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<p>Certainly. That’s what Charles Darwin said. :D</p>
<p>isnt this whole race thing just silly?</p>
<p>My chiropractor does alumni interviews for Princeton and complains about the asians all the time. He says that they work too hard and have an unfair advantage. He says that they are horrible at being well rounded because all they do is study. He wishes they would have ec’s that don’t always involve community service. I think its just bs. He’s obviously biased. I have many asian friends and hardly any of them fit that stereotype. Yes, they are ridiculously smart, but that should be commended, not discouraged. Most of them play sports and are involved in activities outside of school.</p>
<p>“He says that they work too hard and have an unfair advantage.” working hard =/= unfair advantage. i don’t see the correlation at all…?</p>
<p>I think s/he means that all “typical” Asians work work work work work work.</p>
<p>I see your point, Exie. It’s hard to separate out reality from perception.</p>
<p>@hannah, stereotypes of any kind are hurtful, even if meant to be complimentary.</p>
<p>I think the schools should just come out and say race is not a factor. We want a group of diversely talented individuals. End of story. The schools definitely want students who will succeed, so race is probably less a factor than is perceived by some.</p>
<p>The “work too hard” statement has irony or fallacy to it because it’s an advantage anyone can claim - in this realm, there are over achievers (or any race) competing with over achievers, true. But to put someone down for being willing to work hard, in the world where plenty of people are willing to “let someone else do the job” or be lazy… </p>
<p>Working hard IS an advantage. But it’s a choice and an action anyone can partake in (and should be commended for being willing to do)… Now, working hard by itself doesn’t always correlate to one being “well rounded”, (a more subjective judgement) which comes into the picture in these admissions. But the beauty of working hard as an advantageous trait is that anyone can embrace it by, well, applying “working hard” to their own actions/repertoire. </p>
<p>(Someone may also not be “bad” because they don’t want to “work hard” ie as much, fast, possibly stress inducing as those around them. Some people are driven at different paces. </p>
<p>As an aside, me, I’m the tortoise in the stories. And I recognize this. So when someone else “gets ahead” of me because they “worked harder” I recognize this and don’t usually count it as a pro or a con against me or them, just more like we are doing for ourselves what we do best … I accept that I move at a slower pace, and the consequences or rewards that come with it …</p>
<p>I’ve tried to share with my kids to be willing to work hard but to find their personal preferred pace. And if it’s not full throttle, maybe they won’t “make it to the top” or do well in “that race” … but they can enter “the race” that they prefer and live life at the speed that’s best for them, to make them happy… )</p>
<p>Yep - don’t worry about being a minority versus nonminority.</p>
<p>Really - just be interesting in a way that stands out. Doing what “everyone else is doing” just makes a student one of many. That’s a hard way to get into boarding school when the competition is stiff.</p>
<p>It’s kind of like the joke on an older thread about the number of students who listed “building toilets in Dominican Republic” as an EC when applying to college. Because it was the annual BS service trip. The Adcom said there were now more toilets than people in that country based on all the applications - :)</p>
<p>If some “group” has an edge, it’s so minor in comparison to the whole pool of applicants. That disadvantaged person with lower stats probably represents a tiny TINY percentage of the accepted students as a whole. There are just too many applications in the pile to have to dip that low.</p>
<p>Said several Adcoms as I toured with my daughter (and it’s what I look for and point out when I interview) - the applicants should be able to add something to the student body in terms of point of view, perspective on life, interests and personality in addition to academic prowess.</p>
<p>How about Middle Easterners?? (Especially Palestinian American?)</p>
<p>If I’m half African-American and half Hispanic(Mexican), how much will it boost my application?</p>
<p>That’s like two minorities in one. It’ll definitely do more good than harm. :D</p>