<p>Actually I think it is hard for the math/science asians to get into Yale. There are plenty of Asians who are into history/literature here though. It is the actual reverse for the minorities, the blacks here tend to be concentrated in the sciences.</p>
<p>Wow… I actually thought I was one of those non-math/science asians (though I happen to be good at those too 
)
I mean, when it comes to extracurriculars, how many people have starred in 5 plays (going on 6) in a super-conservative (dangerously so) country, as well as been a part of costume design, set design, and music? it all involves a lot of work, and that’s just the beginning of extracurriculars when it comes to Asians. and for those who think parents deal with apps, I didn’t show mine to my parents at all. there are too many misconceptions when it comes to asians. One of them is that they’re all one group (we Pakistanis/Indians should not be grouped with the Chinese/Japanese/Koreans - it’s all highly illogical)</p>
<p>@Dbate: by the way, thanks for staying here on CC to offer your advice. I really appreciate it when you have students with the experience such as yours who help us see things differently [regardless of our obsessiveness]. I’m glad people like you are at yale, and I guess those are the kind of people they’re looking for. :)</p>
<p>^^^I think Asian countries are doing a wonderful job in their application of science. China is already a world power, and is only continuing to rise in their application and use of knowledge and man power. Their engineering, architecture, technology, etc. are very noticeably starting to pass that of the US. I think it’s entirely stupid to say that everyone from these countries only knows their material for the sake of knowing it and can’t apply it. And of course, you are generalizing that people from Asian countries are only interested in sciences. Why, Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (from India) got a Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 in Literature.</p>
<p>And what is so different from knowing how to use some formula to “applying it as westerners do.” If many asian people, such as my father, come to the US and land steady jobs that they succeed in, they obviously had to apply what they learned. His education in India wasn’t simply of “grades” and not “concepts” for him to even have the slighted idea of what the hell he is doing.</p>
<p>Where did you come up with all that?</p>
<p>Yeah, the admissions process is unfair to asians but the real reason for that is not the commitment to diversity. To be honest I doubt the wealthy donors (who basically run this school) would contribute at a high rate if Yale became 40% asian. </p>
<p>No, problem this site helped a bunch. Something you have to remember though is that ALOT of the people who got rejected from Yale got into great schools, and not getting into one does not mean you won’t get into others. </p>
<p>Btw, it is a very brave thing that individuals such as yourself are doing in Pakistan I had a friend who lived there and she said that some times it can be hard to break from the strict Islamic mold.</p>
<p>Oh, you have no idea how socially unusual it is to be having “plays” and “music” at the “American” school when we should be extremely religious. A lot of places have fire drills, we have security lockdowns.
Oh yes, Pakistan’s quite a place.</p>
<p>Despite the controversial affirmative action and quota system, qualified Asian applicants do end up in excellent universities at the end of the day. They all end up being extremely successful. There are threads bemoaning how tough it is for us Asians, but none that bemoan that we Asians are unsuccessful just because we didn’t make it to HYMPS. My cousins are quintessential Asian-American science-math geeks with perfect SATs, GPAs, research work, rec’s, awards and such under their belts but almost no leadership, innovation or sport activities. They didn’t get HYPMS, but one’s at Cornell (sophomore) and the other at Dartmouth (junior). Both are doing extremely well and are very happy. </p>
<p>I don’t support the quota system. I’m Asian myself and I acknowledge how difficult it is for us. Heck, sometimes it seems darn unfair. I’m not stereotyping Asians. We’re a diverse bunch with diverse interests and personalities. However, stereotypes prevail because many successful Asian kids were pushed towards science and math by their parents. They then grew to love those subjects. Asians aren’t born with intelligence and perseverance etched into their genes. From the communities that I’ve observed, we traditionally place a lot of emphasis on family. Most of us have supportive, encouraging, even pushing parents who drive us to achieve more. Part of the reason is because these parents were immigrants or had parents who were immigrants and had to work incredibly hard to succeed in a completely foreign environment. Many of these parents saw that academic success once paved the way to HYPMS and thus good jobs, so they pushed their kids towards that. </p>
<p>However, now that innovation and leadership are emphasized, parents of all races - including Asians - are pushing their kids towards attaining these goals. The father of the cousin who ‘only’ made it to Cornell now has a stricter, improved ECA schedule for his 8-y-old daughter comprising piano, swimming, classical Indian dance, soccer, art and judo (all at private academies). He has tutors who come to his house and teach her. It’s insane and I’m sure there are a lot more parents like this. She’s already a lifeless little robot like her brother. Where are we going with all this crazy competition? I’m thankful for my ‘slacker parents’ (who my uncles told off repeatedly). They let me do the things I wanted to do because I enjoyed them. When I was 8, I built birdhouses, baked with dad, went to school and watched cartoons. I had no schedule. It doesn’t hurt to let kids be kids. Some parents need to realize that.</p>
<p>Sorry to go off on a tangent and babble. I just needed to vent because I feel sorry for a lot of kids.</p>
<p>I agree with tristan. I think the asian stereotype of high academic achievement IS realistic; however, asians these days are really not one-dimensional. NONE of the high-achieving asians I know</p>
<p>It’s true that many Asian students who are just stronger in almost every aspect are deferred or rejected. As the old saying goes, life isn’t fair. That said, I can’t imagine more and more Asian students are enrolling in the top few colleges each year. The diversity these colleges are seeking WOULD be affected. I say look at it in another way - the super competitive process is making Asian students as a group TRY HARDER, in academics and in other aspects as well. Many of them may not go to Yale now, but all the efforts they have made will not be wasted. Remember even though some of you don’t get to go to Yale, you are QUALIFIED to be a Yalie. Take that confidence with you. Keep working hard. In 10-15 years, look where you are mid-career, and all this bitterness may be long gone.</p>
<p>hahahahaha</p>
<p>Because Asians are people and it’s hard for ANYbody to get into Yale!</p>
<p>sheesh</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>Kei-o-lei, I suggest you go take a look at the stats posted on this site and compare a URM and an ORM’s profiles. You’d know what I am talking about. I don’t know if you are a student or a parent. If you are a parent, I think you can understand why you want to acknowlege the notion that the admission process isn’t fair from the perspective of some students who have been ambitious, working hard and have achieved so much and are still not given the chance just because their race is “over-represented”. However, not getting in Yale is not the end of the world. You can still succeed without going to Yale. That’s a message I wanted to deliver to these dissapointed students.</p>
<p>^That’s exactly what my mom said to comfort me. she said, in twenty years, I’ll look back and say “yale didn’t even want me because my RACE was overrepresented. Their loss!”</p>
<p>but it’s certainly true, you CANNOT deny that the racial bias is severely evident. of course there are asians that get in, and of course there are qualified URMs that DONT get in, but by and large, it is harder for us overrepresented minorities to get in, even when our stats, extracurriculars, EVERYTHING are better. I’m not even a math/science asian (I’m wellrounded but my ECs are heavily in the oratory and humanities category) and I got deferred with a 2390 SATI and 800 800 790 sat II. valedictorian and class president too :(</p>
<p>
That’s true. It does make for a convenient excuse.</p>
<p>All that aside there are however ORMs who get in with lower stats than other ORMs as well. So I doubt there is an explicit recognition that number 1 + 2400 or 36 is better than a number 8 + 2200 or 34.</p>
<p>My kids know they better not ever come to me and say, “That’s not fair!” I hate that. I have a dictionary in my office. Every once in a while an employee will say to me, “That’s not fair!” I ask if they have ever looked up “fair” in the dictionary. They say, “no”. I hand them my dictionary. They find that I have cut out the word “fair”.</p>
<p>Life is not fair. Suck it up and move on. There’s nothing you will do or say to make everything “fair”. If something isn’t fair then you may need to work harder to overcome it or you may need to move on. Sometimes the other guy gets the bigger half. We all have pet peeves. That’s one of mine.</p>
<p>true, it’s not fair. most things in life aren’t.
but I think eventually, there will be enough opposition against affirmative action to push for reform of college admissions. affirmative action doesn’t help anybody: it makes it unfairly difficult for well qualified ORM’s to get in, and it devalues acceptance for URMs (people will always say- oh the fact that your black/hispanic/etc got you in)</p>
<p>I love it when people say that, because they know absolutely nothing about the rest of your application. They don’t know your scores, your ec’s, your volunteer work, your essays, your recommendations, how your interview went, etc.</p>
<p>dudes, we should totally form a political faction and start on cc</p>
<p>“matriculate the asians” party</p>
<p>Asians are over represented at all of the top schools. I have worked in admissions at two selective colleges and 95% of the applicants meet the basic criteria for admissions. With a few exceptions GPAs are over 3.5 and SAT scores above 1800. Most students include a long list of EC. The goal of the admissions staff is to wade through all that info to select a well balanced class.
Less than 5% of the US population is asian but asians represent 30% or more of the applicant pool at many of the most selective colleges. Do the math!!</p>
<p>Imagine if colleges looked at that <5% of Asians in America statistic and decided that should be true for college… :eek:</p>
<p>^that would be blatant race quota</p>