I'm Asian, but COULD THIS HELP ME? - Page 2

dchow08 · 07-22-2008, 12:00 AM

But you don't have to be excellent at something in order to be competitive at selective universities. I mean, if colleges only selected seventeen-year-olds who were extraordinarily excellent at what they do, they probably wouldn't have enough people to fill the class! What happened to those people who it would just be a great time to go to college with, who aren't necessarily excellent at what they do?

CrystalPineapple · 07-22-2008, 05:27 PM

You're definitely not alone, but that's not a bad thing at all. I'm also involved in humanitarian efforts and I lead a charity that raises around ten thousand a year to give to organizations that help victims of violence. Plus I'm really, really, really involved in music. So i guess we're really similar in a way.

It's not going to necessarily set you apart, but unless you cure cancer, you're just like the rest of us. We're all in this together

Equilibrium · 07-22-2008, 06:00 PM

No, Asian BOYS are like that. They're the ones crazy about science, math, piano, violin, and academics.

IMO, Asian girls are amazing. I've seen very accomplished asian girls in every subject. Sorry, but the advantage won't be that significant.

dchow08 · 07-22-2008, 06:19 PM

Hehe, well, I'm an Asian boy and I'm pretty crazy over math, and I know quite a few that are crazy over the violin. I don't know about any other Asian boys, but I do know that when I was young, my dad enjoyed quizzing me in math. He would ask, for example, what 3 x 5 is at night before we went to bed, and I enjoyed it. In fact, one of my most memorable times with my dad was when he asked me a math problem that was quite difficult, and it was at night, and I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and thought it over. As I was brushing, I found the answer. After I was done, I rushed back to my dad and quite excitedly shouted the answer, but he was asleep. I don't know why that was so memorable for me--it was when I was very little.

I learned to divide when I was in kindergarten--I wonder if a lot of other Asian boys have done mathematics above grade level as well.

WMHS · 07-22-2008, 06:21 PM

Since when is campaigning for Obama a "humanitarian effort"?

UZZhan · 07-22-2008, 06:32 PM

Just to prove Equilibrium wrong, I'm an AISAN BOY, and I'm very art/humanitarian oriented. I've taken Humanities for two years and Art History AP for a year. I do like math and science, but i like the arts better, especially art history. Other than that, I've been in Student Congress for 4 years now and have carried out many events that benefited our school and community. For example, feederschool earthday project, Stay day, Cookies for Policemen, Cookies for Firemen, Adopt a Child, Very special Arts festival etc. Don't worry OP, as long as you show your passion for service to the admissions officers in your essay, you hard work won't go to waste. It's what I'm going to do, and I think it will work!

concretejungle · 07-23-2008, 12:22 AM

Quote:

That's bs. Your chances are crapshoot because of your SAT, lack of awards, or w/e. Not because of your ethnicity. Certainly there are asians who stand out and are accepted to many of the top schools. Sure your volunteering efforts will help, but why should "SAVE Darfur" and "Teaching Diversity and Tolerance" be better than just volunteering at a local hospital?

I don't see how you don't fit the mainstream of asian applicants.

I agree with this. It's not crapshoot just because you're Asian.

As for the "I'll go save the world" thing, it isn't any special. Asians aren't actually that "typical" as you think; I see many diverse ones and etc in my school and such, it's just really going with what you have and etc...you'd be surprised how many of them aren't "math/science and 2400 SAT" as the general population perceives.

Agreed on both parts. ^

P.S. Oh, and...I'm an Asian girl who did (and still does) a lot of art and political activism. Haha. (:

llpitch · 07-23-2008, 12:41 AM

The Obama Campaign is a humanitarian effort now? lol?

k&s · 07-23-2008, 03:18 PM

Quote:

No, Asian BOYS are like that. They're the ones crazy about science, math, piano, violin, and academics.

Right - Asian boys inherently "looove" that stuff - please!!

Hmm, I wonder why the top universities in Japan and Korea are having a tough time finding enough students to go into engineering, the sciences and math?

Btw, more AFs than AMs play the piano, violin, etc.

And let's actually look at some FACTS - shall we?

Here's a breakdown of the Undergraduate Degrees awarded in 2003.

Quote:

Field/Percentage of All Bachelor’s Degrees/Percentage of Degrees Earned by Asian Americans
Business - 33.7%/28.8%
Social sciences and humanities - 19.5%/26.1%
Engineering - 15.9%/21.8%
Education - 17.4%/14.2%
Health sciences - 7.3%/3.0%
Biological/life sciences 6.2%/6.2%

Challenging Beliefs on Asian-American Students :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs

Really not that entirely different.

And not only that - the VAST majority of AA students attend community college or 4 year public universities.

Quote:

Sector Enrollment, 2000 % Change in Enrollment, 1990-2000
Private, four-year colleges 101,751 +53.4%
Public, four-year colleges 354,564 +42.2%
Community colleges 363,798 +73.3%

And of those who do attend privates - more than 90% attend private universities other than Ivies.

And since 2000 - the spread has only increased in favor of CCs and publics and away from Ivies.

changwinston · 07-23-2008, 03:28 PM

I was actually about to ask this.
4.05 UW?
Just wondering.