<p>Please disregard the somewhat offensive title, but I felt like I needed to get the point across...</p>
<p>I'm a Chinese student at an international school in Hong Kong. I'm used to hanging out with students from all races. I am looking at the top 25 universities and the top 5 liberal arts colleges.
I want to be able to see familiar faces, and therefore I want to find a school with a large Asian population.
However, what I've heard anecdotally is that students at schools with large Asian populations (Berkeley, UCLA) actually feel that those schools are less multicultural, because there are so many students there that aren't very well assimilated into Western culture, and therefore, there's a lot of self-segregation going on. At the risk of sounding very self-hating, I really don't fit in well with 'FOBs' at all.
I feel like I connect better with students that will have a similar background to me - from an international school, or otherwise raised in a Western culture.</p>
<p>So, I guess, what I'm asking is: which good schools have proportionally more Asian American populations? I'd much rather prefer schools with less Asians, but with all of them very well integrated with people of all ethnicities. </p>
<p>Am I correct in thinking that liberal arts colleges will proportionally more Asian Americans?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Quick edit: I should mention that I'll probably want a small to mid-sized school.</p>
<p>The various schools’ Common Data Sets will show you how many Asian American and international students there are among undergraduates. However, they won’t tell you which Asian American students are relatively “FOB”.</p>
<p>ucb - don’t the common data sets also provide countries and breakdowns from each country?</p>
<p>OP - liberal arts colleges have low percentages of Asians (less than 10%?) to the extent they are trying to attract Asians to attend their schools as minorities which is not the same case with top 25 universities where they are over represented compared to the general population levels.</p>
<p>I’m looking primarily at Swathmore, Amherst, and Williams - all with around 10% Asians, I think.</p>
<p>I’m not TOO concerned with how many Asians there are though - rather, how multicultural the social groups are (not 40% Asians, but all of them segregating themselves from everyone else).</p>
<p>I should add this as well - although I’m outgoing and like socialising, I’m a bit of a geek at heart (ie I like debating stuff). Am I right in thinking that liberal arts colleges would have more ‘intellectuals’, so to speak?</p>
<p>Basically, what you’re looking for is not a school with a big Asian population as much as a school with a strong multicultural vibe where Asians are also represented. Right?</p>
<p>I think the Stanfords and Harvards of the world definitely fit the bill. Apart from them, certain schools are more open to internationals than others. Are you female? Because if so, Mount Holyoke has the highest percentage of international students of any school in the US, I think (or close to it), and is extremely serious about attracting women from all corners of the world and making them feel at home at MHC. Grinnell is another liberal arts college with a distinctly global feel, if I’m not mistaken.</p>
<p>[International</a> Students at MHC<a href=“notice%20the%20number%20of%20Chinese%20students–it’s%20quite%20impressive”>/url</a></p>
<p>I’m sure others will have more recommendations.</p>
<p>ETA: If intellectualism is your other main selection criterion and you like Swarthmore, I can’t not plug my own school, Reed. It has a relatively small international population (~5-6%, iirc), which may be a deal-breaker for you, but do give it a look before dismissing it. Reed, Swarthmore and UChicago’s applicant pools tend to overlap sometimes.</p>
<p>Thanks, Ghostt, you’ve hit the nail on the head. </p>
<p>That’s primarily what I’m looking for, a school with a strong multicultural vibe.</p>
<p>I would love to go to Stanford or Harvard, but my reaches are Columbia or Brown at best :P. Any other schools you would recommend that would fit the bill?</p>
<p>It’s in the nation’s capital and has the School of Business and the School of Foreign Service which attract A LOT of internationals and Asians.</p>
<p>In fact, reflecting that diversity the university recently added an Asian Graduation event. </p>
<p>It was Georgetown’s first celebratory commencement for Asian graduates. In collaboration with the Center for Multicultural Equity & Access and Center for Student Programs, the Asian Graduation Ceremony served to honor its Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) and International Asian students; as well as allies who have helped contribute and advance the APIA community at Georgetown. The celebration aimed to recognize the achievements of the graduates, and celebrate the cultures and legacies that have shaped their paths at Georgetown and beyond. Each student was presented with a complimentary stole to honor his or her Asian heritage. The ceremony included a distinguished guest speaker, student speakers, and a reception.</p>
<p>FWIW
The university is ranked 23 overall by US News, but is comprised of 4 undergraduate colleges.</p>
<p>The College of Arts and Science (A LAC within the university, and with access to the resources of a research university)
The School of Foreign Service (ranked Top 5 among schools of this type)
The School of Nursing and Health Studies
The McDonough School of Business (ranked 10 by Business Week and 19 by US News)</p>
<p>On the subject of reach schools, Columbia and Brown both boast acceptance rates below 10%. Unlike, say, Harvard, neither of them is need-blind for internationals. There’s practically no difference in selectivity for internationals between Columbia & Brown and, to coin a phrase, HYPS. To give you some anecdata, students from my school (also an international one) have had very random results at these universities; this year we had a student who got into Brown, Princeton and Stanford, but was rejected at Columbia and Yale, and a student who got into Yale but not Brown, etc. It’s always like that.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to say is that these schools are all very hard to get into. Shying away from some of them because you perceive your chances of admission there to be too slim while applying to others is pretty much pointless.</p>
<p>Yes, Georgetown seems like a match for me. Other matchy/reachy schools for me include Tufts, Washington University, John Hopkins. Are those multicultural and racially integrated?</p>
<p>Ghostt: I guess. I’m not a particularly exceptional student (I slacked off a lot in highschool) but I’d still say I’m well above average. I really want at least one reach school (Brown, Columbia, HYP) that can just ‘wow’ employers, though, if I’m lucky enough to get into. I’m not quite sure which one to choose.</p>
<p>It is safe to assume that any top 25 private school in a multi-cultural city is integrated and values diversity. Especially top private schools in Boston, DC, Baltimore, and New York. Private schools tend to have international students with means, because, outside of HYP, they rarely grant aid to internationals. </p>
<p>The issue with schools like UCLA and Berkeley is that these are public schools and attract a number of international students that haven’t had the opportunities that you’ve had. Most likely, they haven’t been exposed to different cultures and experiences like you have been. Or they haven’t been to boarding school. It’s not their fault, but it may prevent them from branching out of their comfort zone. At the same time I am sure there are Asians at UCLA and Berkeley that are like you and have found a way to integrate.</p>
<p>I hate to break it to you. There are tons of Asians who were born in USA/Internationals that attend these schools. To assume otherwise is like admitting you have not been travelling much.</p>
<p>What about NYU (not a fan, but many internationals use it as a safety)? Don’t go to midwest or south. Most top tier schools will have fair share of Asians. My nephew and a good friend’s son are at JHU. One is bi-racial and another is 100% Chinese, both of them are very mainstreamed - varsity sport and Greek life. Most segregation at those schools are usually self-segregation. When applying as an international, make sure you check off “not applying for FA.”</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like OP will need FA. Sometimes people check off the FA box hoping maybe they’ll get lucky, and not be aware that by checking off that box puts one at a disadvantage. Even when a school says they are need blind for admission, they are still need aware.</p>
<p>I suspect that the Asian-American populations at Amherst, Swarthmore and Pomona are much high than what is stated due to those who did not indicate their ethnicity.</p>