Skip to content

The Rules of the Game...

Asian-American struggle to stand-out in the college application process
The facts are clear:
Asian-Americans (typically of South or East Asian descent) are assigned a “handicap" when applying to elite colleges in the US. This has been clearly documented in the recent Harvard, Yale, and Princeton anti-discrimination lawsuits pursued by Asian-Americans.

Academically, a
90th percentile
Asian applicant has the same chance of being accepted to an Elite College as a
20th percentile
white legacy or athlete or a
50th percentile
Hispanic or Black student
(see source below)

How do these schools justify such treatment? By admitting that they give Asian applicants
“lower scores on personality.”

What you think matters and what schools tell you matter (in rough order of priority):
Grades and standardized test scores
Interesting background or story

What actually matters (in rough order of priority):
Legacy / Donations / Athlete-sponsor
(World-Class) Extracurriculars
Personal Struggle
Character and Integrity
Grades and Test Scores

“Optimal Candidate Frontier”

So what can you do?
Ultimately, these are the rules of the game and to be successful, and Asians (especially Asian-Americans) need to learn how to play by them.

If you have a few years...
Choose differentiated extracurriculars and pursue a variety of activities interesting to YOU!

If you have a few months...
Take time to prioritize

If you have a few weeks...

About me:

The Economist:

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.
) instead.