jonri

My own analysis: I've posted this in past years but...

First and foremost, no applicant should be "fungible." After reading your file, a lot of admissions reps consciously or unconsciously give you a "name" that's a summary of you in a couple of words. You do not want that summary to be exactly the same as that of lots of other applicants in that pool. You need to make the rep feel that if he doesn't admit you, there will be nobody in the class just like you. You're different.

It's really not being Asian in and of itself that's the problem. It's being a "typical" Asian. There is a male Asian profile: math or science, lots of math or science awards, possibly musician--if so does those same contests and submits those ranks, emphasis on classical music--usually piano, sometimes violin. if sports, probably tennis. Applies to certain schools, and often lists pre-med or engineering as probable major. Colleges aren't just "worried" about being 50% Asian; they are "worried" about having 95% of the engineering majors be Asian. A girl who is interested in and well qualified to major in engineering is going to do better in the admissions sweepstakes than a girl interested in majoring in creative writing. It's not really about discrimination; it's about wanting to have "diversity."

It's a while ago now, but the Asian immigrant boy in my kid's class who was a good swimmer got in everywhere--and I do mean everywhere--with worse grades than most. There weren't a whole lot of Asian swimmers. In fact, the swim teams at many Ivies are 100% white. The coaches were salivating at the chance to have a team photo with someone "different" in it. The Asian girl who is an amazing artist got into Harvard--but tellingly, not Yale, which atracts more studio artists as prospective students.

Now, I'm not suggesting that your kids remake themselves into what they just aren't. I am suggesting that they do four things. First, apply to schools where they are different. This means, in part, applying to schools with lower than typical Asian enrollments--as opposed to Stanford, which is over a quarter Asian. It also means applying to a college where their academic interests are rarer. So many kids research to find out the highest ranked engineering programs, or best physics programs, or best history departments...and then those schools gets hundreds of applicants interested in those fields. (It's different if those interests are rare--if you really do have a well documented interest in linguistics, UPenn calls, geology, Brown, etc. )

Above all in essays and recs, do NOT portray yourself as a type--do NOT write an essay about being an Asian immigrant and growing up in two worlds, one Asian and one American. Unless you are an extraordinary writer, the admissions rep is going to have read at least 20 essays on the same topic and odds are at least one of them is going to say essentially the same thing you do and say it better. And at HYPS, there are undoubtedly going to be hundreds of applicants who had that same experience.

Instead, say and do something which is going to make you different. For example, years ago now, a stereotypically Asian kid wrote his Harvard essay on his step dance class. Phys ed is mandatory at his high school. He signed up for step dancing. He did it in large part because the class was overwhelmingly female and he wanted to meet girls. He succeeded. He was the only male in the class. He was also the worst dancer in his class. Here he was in this class full of girls he'd looked down upon as "not all that bright" and suddenly he was the one in danger of failing and was aware of the fact that those "not all that bright" girls were one heck of a lot more co-ordinated than he was. They also had a lot more stamina. He huffed and puffed his way through class.

He wrote his essay about that class and got into Harvard early--this was, as a I said, a few years ago. I'm sure the essay wasn't the best written one...but I'd bet a lot that he came across as having a sense of humor and being able to laugh at himself--and, yes, interested in girls! I'd also bet a lot that essay changed his summary into something like Asian science klutz with sense of humor--which is MUCH better than Asian science nerd because it's unlikely that lots of other applicants had the same summary.

Avoid materialism and trophy collection. I once heard an admissions rep explain the search for "passion" this way--"I want to read a file and learn that a kid cares about something--anything--and doesn't just want to come to (prestige LAC) because he thinks it will help him make more money or get into law, med, or business school. " Schools DO want the kid who is a genuine intellectual--but they aren't just going to take your word that you are.

In all honesty, while this year's results are abysmal, I am once again impressed by the fact that the kids I know who march to the beat of their own drums did amazingly well. The girl who had the attitude that college admissions was going to be the "reward" for having been the girl who colored within every line perfectly for 4 years is reeling.

Again, please understand that I am NOT suggeting you reinvent your kids--in fact I firmly believe that it's the kids who haven't twisted themselves into pretzels in the shape that colleges "want" who do best. At the same time, I do not believe it's the kids who are clueless and who usually have clueless parents and guidance counselors who do best.

It's the kids who have a strong sense of self, learn the rules of engagement --or have parents or counselors who learn them and aid them--and do what needs to be done without changing themselves fundamentally. The Asian boy who wrote about step-dancing is an example of this. The ONLY thing he did for the sake of getting into Harvard was write a different essay than he would have written if his counselor hadn't explained that he needed to figure out a way to differentiate himself from all the Asian immigrant science geniuses applying to Harvard.

None of this is guaranteed to work. And, ninety-five per cent of what your kid does should have been done for it's own sake--not to get into a top college. But yes, personally I think it's okay to do 5% to "package" yourself. If it doesn't work, then remember above all that NO college purports to pick the most academically talented or most deserving of students. It's all about building a "class."

Using the usual analogy, think of a teacher casting a high school musical. She's not going to pick the most talented singers and dancers. She needs so many girls and so many boys (as do LACs, these days.) If the 20 best singers to audition are sopranos, not all of them will get to be in the show. It's quite possible that if the show is [i]Guys and Gals, the fat boy with a great personality but an only somewhat above average voice will get a featured role as Nicely Nicely, even though some really great sopranos don't get a role at all. That's how it works in college admissions. You aren't just competing for a space in the class, you are competing for a specific role or roles. The competition for some roles--think middle class white or Asian kid from the Boston to D.C. corridor applying to HYP--is intense.

Good luck to all--and yes, above all..LOVE YOUR SAFETY!

PS re Princeton and the Asian kid--you think it might have something to do with the law suit? The one where an Asian kid is suing claiming P'ron discriminates against Asians? Maybe that publicity means fewer Asians are applying to Princeton--or maybe Princeton wants to get the word out that it does not discriminate and therefore admitted some Asian science nerds so as to keep getting applications from Asian students. I don't know--sheer speculation.