Reply to s/o part-Asians applying to college

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "s/o part-Asians applying to college"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Question: My children are part Asian, part white European. They have a passport from my European country as well as their American passport, since they were born in the US. They have very little cultural connection to their Asian heritage, have never been exposed to the language, but they DO have an Asian last name, because their father is Asian. First names are from their European country, we speak the language at home, have friends from that country, visit the home country often - the cultural connection is there. They will also take the AP in that European language, which will be really easy for them.

Do they check the Asian box? 
Do they expand, in one of their essays, on their European identity?
What else can they do to ward off discrimination against Asians?

Thank you.[/quote]

Yes, they need to check the Asian box.  With the last name, they can't hide their Asian heritage (I am Asian and have experienced this).

Given that, they should own their situation - they should write in their essays about the full scope of their life experience, which includes the European identity, e.g., time spent in Europe, language, etc.  If they can present themselves as "citizens of the world", they will present better. In fact, having the dual passports will allow the school to claim them as [b]international students[/b] and help with diversity.  The goal should be to shift the comparison to international and "third culture" applicants rather than typical Asian-Americans (I also lived in Asia for many years and sent my kids to American schools with many such students).

All of this will help ward off discrimination against Asians in the admissions process. Unfortunately, can't help with the other anti-Asian BS that is going on these days.  [/quote]

Isn't that a different admissions process, with more expensive tuition?[/quote]

I am not suggesting that they apply as international students. That is also not good, in terms of cost and competition. They should apply as Americans.

However, admitting them will help the university "tick the box" for an international student without having to give up an international slot. That could benefit them in some places.

More important is the comparison point. If they present as "citizens of the world" then they are more interesting and diverse to the AOs.  Think of Naomi Osaka or Eileen Gu - no one thinks of them as typical Asian American grinders.[/quote]

I see, thanks. Is there a box where they can put their other nationality, or do they just talk about it in the essay?

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics