<p>There is something else I want to bring up, a thought I have been having about the EC thread: Is is possible that some of the disappointing results for Asian applicants at HYPS is due not to how they are viewed at the colleges, but to how they are viewed at their high schools? We always discount recommendations as an element of college applications, mostly I think because we can’t read them or grade them. But instinct tells me that they can be very powerful, especially when they help distinguish among candidates.</p>
<p>Based on my experience in high school years ago, I know that students, no matter how smart, who don’t conform to the school’s concept of what a great student should be, often fail to get the respect of the faculty, regardless of what grades they earn in courses. Teacher recommendations can easily (and subtly) communicate that Applicant A is a great student and a self-centered, asocial jerk, while Applicant B is a great student and a stellar member of the community. If Applicant A is a stone genius, he may still be accepted, notwithstanding the recommendations, but below that level Applicant B is far more likely to be chosen.</p>