Race on Application

<p>mmm, i still don't think it hurts.</p>

<p>Ask other Indians. See what they put. I'd personally not check the Caucasian box (like what you said about how you putting Caucasian and them seeing you as Indian... haha).</p>

<p>Lollipop- you are so incredibly wrong.</p>

<p>Being Asian/Indian is the worst race--you have to be many times better than black/hispanic/native american/other URMS.</p>

<p>I'm not really sure what they do when you don't check the box.</p>

<p>of course we have to be better than other URMs because we arent URMs!!!!!!!!!!!! I get that. However, we're not caucasian so we have a slightly better chance. anyways, colleges arent supposed to use race against you so in my opinion, it doesnt matter</p>

<p>No, being Asian is worse than being white. </p>

<p>"Colleges are not supposed to use race against you." -- Well, there's something called affirmative action and they sure as hell do use race in admissions (i.e. giving URMs advantages), which makes it much harder for Asians than other races.</p>

<p>I agree....
chances toward college...</p>

<p>asian<white : .</p>

<p>Unarguably true.
Whether they say so or not.
And it's less about race, than the fact
that asians are more competitive.</p>

<p>Judge us against ourselves?
We fall.</p>

<p>As my friend says:</p>

<p>"It's indian against indian"</p>

<p>I'm not indian, btw.</p>

<p>that is just the assumption though because the majority of asians are just so smart. however, i have yet to see any actual proof or evidence of this. in either case, the OP cant lie</p>

<p>Well I won't be lieng if I don't put anything down...afterall its optional, but I'm pretty sure putting Asian down is a big disadvantage. Maybe if I leave it blank and they go through my application fully...reading my essays and all they won't count my race much into consideration. I think if they read my race (which is on the first page) their view of my application will be blown up...they'll have higher standards. Lollipop, I know you say race shouldn't matter, but I bet behind closed doors when they are making decisions..it does.</p>

<p>Eh I hear it might hurt you because Asians are so darn smart ^^</p>

<p>I repeat: anecdotal stories and scant evidence do not equal discrimination against some Asians. </p>

<p>Without seeing the form you are filling out, the part containing racial/ethnic information may not even go to the admissions committee.</p>

<p>thank you tsdad!</p>

<p>The thing is...the race box is used to determine URM status. If you don't fill it in, they'll just assume you're white or asian anyway.</p>

<p>does it look bad to leave it blank?</p>

<p>im pretty sure even if all evidence suggests your asian, that they wont view you as an asian for admissions purposes if you leave it blank. I mean, it does says check all boxes that YOU WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH</p>

<p>Also, for their own purposes and profiles that show percent of URM, they can't just assume your asian (since you didn't report)- so why would they use it against you for admission?</p>

<p>I believe Asians are generally overrepresented at universities (meaning the percentage of Asians in the college is higher than the percentage of Asians in America), so for colleges seeking a balanced demographic, I don't think being Asian would help. I'm Indian but my name sounds kinda Hispanic so I'm not putting anything :).</p>

<p>hey parikhs, what was ur safety school?</p>

<p>Some schools are underrepresented for Asian-Americans, not many but some. Either that or decline to answer the question. Lying is not an option, especially if "Indian subcontinent" is clearly listed under the Asian heading. I wouldn't try to "work" the system in this case. Worse case scenario is that your race makes no impact. If you lie, it will definitely be a negative impact that you make.</p>

<p>There is no argument here. Affirmative action was upheld by the Supreme Court, and schools consider race.</p>

<p>Read this article: <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S11/80/77I23/index.xml?sectio%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S11/80/77I23/index.xml?sectio&lt;/a> </p>

<p>Notable facts in the article:
Without affirmative action, acceptance rate for blacks would go from 33.7% to 12.2%. For Hispanics, acceptance rate would fall from 26.8% to 12.9%.</p>

<p>If race isn't a factor, why would this be the case?</p>

<p>Prove to me that race isn't used (i.e. facts). Thats a bunch of bogus, and I can't believe people are even making the argument.</p>

<p>thanks for that article pton. you proved my point exactly. race for ORMs is not really going to ruin our chances. Colleges look at race for URMs, and frankly for asians, it wont matter.</p>

<p>the reason i think so many people say smart asians are getting rejected is because these students may be book smart but not necessarily well rounded. colleges like a good mix.</p>

<p>Huh? I fail to understand your point or your argument.</p>

<p>The article states that if colleges didn't look at race, the acceptance rate for Asians would rise dramatically. Clearly, racial preferences hurt Asians. I don't see how you can disagree. You seem to be ignoring the facts.</p>

<p>Schools do consider race, when it is necessary for that institution (usually based on whether or not that ethnic group is under-represented on their campus). When it's not an important factor for the school, it's something they don't pay attention to it....a neutral fact. However, being dishonest on your application is a definite negative element. Either check off Asian or don't check anything at all.</p>