Korean Job Discussion Forums

[madoka]

Lanya Olmstead was born in Florida to a mother who immigrated from Taiwan and an American father of Norwegian ancestry. Ethnically, she considers herself half Taiwanese and half Norwegian. But when applying to Harvard, Olmstead checked only one box for her race: white.

"I didn't want to put 'Asian' down," Olmstead says, "because my mom told me there's discrimination against Asians in the application process."
For years, many Asian-Americans have been convinced that it's harder for them to gain admission to the nation's top colleges.

Studies show that Asian-Americans meet these colleges' admissions standards far out of proportion to their 6 percent representation in the U.S. population, and that they often need test scores hundreds of points higher than applicants from other ethnic groups to have an equal chance of admission. Critics say these numbers, along with the fact that some top colleges with race-blind admissions have double the Asian percentage of Ivy League schools, prove the existence of discrimination.
. . .

Asian students have higher average SAT scores than any other group, including whites. A study by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade examined applicants to top colleges from 1997, when the maximum SAT score was 1600 (today it's 2400). Espenshade found that Asian-Americans needed a 1550 SAT to have an equal chance of getting into an elite college as white students with a 1410 or black students with an 1100.

Top schools that don't ask about race in admissions process have very high percentages of Asian students. The California Institute of Technology, a private school that chooses not to consider race, is about one-third Asian. (Thirteen percent of California residents have Asian heritage.) The University of California-Berkeley, which is forbidden by state law to consider race in admissions, is more than 40 percent Asian � up from about 20 percent before the law was passed.

Steven Hsu, a physics professor at the University of Oregon and a vocal critic of current admissions policies, says there is a clear statistical case that discrimination exists.
. . .

Yale, Harvard, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania declined to make admissions officers available for interviews for this story. Kara Miller helped review applications for Yale as an admissions office reader, and participated in meetings where admissions decisions were made. She says it often felt like Asians were held to a higher standard.

"Asian kids know that when you look at the average SAT for the school, they need to add 50 or 100 to it. If you're Asian, that's what you'll need to get in," says Miller, now an English professor at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

The full article can be found here:

http://news.yahoo.com/asians-college-strategy-dont-check-asian-174442977.html

[nukeday]

When it happens to Asians, it's discrimination.

When it happens to Caucasians, it's affirmative action.

[Kheldar]

[Captain Corea]

I'm curious - are those little boxes for your ethnicity optional?

[DIsbell]

It's an unfortunate situation and I don't think there's a solution that'll make everyone happy. But I think it's important to note that the effect is more pronounced at the top schools in the country. Also, in respect to the oft-cited Princeton study, it kind of frames it as those elite schools just accepting any black kid with an 1100, but the reality is a bit different: blacks make up a lower percentage of applicants than their percentage of the population. So it's more like, in effect a black kid could get an 1100 and have the same chance to get a spot as an Asian kid with a 1510, but that effectual score is influenced heavily by the number of applicants.

I'm also curious about the role of extra-curriculars. Test scores are not the be-all-end-all of college admissions in America. Clubs, sports, awards, and life experiences make or break admissions in places like Harvard, which gets thousands of kids with 1400+ SAT scores applying every year.

That said, the Asian community in America are generally fantastic at ensuring their kids do well in school, so I can see the frustration at facing disadvantages when applying to dream schools. Ideally all American kids would have similar academic support growing up, and would have a basic socioeconomic situation, but we know that's still a pipe dream, sadly.

[rollo]

Bull hockey!!! Since many American Universities are investing in recruiting students in China. Duke University is opening a branch in Shanghai. That would seem to mean they are seeking Asian students.
As another poster pointed out many elite schools look at other things besides test scores and grades. I think this article is directed at Harvard and Yale both of which often look at "intangibles" in the admission process.

Being a "grind" does not guarantee admission to some schools.

[Steelrails]

[northway]

[Zulethe]

Any white person who checks their "race" when applying for anything is officially the dumbest of the dumb. There is only one race biologically and then there are different ethnic backgrounds which are grounded in culture.

If I had checked "white" on my most current college application I would still be in Korea which isn't a bad thing but I'm glad I didn't cause I want a future.

It's not a discriminatory practice when you consider that colleges want a diverse group because it's the politically correct thing to have. Ideally, organizations want their population to be representative of the population of the general public but I think if anybody is going to get a bad rap it's going to be hispanics.

Since they are becoming the majority minority in many states, they are becoming the new white except that they historically do poorly in school hence their increasing numbers are actually going to hurt their chances of getting any type of break when it comes to admissions because they are no longer the "minority" in many cases.

[Kwangjuchicken]

[zdrav]

[zdrav]

[Hugo85]

[pkang0202]

I think there is a misconception that Asians just study and don't do clubs/sports/etc...


Completely false. Asians know that colleges look at MORE than just grades for entry. Its been made VERY VERY CLEAR for over DECADES that colleges also emphasize extra curriculars. Asian parents KNOW THIS and they have there kids engage in clubs, activities, volunteer, etc...

[zdrav]