| Puzzledad, I don't want to get into this with you, but I am a little offended at your quick leap to accusing me of "bias" and writing from my perception of Asian kids. I was responding to what YOU wrote, to how YOU presented your son, and observing that it was not an especially good way to make a case for any student. What I wrote applied equally to Asians, Anglos, Jews, whatever.
My son, by the way, had a similar experience to yours at the most selective colleges. His qualities were similar, too, except fewer competitions and some non-science prizes. He did a good job of presenting himself in his essays, but the self he presented was a little immature, unformed, and I think that hurt him. He had Asian friends who were accepted at colleges that rejected him, and they were exciting, inspiring kids (with, as it happens, slightly lower "stats" than he had). Neither he nor I thought anything unfair had happened there. My experience has been that some really great kids get accepted everywhere, and some only a few places. I haven't seen many kids I respected without happy endings (but I didn't know that many kids applying this year). |