<p>Reading through some of these asian threads about them having high grades/gpa’s, honestly, who would you rather have in your college if you were an admissions officer for an elite school?</p>
<li><p>the “typical” asian with a 4.0, 2300+, ec’s include math/science comp., key club, asian club, mediocre recs, above average essay. Social class = above average as in family can give donations to school.</p></li>
<li><p>asian with 3.2 gpa in a poor family 1900 sat’s but showed good potential in the community, good leadership positions, excellent recs, truely motivated essay.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Keep in mind, the asian with the 3.2/1900 = WAY below the average asian gpa/sat’s.</p>
<p>i'd say applicant #1 wins my vote. that applicant has basically everything applicant #2 has, but better grades and SATs.<br>
If applicant 1's essay had been only average #2 would have one. My only reservation on picking #1 is that their recs are mediocre.
If applicant #2 had a really well developed EC they would have won, I think</p>
<p>Applicant #1 obviously. GPA and SAT scores are the most important criteria for admissions, and no matter how heartfelt #2's essays and recs were, I think applicant #1's scores are just so much better that its impossible to turn him down for #2.</p>
<p>i agree... lets come up with a more balanced pair of candidates</p>
<ol>
<li><p>the "typical" asian with a 4.0, 2300+, ec's include math/science comp., key club, asian club, mediocre recs, above average essay. </p></li>
<li><p>asian with 3.2 gpa in a poor family 1900 SAT ECs: varsity basketball team and created own community service project with tons of hours and raised a bunch of money, excellent recs, truely motivated essay.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I don't necessarily think that example #2 belongs at an "elite" school. The fact that he shows promise & has worked hard qualifies him for many a public & for certain privates, but not top-tier necessarily.</p>
<p>lol I'm exactly the second type of asian... unfortunately...
I have 1910 SAT, very low income(my dad JUST got a part time job in riteaid, and I worked my ass off in a Lab as a clerk), 3.8GPA though(Teachers love me), Almost 400 hours volunteer hours.</p>
<p>and the worst thing is that I'm applying to public schools and I believe they don't care about if I have been volunteering or not. <em>bitter smile</em> agian.</p>
<p>by the way, if the person is coming from a low income family and I mean a VERY low income, he/she will not be able to join any sport since he/she can't afford the coach and sundry fees. I'm serious. Just work and work and work and get some money for the family. Dad and mom are waiting for those 10 bucks per hours.</p>
<p>This is even more reasonable as the atypical Asian in the other examples is not at all likely to be accepted to elite colleges, which value gpa very highly. The same, incidentally, would be true if he were African American or Hispanic with only a 3.2 gpa.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>the "typical" Asian with a 4.0, 2300+, ec's include math/science comp., key club, asian club, National Honor Society member, 10 years of playing violin, mediocre recs, above average essay, top 5 % of his class, wants to be a doctor, has college graduate parents.</p></li>
<li><p>Asian with 3.9 gpa in a poor family, first generation college, 1900 SAT ECs: valedictorian of a school with a high proportion of drop-outs, took toughest courseload available, varsity basketball team and created own community service project with tons of hours and raised a bunch of money, excellent recs, essay demonstrating how he overcame some major challenges, wants to be a social worker.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>According to collegeboard.com, the mean Asian SAT writing score is 512, the mean Critical reading score is 510, and the mean math score is 578. For whites, the corresponding numbers are 519, 527, 536.</p>
<p>1900 isn't WAY below average by any means, according to the actual data. Way to stereotype.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what you are insinuating by your question. I do not know who <em>Robert</em> Orwell is. The word "worthy" was inserted by you, not me. I noted, along with Northstarmom & others, that the original comparison was not a representative contest when it came to likely applicants to "elites." Generally, a 3.2 will not be in the running for an elite private with a profile of poverty + immigration. Those generally would not be enough of a hook for a <em>private</em>. For a public such as a U.C., those challenges would add points to the application. That does not mean, either, that they are less spectacular institutions, but that they have a different admissions process & priorities. Or, if the 3.2 of any ethnicity were a recruited athlete, that would be enough of a hook with that GPA for a private. But as someone else pointed out, it is unlikely that such a student would have either the time or the income to support such athletics. Most poor student immigrants I run across have less time for e.c.'s in general, because they often need to work during weekdays.</p>
<p>Correction/Edit: the original example did not mention immigrant; I erroneously made that leap, possibly because, again, the poor Asians I meet tend to be recent immigrants -- some from Southeast Asia, some from East Asia.</p>