Can we EXAGGERATE a little more?</p>
<p>Yeah, there is a certain segment of Asian-Americans who want their children to go to the Ivies – but it’s not any more than that for Jews, African immigrants or affluent WASPs.</p>
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<p>Oh, please – what ever happened to parental pressure w/ regard to college (Nishimura most likely didn’t even know he was going to get a PhD)?</p>
<p>And hapas don’t have ONE Asian parent to apply the so-called pressure?</p>
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<p>Sorry – but YOUR experience doesn’t apply to ALL other Asian-Americans (however, if you want us to think that your parents have snobby friends and acquaintences, then congrats on a job well done).</p>
<p>And your figure that 75-80% of Chinese-American parents having children who attended Ivies is totally LAUGHABLE (statistically, it’s NOT even close).</p>
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<p>Oh come on. Obviously it’s more. I don’t see any threads started here by Jews, Afr Am or affluent WASPs saying that they’ll be disgraces to the family if they don’t attend HYP or how the aunts in the old country will just up and die if you “only” get into Dartmouth. It’s an Asian cultural phenomenon, as IAYF pointed out. Let’s at least be intellectually honest about it.</p>
<p>But if you have the brains to see through it - as IAYF clearly does - then you also have the fortitude to define life and success on your own terms.
YK, if the folks in the old country said, “New York City is the capital of New York,” you wouldn’t take their opinion seriously - you’d know that it was simply, factually not true. When they say “Harvard or homeless,” or “You won’t get anywhere attending a top 50 university,” you know it’s simply, factually not true. Why don’t you treat it the same way you’d treat their assertion that NYC is the capital of NY? You KNOW it’s not true - so let them have their opinion, it’s wrong, and move on. I don’t get why you’re all supposed to listen to points of view that you KNOW don’t reflect the reality of life in the US.</p>
<p>Oh, cmon now.</p>
<p>There are plenty of threads here started by non-Asians (and mostly white) preoccupied w/ the rankings/prestige of a particular school (much less, just the Ivies) and how do you know whether they are started by Jews or non-Jewish whites? Btw, it wasnt Asian-Americans who set the hierarchy of prestige/rankings of the top universities in the US (nor are there enough Asian-Americans to make the USNWR rankings editions top-sellers).</p>
<p>1st of all, these Asian-Americans that you and IAYF refer to are just a particular SUB-SET of the Asian-Am community (btw, most of the aunts in the old country wouldnt know Dartmouth, or Penn from Penn St.).</p>
<p>2nd, while the pressure may be a bit more muted, it nonetheless, is still there.</p>
<p>Hence, numerous articles about the pressure of getting into Ivies or other top universities at high schools in affluent neighborhoods like New Trier, Darien, Bronxville, etc. (which are predominantly white) or parents in NYC who fight tooth and nail to get their children not only into the top private schools, but PRE-SCHOOL.</p>
<p>Plus, how many Asian-Am posters do you see complaining or worrying about whether they would get into UCB or UCLA?</p>
<p>Asians make up 12% of the California pop. and 40% of the student bodies at UCB and UCLA which constitutes a 3.3x matriculation rate over pop. %.</p>
<p>Jews make up 1.5% of the college-age pop. and 23% (or 26%, but Ill use the lower figure) of the Ivy League student body which constitutes 15.3x matriculation rate over pop. %.</p>
<p>Anyway you cut it (1) the Ivies are immensely popular w/ Jewish students and (2) Jewish applicants have a much higher chance of getting admitted to the Ivies and dont need to fret as much.</p>
<p>hey the wong fu production ppl should make this list too!
phil wong
wesley chan
& some others i forgot ><;;</p>
<p>It all goes back to their ancient roots of your ancient grandfathers.</p>
<p>In China, to gain a government position, you must either be a part of the Gentry class (rich with formal education) and ACE the State sponsored comprehensive examinations or have connections.</p>
<p>Education is important in Asia because it weeds a large segment of the majority.</p>
<p>The “my family members must attend better more well known university than my co worker, friend, aunt’s siblings, or uncle’s sibling” comes from thousands of years of such examination.</p>
<p>These days, examinations into the top Chinese universities still exist. To the Chinese, you really have to get the best education available in order to secure employment at government posts or etc…</p>
<p>Another way is to join the PLA (China’s army), which is considered very prestigious, but nothing like the American army. Army beat Navy!</p>
<p>Interesting thread posted here. Personally I don’t think having people list famous successful Asian Americans really means much because what do you define as successful? Is it becoming famous, becoming a millionaire, becoming CEO in a company? I wouldn’t necessarily agree with any of those. I think being successful is achieving what you want to in life whether that be living comfortably and happily or achieving that millionaire, CEO status. I would say there are plenty of Asian Americans out there who are successful though not necessarily well known. I think Asians in general tend to keep a low profile and aren’t as outspoken as other groups. And I think the comment you posted from the black PHD is interesting too. I guess it’s just a judgment call and it’s hard for him to understand b/c he never went through an Asian life (though I must admit growing up in a rough neighborhood and making a PhD to me is a harder life). But yeah, I don’t think it should matter what Ivy you go to and eventually as the Asian population grows older by generations (more 2nd, 3rd, 4th generations instead of fobs for parents), the pressure will go down as we integrate into American society.</p>
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I don’t think Parsons should count as it is prestigious in it’s field.</p>