on collegeboard, for UVirginia it says that racial/ethnic status is one of the "very important" admissions factors.. im korean so is that a disadvantage for me? the school is 12% asian so im confused lol
A note about the college's admission requirements: School achievement record, class rank, test scores most important. Extracurricular activities and interests, quality of writing, recommendation also important. Special consideration for minorities, children of alumni, and in-state students.
i mean it says special consideration for minorities so i guess im better off putting down my race
Well, not necessarily. You're competing with the whole Asian applicant pool for that 12%. Asians, in general, tend to be very well qualified. That doesn't help out your situation. That is why Asians are adamantly against affirmative action because they compete amongst themselves for a set number of spots. In effect, some well qualified applicants may be denied admission because that 12% filled up already.
collegeboard is a bunch of hoopla. ethnicity falls somewhere closer to "maybe important." don't worry about that nonsense. also remember that as you move into more selective schools, everyone is qualified, no matter what their ethnicity. I remember a friend of mine from high school (she was black) thought that she could get into UPenn with a 3.5 GPA, 1980=SAT, and abysmal ECs. I'll tell you the same thing I told her. The URMs that are accepted are just as qualified and amazing as everyone else, no matter what their skin color may be.
In terms of importance, 1. is your transcript. 2. is your essays. 3. your recommendations. 4. ECs/test scores. 5. ethnicity
Don't take much of what the College Board says, Dean J spoke of this same topic a while back in her blog. Your academic and personal actions speak MUCH louder than your skin color. Doing well in school, and becoming a well rounded person is what matters.
1. therealmrpeters is wrong, totally wrong. There is no "quota" or "12% Asians" dictated by UVA. The only quota that exists is the 66% instate mandated by the state. Just because other asians are applying doesn't mean you'll have a tougher time getting into UVA.
2. Putting down your race will not hurt, nor help you. While some URMs are helped by their race, schools cannot discriminate against anyone due to their race, so you're not going to get rejected for your race.
3. Collegeboard is useless when it comes to stuff like this. Their information is outdated and often misinterpreted. I don't even think that percentage is correct.
4. Your race is not going to get you in or keep you out of the school. The strength of your application is #1 (GPA, essays, recs, etc).
I don't want to start a whole race/ethnicity debate, but I will say that students should not be scared or worried about putting down their race on their application. Everyone is always worried about whether being white or asian is going to hurt them, or being black or native amer. is going to help them. I wish schools either a) didn't ask or b) asked but readers have no access to the info. Generally, URMs come from disadvantaged schools, and school reports will show that. Instead, kids like you worry endlessly about their race and then end up putting down "decline to answer" or whatever, hoping it'll help them. It's a huge game that needs to end.
Yeah so far for all of my applications ive put down my race, but i was just curious so i decided to make a thread on it.. either way it wouldnt matter for me lol because my last name is Lee and both my parents were born in korea lol
nycexsteve, race plays a tremendous role in admissions at UVa and every other major US university, despite what certain posters ignorantly claim. Here's some interesting data from UVa and two other universities:
The study is several years old, but I'd be astonished if the situation were any different now.
So, to answer your question in the OP: put your race down. Be proud of who you are. You won't be held at a "disadvantage" - plenty of asians are admitted to UVa and other good universities every year. But you almost certainly won't be getting scholarship money with your current credentials, and if you subtracted a few hundred points from your SAT or a few tenths of a point from your GPA, you almost certainly wouldn't get in. The same can't be said for applicants with "credentials" you weren't born with.
Location: South Portland ME (born in Singapore) --> UVA 2012
Posts: 2,990
Quote:
Originally Posted by therealmrpeters
That is why Asians are adamantly against affirmative action
Since when did you speak for all Asians?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cav
The bar for succeeding in an easy major is very low, even at UVa.
There are easy majors at UVA? Don't be unfair to your classmates.
I dislike soft anthro and soft psych myself, but I suppose since I'm going towards cogsci I have to object to the idea that anthro and psych in themselves are "easy" as you seem to have implied before.
