<p>such as being an experienced African dancer, or a professional sailing athlete, or a fisherman off the coast of Maine?</p>
<p>in these cases, does being Asian actually HELP instead of hurt? (since a majority of Asians do fit the math/science stereotype, note I say 'majority', not 'all') Therefore, such Asians stick out a lot more in the admissions process? </p>
<p><--- in relation to H of course (note username).</p>
<p>haha … “Non-Asian ECs”</p>
<p>To be honest, it doesn’t matter if your asian, white, black or whatever, whether it’s fair or not, a commitment to what an admission officer would see as an unusual EC can only help. Doing something different than most of your peers shows that you are not scared of doing what you actually enjoy doing, that you have your own mind. It really sets you apart in the application process and makes a great essay. Just remember to participate in these ECs because you enjoy them not because they are seen as weird.</p>
<p>lol. yes I know that.</p>
<p>I just want to know whether someone who does these things might actually benefit from the boringness of the majority of the Asian applicant pool.</p>
<p>I am an Asian myself, so I am allowed to insult my own kind. :D</p>
<p>Honestly, it doesn’t matter which ECs you pick. It’s like volunteering at a hospital compared to volunteering at a homeless shelter, Harvard isn’t going to say which one is better. However, what Harvard wants to see is if you are commuted to and excel in your ECs. What I mean is that you can be Asian and play tennis but if you are nationally ranked, you pretty much have a advantage over the other Asian. If you are one of the top USAMO scorer or a 4 time USAMO qualifier, I guarantee you that you have an advantage over the other math people. The advantage comes from excelling at the EC. This also goes for commitment. If you are committed to help tutor the inner city kids and spend hours (like 500+) of volunteering, it is a lot better than helping out for like 100 hours at a hospital. Harvard wants to see commitment and excellence at an EC, not which EC you do. The reason why many math loving, science loving Asians get rejected is because there are other people who are better than them at the same EC. Even if an Asian chooses to become a English person, if he/she isn’t committed to writing good stories and sending them into competition, then it is meaningless.</p>
<p>^cdz512 yes!. An ec is an ec is an ec. Your achievements indeed raise your app’s
credibility that you will be a formidable addition to the entering class.</p>
<p>You’re still Asian. That’s the cold reality of the admissions process. You are subjected to a higher admission standard.</p>
<p>Well according to Mr. Fitzsimmons(dean of admissions) has a very specific vision of how he models each Harvard undergrad class. He recently did an interview with a Harvard show “On Harvard Time,” and here’s what he said regarding each class: "Every year we’re going to admit about 2100 people. And there’ll be two or three hundred people who will have some sort of distinguishing excellence…music, social service (presumably journalism and sports as well)…at a national or international level. Then there are two or three hundred people who are very unusual academically…national or international contests. Most people therefore – you’ve done the addition, we’re now down to about 1600 spaces – are actually what we would call good all-rounders at a high level. These are the people who college guidebooks say never get in, but they have been our staple for years. You can’t really categorize them – they’re multi-talented – they’re right across the board academically, extracurricularly, and personally…</p>
<p>“experienced African dancer, or a professional sailing athlete, or a fisherman off the coast of Maine”</p>
<p>nope, you can’t win national or international awards doing those. You’ll stick out, but not in a good way like the i_o gold medalists</p>