In a windowless classroom at an Arcadia tutoring center, parents crammed into child-sized desks and dug through their pockets and purses for pens as Ann Lee launches a PowerPoint presentation.
I find this super coincidental but I was talking to my friends about this exact concept over lunch today! I completely agree with the claim that it has become harder for Asian Americans to be equally judged on college admissions due to their ethnicities. Although some colleges will not admit it, they possess certain ethnicity ratios. One year they might accept 300 Asian American students and the other year maybe 150! Colleges seek a natural balance among the diversity evident in all students.
However, I also think there is a flaw in this idea and can be a misconception at times. Two years ago, there was a Korean high school senior who was basically known for his intelligence and preseverance. Even from before, Asian students and their families predicted he would get into one of the few Ivy League schools. Curious eyes and ears surrounded him and then college admission results came out.
He did not get into any of the Ivy League schools but got accepted into the University of Southern California. Now, I’m not judging. USC is a highly acclaimed school among many. However, the expectations people had in the college this high school senior would attend were lowered and some even sounded tones of disappointment for this senior.
During this time, I was shocked to hear accusations of how he did not get in because he’s Asian. Now, I haven’t looked into the minds of the admissions officers but just because he was Korean was probably not the only contributing factor to his rejection. Sure, he was an “A+ student” but did he partake in any clubs, volunteer, or show activity in high school events? College admissions look at these areas as well.
Due to this rampant idea among students, some take it too far to consider the other factors as well. Sydney Chang.
