| I am learning a lot from you parents. Different views, different perspectives - very educational.
Wanted to address few concerns brought up by JHS. Yes You are right. I haven't presented him quite right. I haven't given you the full picture. It's almost impossible to draw the full picture in the CC post. Let me give just a few examples in my son's defense. His research professor once told me that he will give him a rec letter and he will write how spontaneous, humorous and yet intellectual this kid is. The same professor told me to my husband that he hasn't seen a kid with this kind of research knowledge in last 10 years. The prof also told me that everyday when my son showed up at his work, first they talked about the US economy, upcoming election and then they dived into the lab research. The Guidance counselor said to me that my son did the science research when the science teacher of High School was on maternity leave and that is independent research. That is indeed "Thinking outside the box". It's not just "hard working". It's creativity. You can not win so many awards just by plain hardworking. You need something in addition to that. So It's not fair to hint at his "intellectual energy" in the application.
Another comment I have from my own observation is that when a kid (I mean anyone under this earth) is working towards his own goal for 10-12 years then he ahs a passion for it, not just bare "sense of duty". Somehow I can smell a biased view in JHS opinion. Hope none of the admin officers were like you. You are speaking from your perception about Asian kids. But they all are very different like any body else.
If we don't wnat to have goals for good grades, better colleges or better studies, better atmosphere, we might not enroll in schools at all. Just play and watch TV and learn in a natural way under this blue sky and hope to become "great people" one day. If we only believe in learning without achieving something, then the school system should get rid of the grading policies(A/B/C/D) so we just enjoy the learning part. There wouldn't be any motivation for excellence. Why does US News rank the High Schools and colleges for gods sake? Why do the colleges bother to look at the High school ranking/profile and factor that ranking into the decision making process? Do you know how the ranking is formulated? It's based on SAT I/II scores, AP scores, number of students attending 4 yr colleges, # of courses for college readiness and of course the demography of the school and many many other factors. After all this, if we target a "ranked" college, then it's interpreted as the kid is doing it only for the college admission. To me, it sounds like one way judgment.
The colleges are preaching that they are looking for "wholistic" background, they are looking for leadership, track record and excellence. Now you don't get leadership/excellence just from natural excitement, nor from just enjoying life without achieving anything intellectually.
I agree with UCBchem, UCLABAND mom and researchermom. I am aware of the lawsuits also against the UCs. There are a lot of factors that are being considered for Asian kids. They do have a higher bar to compete against. I would like to see that the college admin officers advertise these policies loud and clear so we can set our expectations. As Sawdust brought up the question "whether Asians are being discriminated against". The answer is "yes". The colleges are discriminating them in a very articulate savvy way.
A Cornel Alumni interviewed my son and after reviewing his credentials, asked point blank if his parents are very educated. When my son gave an affirmative answer, he said "I thought your parents got you the research opportunity from their networking. But now I see that they work in a different fired altogether". We are no fool. We know what is going on. But we cant do anything against the system. It's very disappointing.
I agree with many parents on this post. My son has a wonderful background, experience and work habits. He will stand out wherever he goes. |