Yes, trying not to rule out schools entirely just because it doesn’t have CA demographics, but trying to narrow it down to where she’d feel comfortable so that’s why MIT and UM would work (she just has to get in! ). And I realize numbers only don’t give a full picture, but if the school and city both are overwhelmingly white only, she will likely feel she really sticks out all the time.
That is very true and so she might not relate to every Asian at a school, which she doesn’t have to and really more diversity of backgrounds would be good for her. But international numbers, and other racial diversity, do contribute to the overall vibe of the campus and feeling of welcomeness she wants.
That’s really interesting didn’t know that about Boulder. Agree OC does not always seem to be a real mixed/blending pot, it’s actually one pocket of California I’m not very comfortable sending her to because of it’s really conservative leadership and vocal community, but because the overall diversity is high (racial/culturally as well as politically), we wouldn’t rule out UC Irvine if that school worked for her.
Yes, there does seem to be a lot of overrepresentation there! Thanks!
Regarding international students, note that in many countries in Asia, general attitudes and government laws and policies are more conservative about acceptance of LGBTQ+, so that may be another reason not to assume that international students from Asia are similar to Asian American students in all respects.
Also, international students may be more likely to favor their heritage language in casual conversation, versus Asian American students being more likely to favor English in comparison.
Yes definitely, many Asian countries are not that progressive and their students may not always be welcoming of other Asian groups or Americans of Asian descent. And all Asian American kids aren’t going to necessarily feel comfortable with foreign-born students.
I just meant that, at a campus with a high percentage of international students, I view those colleges and their majority Caucasian student bodies as being more open to or at least comfortable with diversity. Of course I’m sure that generalization is sometimes wrong as some campuses and/or their host communities might instead view the international students as foreigners taking up their resources (those folks may feel the same toward Asian Americans).
In my experience, friendship and/or romance tend to solve these problems. College is a prime time for the development of both friendships and romantic relationships. Living and learning in close quarters with the “others” away from possible negative cultural narratives does wonders for broadening one’s perspectives. There’s a reason why colleges like diversity.
I remember visiting the school my daughter chose on a weekend. The Saturday was a bunch of activities like a high school robotics tournament taking place in the field house and a fraternity field day taking place across the street. There was a woman’s soccer game (that my daughter attended) and the group she was with ate in the dining hall. Lots of people walking around but not necessarily students.
On Sunday, we had a meeting with the coach so returned to campus. It was dead. I saw several students heading into the library, one toting a CASE of Mtn Dew, so I think he was settling in for a L O N G study session.
And I think it was a very good picture of what was going on at the campus. On Saturdays they do more social things, and on Sundays they study.
Most colleges tend to be inherently diversified compared to at least their local areas. Diversity commonly (but not always) increases along these lines:
Elementary school that draws from a small neighborhood.
Middle school that may draw from multiple elementary schools.
High school that may draw from multiple middle schools.
Community college that may draw from an area with several high schools.
Commuter-based university that may draw from an area with several community colleges and high schools.
State flagship level university that may draw from the entire state.
University that draws from many parts of the country.
Graduate study at a university that draws internationally as well as domestically.
A typical college that wants to attract the best students in terms of both past and potential future achievement will want to be attractive to all such students, so it wants to avoid the negative marketing associated with being seen as unfriendly to any particular demographic.
Agree, don’t judge a college by the admissions rate…oh wait, that seems to be the biggest factors in all of these ratings unfortunately.
Connecting with professors and current students made my kids’ decisions much easier and there was no focus on prestige or ratings by that point even when those were on the table.
Hello! Yes, we’re now re-looking at Univ of Rochester after folks here helped me encourage her to reconsider. I can see why many thought it would be a good fit so it’s probably going on her list, although we are still concerned about whether it will feel too cold/isolated.
That’s what I’m afraid of if we try to visit only on a Sunday, that it will be the day with minimal buzz on campus. Even a Saturday with lots of non-students around gives it a lively feel like you saw. My D visited some schools over the summer when hardly anyone was around, and any potential friendly faces were masked, so I’m sure it was hard to imagine what normal days are like. Though I guess it would be helpful to know that long study sessions might require a case of Mt Dew! Thanks!
My D says summer is hot, fall is amazing but short, and winter equals Canada. And then there is mud. Would not consider it isolated at all. There is a lot to do in the area, and Rochester’s a pretty cool city, IMO. I think your D would love the diversity it offers though, as well as the open curriculum. I forget if you’re working within a budget. They drastically dropped my D’s FA after freshman year, enough that she had to transfer out (as did 3 other people she knew), so beware of that. Just do a bit of research and see if that’s still happening. Not everyone experiences, but we saw what looked like a pattern. And if your D gets mostly merit aid, you won’t need to worry about that.
“Forgive me as I haven’t read through this whole thread, but if you’re interested in schools in blue states where there is a higher percentage of Asian students, consider Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. My husband (Chinese) and son (biracial) are graduates. Big engineering and computer science, but they also have the school of humanities and social sciences and the Lally School of Business. LGBTQA+ friendly. Good sized Asian student population as well as faculty”
I grew up a few years in upstate NY, Poughkeepsie, not too far from Vassar, and NY is not entirely a blue state. As with other states, the cities, college towns are blue but the areas outside them are red. I was there in the 80s and NY voted for Ronald Reagan, twice! You’ll be fine in the Albany area where RPI/Union are.
As for non-stem, I do know a few people that went to RPI, it was a popular choice at my high school, I recall them saying that, at least back then, you had to be very sure you wanted to major in stem. Having a School of Humanities/Social Science and a good one are two different things.
Ouch that’s so painful and so stressful. I know family finances change so there’s no guarantee year to year, but if it happened to so many kids it is definitely something to be wary of. Even if my D doesn’t get financial aid, it’s not something we want to hear about how they treat their students.
But winter = Canada might be enough to scare her off anyway! Thanks for your help!
Yes, California is that way too. Can get very red especially outside the cities.
This is a great point and one that is harder for us to gauge. I think that’s one area we’re wary of regarding WPI and would be for RPI too. Thanks for your help!
My son is also a STEM student but has a strong interest in international relations and wants to continue advancing his languages. So, the schools included on his list of 15 colleges include Johns Hopkins, CWR, Tufts, Rice, one Ivy, Lehigh and Bucknell. His friends who are more engineering-oriented, and aiming for MIT or Cal Tech, also like RPI, and Georgia Tech. We have not had a chance to visit Wash U yet, and would be interested why your daughter removed it from her list.
). And I realize numbers only don’t give a full picture, but if the school and city both are overwhelmingly white only, she will likely feel she really sticks out all the time.
Thanks!
) to others.
Yes, we’re now re-looking at Univ of Rochester after folks here helped me encourage her to reconsider. I can see why many thought it would be a good fit so it’s probably going on her list, although we are still concerned about whether it will feel too cold/isolated.
Would not consider it isolated at all. There is a lot to do in the area, and Rochester’s a pretty cool city, IMO. I think your D would love the diversity it offers though, as well as the open curriculum. I forget if you’re working within a budget. They drastically dropped my D’s FA after freshman year, enough that she had to transfer out (as did 3 other people she knew), so beware of that. Just do a bit of research and see if that’s still happening. Not everyone experiences, but we saw what looked like a pattern. And if your D gets mostly merit aid, you won’t need to worry about that.
Thanks for your help!