For Asian Americans, A Changing Landscape on College Admissions

Asian American families spend the most on education per capita in the United States, yet many report challenges with admission to prestigious US colleges owing to official and informal diversity policies. A 2005 Princeton study suggested that Asian applicants would be the big winners if race was no longer considered in admissions. College officials counter that a diverse campus offers many benefits and students from disadvantaged backgrounds show surprising strength. Frank Shyong, writing for the Los Angeles Times, describes college prep businesses that encourage Asian Americans to branch out from Asian-American application clichés, including participation in orchestra, medical school ambitions, and essays about parents’ immigration experiences, to make their applications more competitive. Some students no longer check “Asian” on the applications. Nationwide, the US Supreme Court has ruled on admissions bias. Shyong writes that anxieties are rooted in the fact “an acceptance from a prestigious college is often the only acceptable return on an investment that stretches over decades.” Key to students’ success is developing their own passion. Parents simply cannot count on any child getting into the top schools. – YaleGlobal