<p>Cue7, you are missing something. The “cap” alleged at those schools for years – and, unfortunately, supported by the evidence – was basically at 15%. That’s why it was meaningful when a couple years ago everyone started reporting numbers much higher than that for their freshman classes. </p>
<p>I forgot to include Columbia, which reports 29% self-identified Asian. It’s not entirely clear whether that includes international students; if not, the real Columbia figure is probably 40%.</p>
<p>Using Caltech and Berkeley as references is far from perfect, however, since the ethnic Asian population of California is much higher than it is anywhere else in the country. (With the possible exception of New York City; hence Columbia.)</p>