<p>so why do we care what a "typical" asian is like? are we all trying to imitate them, do we envy them for these qualities, do some of us really care what they are like?
As an asian myself, i don't get why ppl want to categorize me into a certain group like this and point out characteristics that some of us may share. so yes, i like science, but i also love history and literature. yes, i am a musician, but i dont play piano or a string instrument, i play the flute. i wasnt forced into it by anyone, i literally picked it up when i was in middle school. even asians have overlapping characteristics that may not fall into a single category.</p>
<p>At my school, there are about 100 IB students (partial and full). 80 chinese. 15 middle eastern/indian. 5 white. I'm acquainted with or friends with at least half of the ib students at my school. From my observations, I've seen two types of typical asians (chinese, mostly)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>strict math/science nerds. BUT they do have social lives, just with other asians. so you won't see them at any rave parties or whatever, hence people assume they have Zero social life. I should point out that their social lives greatly revolves around school work and grades... but hey, whatever works, right? they usually have great grades in everything except the humanities. </p></li>
<li><p>overachiever asians: everything #1 is, but they are even more overachieving. Like #1, they do tons and tons of math/sci, and tend to get quite accomplished in them. but unlike #1, they also join tons of extracurriculars, but with hardly any leadership positions.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Typical Asians are those obedient kids who would sacrifice themselves to fulfill their parents' wishes. And I am the opposite, probably a rebellious girl in a good way.</p>
<p>= 2350+ SAT Score</p>
<p>I love it, how whenever asians get good grades or get into ivy league colleges, people assume that they got in because "they're asian" and nothing else</p>
<p>"My ability to stand out amongst countless asians in my school: A+/A</p>
<p>The asians at my school are purely "math, science, piano, violin". Nothing else. So I don't see them much, because I'm more like "English, APHistory, art (I do it for fun-LITERALLY-I should show you some of my doodles in my physics book), Yahoo! Finance"."</p>
<p>-Well, that would help you in College Admissions, if you're Asian and have very different E.C's than other Asians. </p>
<p>Typical Asian EC's:
Piano Awards
Science Olympiad/Bowl
Violin/ Piano
Some Science research Program
AP Calculus + AIME
Idk why Asian's decide to do EC's such as Piano, and Science.. is it their nature? is it cuz they like them? or is it cuz they think they'll help them in college admissions? (They will..but they really don't mean as much... since their "Asian" EC's.)</p>
<p>lol yeah, chinese colleges are tested into...you get X score on a test and you'll get in no PROB. </p>
<p>btw what does "overachieving" mean</p>
<p>I guess overachievers are those who beat themselves into being 'better than the rest'...or as far as they can do it....</p>
<p>Hmm..well I'm asian (Indian...westside :P) and I don't do piano etc. though I do have a v. strong academic background, my ec's in sports etc. are pretty weak so I guess I fall into the same stereotype somewhere :D Imagine my surprise when I saw the U.S apps !</p>
<p>lol Milkmagn is right...I actually saw somewhere on CC a post that said some university was made up of 'rich white kids and smart asians' :O </p>
<p>I guess like a lot of people on this thread have said, its coz we had it rough, or our parents at least. That's cool in a way; I wrote about my Dad for the CommonApp and didn't even have to make up why he was an inspiration</p>
<p>But I guess at the end of the day, in my opinion, the unis should have more sense than to stereotype 'asians'..unless they get like 400 apps with all pretty much the same backgrounds, which is probably what happens...</p>
<p>interesting thread...I might fit into that 'stereotype', maybe not.
I think those characteristics are made because of your parents, at least me.</p>
<p>My parents first didn't care much about my grades and I was REALLY glad because I saw so many other Korean parents sending their kids to these extra schools, private lessons and so on starting from Kindergarden...and then in middle school my parents changed, starting with piano lessons, math lessons and obsessing over my grades.
Highschool is when everything gets worse(b/c of unis), now I'm doing the IB and I get mostly 7s with one or two 6. Show my report card to my parents and they're like 'yeah, that's what you should have got' or 'you could have gotten all 7s if you studied a little bit harder.' No compliments. And this when you start to freak out because you might get a 5.5, not because you want to, but because of your parent's expectations.</p>
<p>My sat scores are very low and when my second scores came out my dad said that I 'betrayed him.' Not something you expect to hear from your parents! Then you got all these other Korean parents comparing their children...'what did you get on TOEFL?' 'sat scores?' 'how many 7s did she get this time?' 'how long does your child study?' 'remember ABC's son? He went to xx uni and is now earning 00 amount every year.'</p>
<p>Teachers seem to create those stereotypes too...I was in math HL but then went down to SL because I'm not that great in math compared to other genius koreans. My math teacher told me that I am 'a shame for koreans' ehh...yes, because all the other koreans or most asians in my schools are in math HL- except me, so I'm the weird one. My supervisor for Korean expects me to get at least a 6- because I'm Korean. A lot of stereotypes following you around.</p>
<p>A lot of Koreans(in my opinion) don't want to obsess over their grades, some really do because that's all they care about, but most want to have a relaxed life...Now should I be worried because I didn't get nearly perfect math score on the sat...being korean. You try to be rebellious, but me for example, got no other choice.</p>
<p>sorry was kind of off topic.</p>
<p>I think you guys are getting a bit too judgmental about the "average Asian".</p>
<p>I am an Asian and no, I'm not a permanent resident of the US. I play the saxophone, act in and direct plays, do summer jobs, run my own charitable organization and am a recruited athlete.</p>
<p>And yes, I have myriad science/math awards.</p>
<p>It's true that many Asians are pestered by their parents to get into a "good" college and over emphasize the importance of being a part of one. Considering that, along with the pressures of being a first generation American (which I'm not), Asians can't exactly be blamed for their approach to college admissions.</p>
<p>After all, most Asian colleges, particularly those in India, admit students on the basis of solely academics. In India, even school records alone cannot get you through. You need to appear for a number of entrance exams, some of which take more than two years of preparation. And mind you, those two years allow minimal attention to even school studies. That would be like admitting students on the basis of SATs alone! In India, the IITs have 4000 odd seats for 300000+ applicants. Compare that to the scenario in US, where there are 1000 odd seats for a maximum 20,000 applicants. Plus, you have "safeties" which are easy to get into and provide great FA packages.</p>
<p>I don't intend to mar the admissions process in the US, but if you look at it from the point of view of an Asian who is trying to get into a college in his home country as well as one in the US, it gives you minimal time for ECs. And in such a situation, playing even the violin/piano (however clich</p>
<p>And yes, I am the captain of my high school Basketball team and have a number of leadership positions :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
I love it, how whenever asians get good grades or get into ivy league colleges, people assume that they got in because "they're asian" and nothing else
[/quote]
OR they didn't get in because they're asian...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Idk why Asian's decide to do EC's such as Piano, and Science.. is it their nature? is it cuz they like them? or is it cuz they think they'll help them in college admissions? (They will..but they really don't mean as much... since their "Asian" EC's.)
[/quote]
Actually, I think it's usually the Asians on CC.</p>
<p>A typical Asian has Asian parents. Not white-washed (yet).
'What?? B plahs for AP US Histoly??'
'Do you know how hard it is fo me to get to US for you to get good education, and this is how you repay me??'
yeah..</p>
<p>Worst thing about being Korean: Moms love to talk about everyone else's sons, daughers, SAT scores, GPAs, college choices, denials, acceptances. I swear, they have no life. Gossip, gossip, gossip... "He got into here, why didn't you get in... She got that, why didn't you..."</p>
<p>Ugh...</p>
<p>And my mom must not have anything to do, because even though I've been accepted into college, she still tells me to go study for the SATs. =P</p>
<p>I'm an Indian, and I've been ballin forever, but I'm still able to maintain a really high GPA and get good test scores. What upsets me is that there has NEVER been an Indian kid on the opposing team! I might have seen one Indian kid, but he was benched the whole game lol...</p>
<p>haha these days, the typical asian has ECs--"plays tennis or swims" b/c neither really require much athletic ability (compared to basketball, and the teams are generally easier to make too)--not to take anything away from tennis players/swimmers b/c the really good ppl are v. athletic.<br>
just what i see at my school.</p>
<p>One of my best friends is Thai and he was adopted by a white family. I think having white parents that aren't anything like traditional Asian parents made him more outgoing and fun to be around. Not saying that Asians are boring, just saying I think it may take awhile before most white people realize not all Asians are work horses. He plays soccer, has around a 3.2-3.3, and is the funniest kid I've ever met.</p>
<p>Strangely, all of the Asians at my school are either well-rounded (academically) or complete slackers. The four or five Asian guys that are in mostly Honors/AP classes here are B-average students, with strengths in history or English. All the Koreans at my school aren't very smart, and all in all in my grade there are maybe two or three Asians who are good at math/science. The Asian girls, I've noticed are much more motivated and get straight A's in honors everything, but some of them are actually quite lacking personality-wise (complete idiots when you actually talk to them).</p>
<p>Indians are kind of different here. I'm part Indian, and the other Indians at my school generally aren't too smart..There are only 4 others in my grade, all of which are B-average students (I work very hard to maintain my A average), but I feel that I do stand out from other Indians. I play guitar, love rock/metal, love music in general (orchestras and such), have good social skills, have lived in various nations around the world, and overall like learning about different cultures. I hope to study something along those lines.</p>
<p>well obviously they are robots.</p>
<p>TarHeel3007 - </p>
<p>Unless your school/coach is traditionally not very good/doesn't care too much, swimming is probably one of the hardest high school sports available. </p>
<p>Yeah, I kind of abandoned the traditional Asian stereotypes by middle school, heh... :]</p>
<p>i agree. people don't give enough credit to how hard swimming is.</p>