<p>parkemuth: Wow!! Thank you for sharing the link to that moving essay.</p>
<p>I’ve always felt strongly against affirmative action and that essay really resonates why I feel that way!!</p>
<p>I don’t understand why diversity should be limited to race. And I guess nowadays technically its not since there is gender and sexuality in the mix-but even then why limit diversity just to those as well? there are diversity of beliefs, of ideas of cultures of… well so many things that will cause a college application to take so much time to fill out if a separate box is made for each of those.</p>
<p>Therefore I think the whole affirmative action thing should be chucked(but not like my opinion is gunna change anything :3 ). Have applications only identified by their commonapp id and give every student a fair chance to introduce themselves with the essay. Because clearly, with the link that parkemuth shared, 2 people of the same race doesn’t mean lack of diversity besides skin color.</p>
<p>heh heh I always feel scared to post in this thread but I’ve held back too long XD</p>
<p>I’m sorry if this has been mentioned already. I am kind of in a rush, so I did not have time to look through all the posts. However, I did read before that race significantly defines whether you make it or break it.</p>
<p>I heard that Asian students have to recieve at least 150 on average a higher SAT score in addition to extracurriculars, etc - basically above average compared to other races.</p>
<p>I heard that Caucasian students have to recieve basically what is required, and will be considered even if its the wee minimum.</p>
<p>I heard that African American students, as well as Hispanics, can go a bit under what is required and still make it in.</p>
<p>This does make sense for me because I am well aware that there is a greater Asian to other ethnic group porpotion in terms of US population in ivies and other good school, and a lower proportion of African Americans and Hispanics. </p>
<p>However, as an Asian American, I find this incredibly unfair and aggravating. My parents put even more stress because of this and the increased competition not only because of globalization but to “fight” for a spot as an Asian statistic. I understand colleges can’t have a 70% Asian population, with a 20% Caucasian population and 10% African American population (this is EXAGGERATED. Please don’t take offense), but it’s a little messed up. </p>
<p>Does anyone know more information about this?</p>
<p>For the sake of clarification, I need to ask this.</p>
<p>I’m predominately Greek (I look the part and just about everything else), yet I’m a quarter Ecuadorian and a quarter Italian. When i select Hispanic, which i pretty much am, will it not look weird that I have a Greek first and late name despite selecting Hispanic as my ethnicity?</p>
<p>From the sound of it, colleges take self identification as just that, a matter of preference and opinion. But do they ever question an applicant’s ethnicity anyway and ask for some sort of proof? Again, point me out if i sound ridiculous in any way.</p>
<p>With all due respect, three pages is about as short as this type of thread will ever be. You can see that this is “‘Race’ in College Admission FAQ & Discussion 10,” as in there have been nine previous versions of this thread. Each previous version has exceeded fifty pages before being closed.</p>
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<p>Racial classification only matters at selective universities. Most universities are not selective (i.e. admit more than they reject) and at these universities, as long as you pass a SAT and GPA cutoff (and didn’t copy and paste the wrong essay), you will be admitted.</p>
<p>At selective universities, racial classification will matter. Being a so-called “underrepresented” minority is not a guarantee of admission, but it certainly helps. Being a so-called “overrepresented” minority is not a guarantee of rejection, but it may hurt.</p>
<p>If you are concerned about this, you may always decline to answer “the race box.” Just leave it blank.</p>
<p>i have considered applying unknown race/ethicity but with a last name of Wong
it screams Chinese so i dont see the point. I go into applying to colleges with the mindset that being asian is unlucky and nothing i/ federal law can do to give me a fair chance.</p>
<p>On top of that i have “unAsian/asian-fail” grades and sat scores (3.8/1800) which makes me at an extrenely disadvantage in the college process.</p>
<p>I was not president of any club (not even math/science club) and did not invent sci/med stuff or save lives.</p>
<p>I too had a surname that “screamed Chinese.” (Because I am ethnically Chinese.) I legally changed it such that my name is now completely ambiguous in terms of racial classification, ethnicity, or ancestral origin. The process varies by state and perhaps even by county, but it is an option.</p>
<p>I empathize. At the same time that someone fails to live up to the “high-stat Asian” stereotype, that person is excluded by a system that holds that stereotype up as the standard for all Asian applicants.</p>
<p>"Dartmouth, for example, specifically asks your race, and they tell you that they are looking for an ethnically diverse population, so when they ask, it helps them and gives people a chance for scholarship opportunities. "</p>
<p>then you quote Dartmouth</p>
<p>“We are interested in drawing together a community of students that collectively represents as wide a spectrum of backgrounds, perspectives and interests as possible. Among a wide array of recruitment activities, admissions officers, students and alumni participate in the recruitment of prospective students of color. If you choose to identify yourself as a member of an underrepresented minority group, it will allow us to provide you with supplemental information and to pass your name on to student and alumni groups that may be sponsoring events of interest to you.” </p>
<p>is the supplemental information and sponsored events what you mean by scholarships? That’s not the way I read it. </p>
<p>Also, “do you know… how many super wealthy african americans there are in affluent areas like CA, NY, NJ and CT?”. I do not. do you have any numbers?</p>
<p>I wish I’d changed my last name from Yang to… I don’t know, something white. A lot of my friends are half Asian/half Caucasian, and a few of them have gotten name changes so they’ll get bumped up a bit for admissions. Having that 100-point SAT difference could really help; I got a 2240, but as my white friends say, “That’s a failure for Asian-Americans, but admissions would love you - if only you were white.” T.T
I don’t even identify as Asian (I am extremely white-washed), but if I checked the box for Caucasian, my last name would be a dead giveaway. Cue bitterness.</p>
<p>Should I leave the ‘Race’ box blank? At the very least it could tell the officers that I’m aware of my rights as a US citizen, but it could also annoy them. I know a lot of Asian-American kids like me are rather whiny about being Asian-American because it ‘perpetuates the stereotype that all Asian kids want to get into Ivy League schools’, but it’s not the kids who are talking. It’s laughable that I actually get to choose which schools I apply to. That happy power resides with my parents.
Asian kids want to do well and get into Ivy Leagues so that their/our parents can stop telling everyone around us that we’re failures and won’t amount to anything. Really. No joke. Every single time my parents get together with their friends, it’s another rendition of ‘100 Ways in Which Our Daughter Fails’. </p>
<p>So yes, I am bitter. A lot of Asian kids are. But can you blame us for wanting to get our parents off our backs for the first time in our lives?
(Not that my parents would be happy with just an Ivy League. There’s also grad school. Yippee.)</p>
<p>How should I answer the race question? I’m part Portuguese, Persian, Indian and Eastern European so should I check white and Asian, white with European and middle eastern or what? What would look best for college admissions?</p>
<p>Being white isn’t actually that much easier than being Asian. Part of the reason Caucasians have a higher acceptance rate than Asians do at most selective colleges is because a lot of them who get in have legacy. I’m also willing to bet that Caucasians are also more income diverse than Asians are, and colleges like both poor and super-rich people (who donate money, of course).</p>
<p>Also, I don’t understand why a lot of Asians are mad at the “discrimination” against Asians.</p>
<p>Highly ranked colleges have a need to balance out their population or nobody would want to go there. If they didn’t accept so many rich black students or first generation African Americans, then few black students would apply because they would see that that 1% of the student body is black. I’m Chinese, but the one thing that would be worse than rejected by Harvard is getting into Harvard and finding out that it is completely dominated by ABCs (Americans born Chinese).</p>
<p>I’m sorry you feel that way. Did you know that eighty years ago, the President of Harvard argued that he had to restrict Jewish admissions or else Jews would drive out the “Gentiles” and after having driven them out, would not want to attend Harvard either?</p>
<p>A. Lawrence Lowell, Harvard’s president in the nineteen-twenties, stated flatly that too many Jews would destroy the school: “The summer hotel that is ruined by admitting Jews meets its fate…because they drive away the Gentiles, and then after the Gentiles have left, they leave also.”</p>
<p>at a22…
the apps that i have seem have a bi-racial colum and you check what you are</p>
<p>@hpotter12 i ABSOLUTELY agree. being asian sucks UNLESS you are the smartest 5.9GPA 2401 SAT score asains.</p>
<p>And if ivys are gonna select asains, you can bet that 99% of their asians are gonna be the sharpest tools in the shed.</p>
<p>Legacyies and wealth are another story. But there are 1 million times more forced overachieving asians and bragging/putting down asain parents than there are mega rich/ legacy whites around.</p>
<p>And whites usualy arent considered ORM overly represnetated. So colleges dont have to watch their limits when they select students.
The “holistical approach” is a lie and total BS. anyone agree?</p>
<p>quote: “Is there anyone who DOESN’T think their demographic is “screwed”?”</p>
<p>i totally agree. Screw data and stats demographics and last name should not even be known until admissions are secured. it is a bonus if your name is latisha or something obvious but the level of discrimination is much lower.</p>