<p>I'm thinking of applying to some LACs in the Midwest. However, my mom and dad (one who went to Marquette Medical school and one who went to just Marquette) told me their experiences of them dealing with prejudices against Asians. To those who are Asian or a minority in the Midwest, do you have to deal with this?</p>
<p>Hello! I’m guessing your parents went to school in the 80s. That was a very long time ago and things have changed 
Though the school is overwhelmingly white, most students at Marquette are from out of state and the diversity of the campus is increasing as time goes on. I have family from Milwaukee and I visit every summer. Milwaukee is a thriving city with a lot of young people. Between the Brewers and the Bucks, there is a huge sense of community in Milwaukee. It’s a great place to go to college!</p>
<p>Thank you for your response! </p>
<p>Of course, every city/town and campus is different.</p>
<p>However, non-black minorities may be rare in some parts of the midwest. You might encounter clueless curiosity more than malicious racism. E.g. people asking “where are you from?” and assuming that you will name a foreign country (not Canada) instead of some place in the US.</p>
<p>That maybe a long time ago. I never been to the Midwest but from the people I dealt with they are pretty friendly.</p>
<p>What state is Marquette? I like the people from Minnesota, nice and friendly like Canadian people.</p>
<p>@DrGoogle Wisconsin!</p>
<p>I don’t know about Wisconsin but there is a term Minnesota nice for a reason.</p>
<p>I am Arab and I lived in Michigan for over 8 years (including two years post 2001). Neither I, nor any of my acquaintances, had any experience with prejudice. I found Midwesterns very welcoming and genuine.</p>
<p>I have been living in 3 states in the Midwest since the 1980s, traveling frequently in the Midwest and staying close to many Asian students. I think most people in the Midwest are very friendly and open-minded, especially the people in the college communities. Racism against minorities is rare. Sometimes I perceive that some Asian immigrants have their own hidden agenda of racism against other races. Actually being Asian (especially Asian Male) might help your admission to the LACs in the Midwest for there aren’t many Asian-Americans in those schools. Many Asian immigrants are not familiar with the LACs for they often came from engineering or other professional backgrounds with graduate degrees while most LACs do not offer these degrees.</p>
<p>I have lived on the East and West Coasts, as well as in the mid-west. I find mid-westerners to be friendly, unpretentious and genuine. Much more down to the earth and family focused than the coastal states. As an Asian American, I never had any issues with racial prejudice in the mid-west.</p>
<p>I’m currently attending a Big 10 university and there is a large Asian population, both foreign and American-born. I do see racism happen, but it’s not in your face “I hate Asians”. It’s alot more of implied racism like “why can’t you adjust to American culture?” or “why are there so many foreigners here?”. The “racism” pertains more toward foreign Asian students and American-born Asians are likely to be grouped with them since the average student doesn’t know the difference at first glance. That being said, t’s not a huge problem like everyone else is saying and a lot of people are extremely friendly to everyone, but I can’t deny that it doesn’t happen every once in a while. </p>
<p>There once was during the first decline of the US auto companies back in the 70’s and early 80’s. Today people are over that and nobody cares. Better quality Asian food has made huge inroads into most Midwest cities and college towns. Even local farmers’ markets often have many Asian grower/sellers. They are now part of the local culture.</p>
<p>So would applying to W&L be an advantage for me? And what does it mean when people say the student body is conservative?</p>
<p>Well, W&L is not in the mid-west, it is Virginia, which was part of the Confederacy. While the student body is conservative, that describes a political and social outlook which does not imply a racial bias. There are many Asians in Virginia, especially in Northern VA and the areas with major college campuses. There is no racial bias that I’ve experienced living here.</p>
<p>^^ Uncle(Asian) was a dean in UVA for over 20 years, never had a problem with racism in and around Charlottesville.</p>
<p>how can i convince my parents to apply and tour there?</p>
<p>“There” as in a specific school, or the region in general?</p>
<p>And are your parents’ objections to the specific school or region in general about racism, or about other things?</p>
<p>But you probably want to start your school search with such basic criteria as academics of your interest and financial feasability (i.e. run each school’s net price calculator to check financial aid, and check for merit scholarships if financial aid is not enough – if you need merit scholarships to be able to afford the school, makes your reach/match/safety assessment on the merit scholarships, not admission). Visiting is more time consuming and expensive, so you want to get make a list of schools that meet your basic criteria first, so that you do not waste time and money visiting schools that will not be a fit for academic or cost reasons.</p>
<p>You should also look at UVA since it’s close by. Didn’t you mention on another thread that you may qualify for a scholarship at W&L? I think that’s a good enough reason to apply and visit.</p>
<p>You might consider inverting your position. Clearly your parents have a bias against non-Asian people in the Midwest. Do you want to deal with going counter to your parent’s biases or would it be easier for you to look at non-Midwest schools and eliminate a stress point with your parents?</p>
<p>Is there racism in the Midwest? Yes.
Is there racism in Los Angeles? Yes.
Is there racism in New York city? Yes.
Is there racism in Tokyo against non-Japanese Asians? Yes.
Is there racism on Mars? Not yet, but there will be if human beings ever colonize there.</p>
<p>Until you live on an island by yourself it will be impossible to live in a bias free world. Even then, you will still have to live with your own biases. </p>