Why do Asians excel in engineering, science, math?

College Confidential Community
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<p>Collegehelp, I’m Asian, and I sucked at Math and Science. The SAT’s, I did well at those, but that math was at a 9th grade level anyway. </p>

<p>The best explanation I have for why Asians “excel” in those subjects, in my opinion because families want them to be involved in professions that will have large earnings. Math and Science and Engineering are fields that give easy access to those large earnings. Business Administration is another. At William and Mary, there aren’t many Asians, but the majority of them were in Business, and many of the rest were Bio and Chem. I was one of those Asians that was too dumb for those fields apparently, so that’s why I was a poli sci major and working for a law firm now. I was always the only Asian in my psychology and sociology classes, there were a couple in my poli sci though.</p>

<p>Then again, there are quite a good number of Asians in those majors who aren’t Americans. I’m pretty sure that at Cornell that has to be the case. I am also quite honestly baffled at why this question has to be asked too.</p>

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<p>Didn’t mean to come off so cold to the impoverished in any way, in fact I believe very much the opposite. I’m from Long Beach and both my parents are immigrants as well. I’ve grown up seeing what can happen in the hoods here in America, heck one of my most vivid memories growing up was the LA riots, and I know it’s even worse around the world. I just think it’s cold for a lot of these people to not even have a chance basically since childhood. People in general tend to forget just how lucky they are sometimes. I’m glad that the Asian community as a whole is doing well in America, but we have we forgotten about just how many are much less fortunate in the lands left behind? By in large Asians are a community formed of recent immigrants, so where’s the concern for the people we left back home not so long ago? Heck where’s the concern for those that fall by the wayside in this country? Cause as the Asian population gets more and more assimilated into this country, you start to lose that spirit of those first migrants and start seeing a lot of the same social problems that affect every other group in this country as well. Gangbangers, poverty, racism, glass ceilings, it’s all bubbling below the surface and no one wants to address it. We all like to revel sometimes in our “model minority” status that we can overlook some of the very real issues that face this community.</p>

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<p>I have a little more to add…</p>

<p>I talked to one of my Asian friends about this subject. She said that she would never put her children through what she went through. I predict that the next generation of Asian Americans will perform average in school.</p>

<p>My cousin is currently going to UCI, working on his MBA. He says most of his classmates are Indians/Indian Americans.</p>

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<p>The disadvantages of being an Asian in this generation…</p>

<p>I suck at math and science as well. Ironically, I’m currently at an engineering camp.</p>

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<p>Well I am a first generation Asian-American and I do not feel pressure from my parents. Ever since elementary school though they’ve made their expectations of me pretty clear, which is to do well. In elementary/middle school they expected straight As, which I had a little bit of trouble with, but in high school they just want me to try my best. I get straight As now because I want to, which is probably a result of their expecting me to in middle school.</p>

<p>I have the most “natural” skill in math (whatever that means), which in part may be due to the fact that my parents are both mathy/engineery people and therefore can help me with homework, but I enjoy English the most. On the SAT I scored 100 points higher in math than in CR/W. I’m guessing since my mom/dad/sister are engineers, math/engineering (not so much science) is a main focus. Actually, I tell myself I have to get an A in any of my math classes, just because I feel like I should (for myself, not my parents). But my parents aren’t forcing me to take a certain major, and I’m steering clear of any math-related major.</p>

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<p>a lot of my friends are asian, and they all excel in school. to me it seems as if its because their parents put soooooo much pressure on them to succeed in school. oftentimes when i wanna go out somewhere w/ them, they cant go or have to leave really early because their parents want them home and i suppose dont want them to have “distractions” from their schoolwork. me personally, im filipino so i guess u could call me asian, but my parents dont put way too much pressure on me and are satisfied as long as i put my best effort into everything. my grades arent as amazing as my friends’ grades, but id hafta say theyre still pretty impressive. </p>

<p>thats my 2 cents on this issue</p>

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<p>…I think it’s the parents. My mom for example, most of her conversation topics to me are predomintantly about grades, school, and college. And she always forces my brother and I to take the most challenging classes as possible.</p>

<p>There are more stricter parents than my mom… I know onw kid who’s dad was displeased when he came home with a 2300 on the SATs.</p>

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<p>But, I have no idea why Asians excel in math/science and my past wouldn’t explain why I’m majoring in engineering at Berkeley.</p>

<p>My Dad was a violent alcoholic, compulsive gambler, smoker, drug user, and playboy when my mom met him so it’s unbelievable they ever got married. My grandmother who could hardly speak english warned my mom that all he cared about was his Italian silk shirts. It was only 3 months after they married, that my mom’s tax returns were withheld for unpaid alimony. She discovered my dad had been a baby daddy for the 12 years prior. </p>

<p>In the 80’s, my parents struggled to make a $700 mortgage payment because my dad used 150% of his paycheck for gambling and throwing parties. He loved to buy his friends. It was during one of these parties that my dad got into a fight with our neighbor and slashed all his tires after failing to break into the guy’s house to kill him. My mom immediately sent me to Hawaii to live with my grandparents, during which she threw out my dad and finalized the divorce. </p>

<p>When I returned home, I still had to see my Dad every other weekend to make sure “I got the money–$400 per month.” Instead of going fishing or watching Mariner baseball games, we usually went to the horsetrack or casino where I’d have to sit in the lobby or arcade for 8 hours. On Sundays, I’d have to fetch the paper at 5 in the morning so I could get the daily line for all the NFL games and make my predictions (my dad was also a bookie). I usually received $200 on top of child support for ‘hush money’ which meant lots and lots of video games for an 8 year old.</p>

<p>A couple years ago, an irrate woman barely older than me who worked for Thai airlines approached me in the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX and pleaded with me to inform my dad that she was pregnant. I gave her my sincere congratulations, and only as I was walking away from her did I realize my dad was responsible. I now make sure to avoid Thai airlines everytime I’m at LAX. :smiley: </p>

<p>My mom and I agreed that my dad most resembles Al Pacino’s character in Scarface. Remember that little speech Montana made in the fancy restaurant after Elvira stormed out? My dad’s made many drunken outbursts like that in public, including one of my boy scout meetings. When I was 12, my dad approached a big random black kid, and was dead serious when he said “I bet $100 my son can kick your ass. You wanna fight?” My dad lost that bet.</p>

<p>I never graduated high school, was homeless for a couple years in LA without contacting any family out of shame, but at the same time, I managed to finish 2 years of community college with a 3.95gpa and earn my high school diploma. And now I’m at Cal majoring in engineering so it must be genetic. :D</p>

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<p>The answer to the OP’s question is simple.
Immigration background. </p>

<p>Put anyone into a position where they have to live where they have to start over completely from scratch and I almost guarantee their children will be the next star student, or at the very least will not be the slack off, party and drinking type. Because if they are, then they have NO decent amount of gratitude for opportunities and their parents sacrifice. </p>

<p>It’s just like they say “raise kids the asian way”
more like “raise kids the immigrant way”</p>

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<p>Asian Americans are usually smart because many of them are immigrants or 2nd generation. Usually you need to be a standout performer to land a job in the United States if you are from Asia, so as a result the people who come to the US from Asia are all extremely talented/hardworking/motivated to succeed and likewise instill these values in their kids. </p>

<p>But Asians aren’t naturally smarter or more talented. It’s just that the immigrants that come from Asia are usually the cream of the crop.</p>

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<p>I’m asian, and I’m good at math, but I suck at science. I hate science with a passion. (which is why I’m going to major econ/finance/business). Take that.</p>

<p>A lot of Asian kids are forced into the position where they have to be good at math and science…because in Asia engineers and doctors are like put on a pedestal…whatever. Investment bankers make more than their salaries combined anyway.</p>

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<p>Racial issues are much blinder in careers that involve numbers and statistics. How many Asian-American actors or politicians do you see? Some Asians are convinced that the world hates them and in the absence of hard facts to prove their worthiness, they will be relentlessly discriminated against.</p>

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<p>I actually see quite a few Asian-CANADIAN politicians, mostly in and around Vancouver and Toronto. One of them, Ujal Dosanh actually served as the Premier of British Columbia for a short time, granted it was due to an appointment (the former guy resigned). There are also some high profile MPs in Parliament right now among all our political parties. Makes me smile inside just a bit that we’re not just seen as doctors/engineers.</p>

<p>As for the actors, well, we could probably be better represented, especially males so I’ll give you that. The guys in Harold and Kumar though, two Asian men in the starring role of a sucessful hollywood movie not delegated to minor roles with bad accents. There’s some progress being made, albeit slow, but good progress.</p>

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<p>Asians are beginning to make some progress in politics, so that’s good. But I’m willing to bet most Asian parents would be like this to their children: “You think people gonna vote for Asian? Hahahaha! Be a doctor!”</p>

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<p>i think americans would feel like they were giving their country away if asians went into us politics.</p>

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<p>bern has a really good point about the creativity side of writing. But first off, Asian immigrant parents (and Asians in general) are a whole lot more obssessive with finding “pratical” career paths. What’s “pratical”? Math and science of course! You tell an Asian parent that somebody’s majoring in English, and they’ll respond, “How are they going to find a job? He won’t be able to support himself, etc. etc.” Practicality = future success = mission accomplished</p>

<p>Math and science are also a whole lot easier to find relatively instant success, b/c all the student needs to do is study study study and bring home good grades/contest placements. This also includes music practicing, where you practice until everything sounds “perfect”. Of course, it gets harder down the road when real creativity is needed. Practicing is a whole lot harder with writing since there’s no right or wrong for a “problem.” </p>

<p>Finally, there’s the motivation issue. I’ve noticed, as a 1.5 gen. immigrant, that Asian families instill into the kid that the family’s wishes/goals and make that the ultimate focus (ex. become a doctor! become an engineer!). In the US, it’s all about “pursuing your own dreams” but still keeping the family’s wishes in mind. </p>

<p>Also, you can’t really argue that the immigrants are the cream of the crop. If I were to go back right now, 9th graders will wipe the floor with me in math and science. </p>

<p>Bah, just my 2 cents…</p>

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<p>Catholics, Muslims, Jews, and white people with foreign sounding names also face similar discrimination. But it’s a fight worth fighting.</p>

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<p>Its because their just so much more motivated and their culture is like that. It is much harder to do what you want in china and asia because there is so much competition even some people with crappy jobs there would have done extreemely well here. I think its how they value education.</p>

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<p>just a funny lil tibit</p>

<p>this summer i was in yosemite, and my family and i were going on a hike up this mountain. it was like 3 miles there and back all uphill. on our way up we saw like 3 asian kids, probably 3 or 4 years old, walking very slowly up the hill, their parents ahead, and my mom goes, ‘no wonder asian kids do so well in school, they take on challenges at such a young age’</p>

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<p>Yeah, 2nd generation Asians are not so good. I am much lazier than my parents. While Chinese people in the past would have done their summer homework at the very start, and spent the days before school starts reviewing, I am doing all my AP stuff in the next 4 days. Well the new generation in China is terribly weak as well. Their willpower is so low since the one child policy causes their parents to spoil them. </p>

<p>People from Taiwan, Korea, and Japan tend to be less hardworking, but occasionally you will meet one with abusive parents that will force teh kid to study by physical methods. Unfortunately, these tend to have the highest GPAs and best work ethics.</p>