I don’t think being Asian is a disadvantage in college admissions, it’s just not a boost at all colleges. There are colleges where Asians are underrepresented minorities, and at those schools, being Asian could be a boost. But where Asians are not fully represented, or overrepresented, it is not an aid to an application. Some fields, particularly computer science, have much higher percentages of Asians than do the universities (or community) at large.
On a different thread someone was wondering what some schools might be where being Asian would be considered a “hook” and this is what I shared:
These are some schools that need more Asians
• American (D.C.)
• Bates (ME)
• Bowdoin (ME)
• Bucknell (PA )
• Carleton (MN)
• Clark (NY)
• Clemson (SC)
• Colby (ME)
• Colgate (NY)
• Colorado College
• Davidson (NC)
• Florida State
• Grinnell (IA)
• Hamilton (NY)
• Indiana University
• Kenyon (OH)
• Lafayette (PA )
• Marquette (WI)
• Miami University (OH)
• Middlebury (VT)
• North Carolina State
• New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
• Oberlin (OH)
• Ohio State
• Purdue (IN)
• Reed (OR)
• Skidmore (NY)
• Texas Christian
• Tulane (LA)
• U. of Alabama
• U. of Denver (CO)
• U. of Iowa
• U. of Miami (FL)
• U. of Notre Dame (IN)
• U. of Richmond (VA)
• U. of San Diego (CA)
• U. of Tulsa (OK)
• Wake Forest (NC)
• Washington & Lee (VA)
• Wesleyan (CT)
• Worcester Polytechnic (MA)
But do not confuse a hook for a shoo-in. It means that if you and another candidate without that hook were otherwise equally meritorious, they’d grab the student with the hook first. But if other students are more qualified, the hook is not going to leap frog you past them.
Some of the listed colleges have a higher percentage of Asian students than in the US population, or probably the US college-age population. For example, Asian people are about 6% of the US population, and probably about a similar percentage of the K-12 and college age population, while Purdue undergraduates are 10% Asian (its state population is only about 3% Asian).
Even where Asian students are underrepresented, that does not necessarily mean that being Asian is a “hook” at all of these schools. For example, some do not consider race or ethnicity in admissions (e.g. Florida State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, University of Alabama, University of Iowa).
Also, some colleges may be assured or highly likely admits for the OP, so that any possible “hook” is basically irrelevant.
It was listed in an earlier post on a laundry list of suggestions, but you may want to take a specific look at Ithaca College. The town of Ithaca has long been an accepting and progressive community. It is very much a college town with 27k students between Cornell and Ithaca College in a town with 30k year-round residents.
Academically Ithaca has strong programs in Fine Art and Music. With certain programs in their School of Art, you should have an opportunity to combine your interest in computers with design and music. They do not have a program in fashion design. I believe you are more than qualified and could receive some merit based on your academic stats and achievements.
Just one other note Ithaca is a smaller community and may be an easier transition from a rural community than entering into a bigger urban area. Good luck!
Thank you, this is super helpful! I will definitely check it out. I was looking at Cornell and although I am interested in cities, the nature-oriented area seemed alluring.
SDSU a would cost less than the UC’s. Has interdisciplinary major. There is Greek life but it a very small percent of the student population. It’s extremely LGBTQ friendly, and then of course access to all the different pockets of San Diego. While it’s a large city there are so many smaller areas that make it feel much more quaint. They are test blind and your GPA would really work in your favor especially since you are out of state.
@Picklenut6 mentioned SDSU. My younger son is a SDSU CS graduate whom now works for a FANG company. School name is not as important when it comes to CS which is highly marketable at so many schools.
Look into The College of NJ. It’s a public LAC with a great price for oos students at $38,000/yr. It’s very well regarded on the east coast and has easy enough access to NYC/Philly via train. It could be a good in between from rural Ohio to ultra urban life plus it’s diverse. U of Portland is another school to check out. You’d probably get merit there and it’s in the city
Puget Sound is an excellent idea. The first school that my daughter visited, she really loved it. Only reason why she didn’t apply was her intended major wasn’t a perfect fit. That said- beautiful campus, great facilities, close to good restaurants/activities in Tacoma, and close to Seattle. Lots of students study abroad, and also double major between an arts/humanities and science concentrations.
Staying in that part of the country, Seattle University is interesting as well. It’s a progressive Jesuit university. You are literally in the heart of the city. Somewhere around 7.5K students, so a good mid-sized school.
I don’t know that if you spend this reserved money on tuition, will more funding be available? You may want to hold funds back for grad school, or to survive as a starving artist. If this is all the money available, and no more, I would be much more conservative in financing college.
How big a factor is your interest in fashion? (And by fashion, do you mean design, in particular, or the business end of the fashion industry?) Most of the schools discussed in this thread do not have any particular programs or strengths in this area.
Syracuse comes to mind as one that does, and is also solid in your other areas of interest. It’s urban, and while Syracuse certainly isn’t NYC, the school has good NYC connections in terms of internships and recruiting.
Virginia Commonwealth U is another that has strong STEM programs, strong fashion programs (both design and merchandising), and strong music programs. It’s urban (Richmond, VA) and has a robust LGBTQ+ community. Campus Pride Index