<p>I'm half white and half asian (european last name), so I was wondering whether mixed or white is better for applying to colleges. I don't want responses telling me to pick whatever I identify with. Honestly, I will identify with whatever gets me into the colleges I want, like MIT and Wharton. I am sure that putting asian by itself would devastate my application because then Id have to compete with kids who sleep 3 hours every day in order to maximize their studying. But yeah, any ideas on what I should pick?</p>
<p>Just put white.</p>
<p>Don’t check the race box!
Anything is better than checking the Asian box.</p>
<p>“I’d have to compete with kids who sleep 3 hours every day in order to maximize their studying.”</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>It is not about how much you sleep or study. It is about your studying habit.</p>
<p>Join the BSU at your school, put that in extracurriculars, then decline to mark the race box. They will infer that you’re black. </p>
<p>No, in all seriousness, they don’t really take race into as much consideration as you might think if you’re not black, hispanic, or native american. But I guess if I had to choose between white and Asian, I’d go with white.</p>
<p>^ what’s with the confusion? I have an asian friend who regularly gets 3 hours of sleep so that he can volunteer (he even coordinates inexperienced volunteers below him), spearhead two clubs he created, maintain A+s in 7 APs, tag proteins at princeton, etc. I just can’t compete with these people. So the question is still white or mixed and why.</p>
<p>Same situation(surname McCann). I put Asian</p>
<p>Here are my results to put this into perspective.(3.7 UW, 1490/2190 SAT, masochistic course-load, moderate everything else, Va resident)
Accepted: Va Tech, Ga Tech, Wake Forest, Michigan, UVA, William and Mary
Rejected:U Penn, U Chicago, Cornell, Wash U</p>
<p>In other words, My statistical reaches rejected me; My statistical matches accepted me. Take it for what you will. Would Cornell have accepted me if I was “white”? Maybe, maybe not, IDK.</p>
<p>Well, I can assure you Wake Forest’s admissions committee probably squealed with glee when they saw an Asian applicant :'D They’re trying to diversify, but the campus is almost entirely white atm.</p>
<p>@caligulashorse. Lol. So true. I went to one of their admitted students days. One word. Homogeneous.</p>
<p>ok but MIT and Wharton have too many asians. I know that race is a HUGE factor. For example, my school is 40% asian, yet the ap physics class is 100% asian and even ap english is 90% asian. What I select as my race basically determines who I’m competing against, right? or am I overstating the importance of race?</p>
<p>[Best</a> Undergraduate Business Schools 2011: No. 2: University of Virginia (McIntire) - BusinessWeek](<a href=“http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20110227/best-undergraduate-business-schools-2011/slides/3]Best”>http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20110227/best-undergraduate-business-schools-2011/slides/3)</p>
<p>Wharton can suck McIntire’s intimate parts. jk.</p>
<p>I think you are overstating it a bit. I mean, it’s a soft factor. If your essay is good and you have good ECs, and good scores, I doubt that being Asian will be the deciding factor. I would argue that as a HALF-Asian, you are well equipped to write an essay about diversity, tolerance and all that stuff, if you want to go that route.</p>
<p>This is actually a growing problem. We are kind of the first generation of half-Asians in America. Thirty years from now we will be the role-models for happa teens struggling to find voice in a racially charged world… or at least, that is what i said on the U of M essay.</p>
<p>the simple answer is yes, they care. Choose white if it makes you happier.</p>
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<p>Actually, [Wake</a> Forest’s Common Data Set](<a href=“Home - Office of Institutional Research”>Home - Office of Institutional Research) indicates that for 2009-2010, 5.5% of undergraduates are Asian. This is greater than the 4.6% of the US population that is Asian, and greater than the ~2% of the North Carolina population that is Asian.</p>
<p>But white students make up 80.5% of Wake Forest’s undergraduates. 7.4% are black and 3.7% are Latino.</p>
<p>Generally, White. But some places favor asians, like Vanderbilt and some small liberal arts colleges, so keep that in mind.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus - Doesn’t change the fact that they’re trying to attract non-whites to campus. I went there for a year and it’s sameface everywhere.</p>
<p>Also, I have to wonder how many of that 5.5% was international. A lot of Asians I saw walking around were speaking Korean.</p>
<p>“Non-resident aliens” is listed as a separate category; the number is about 1.5% of total undergraduates at Wake Forest.</p>
<p>“What I select as my race basically determines who I’m competing against, right?” </p>
<p>This would be true if you were an URM. But since you aren’t, you’re competing in the largest pool – whites and Asians.</p>
<p>You’ve got nothing to “game” here for any advantage or to avoid any perceived disadvantage. **Your hurdle is to be unique **-- regardless of your ethnicity. Being a boring “white” applicant will torpedo you just as quickly as being a boring “Asian” applicant when it comes to selective college admissions. </p>
<p>If your target schools don’t holistically evaluate candidates, then you REALLY don’t have anything to worry about.</p>
<p>“I will identify with whatever gets me into the colleges I want, like MIT and Wharton.”</p>
<p>Don’t be brave.
Just check the white box or don’t check the race box at all.
I know 2 half Asian and half white kids (with European last names) who got into Ivy League colleges. I don’t think they checked the Asian box.</p>
<p>Ok I think i’ll check the white box cuz if I don’t check anything then they will probably assume I am asian anyway. :</p>