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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DS is already in college but I want to post my thoughts for mainly Asian-American parents who will go through this process.     For us, frankly, there were no surprises.  We were very clear about what we wanted and what we were against. We knew quite early that the entire system is biased against Asian-American (especially males), and we prepared accordingly throughout his academic career.  In fact, our entire planning was to make up for the various bamboo ceilings that he would encounter,  and give him any edge regarding academics, ECs, health, support system, socialization, finances that we could.

- Financially -  we saved for college and decided that our kids will never have student debt, even if we were subsisting on rice and beans. 
- Prestige - we concentrated on the major/research/course offering and not the college.  Eventually, he did not get into his top choice (MIT) but got into second choice (UMD) that he chose over other strong STEM schools like UMich and GTech. 
- Academics - kid was in STEM magnet, had 4.0 GPA, 4.8 wGPA, 1590 SAT, NMS finalist, Foreign language for 5 years culminating in AP FL- from MS till HS,  12 APs with 5s. Strong ECs, scientific competitions, volunteer work and co-author on published paper after research internship.  There were no faults in his resume and achievements.

What is important is not getting into a college, but, being able to thrive in college - academically, socially and mentally. They need to get a holistic education, they need to develop as an individual, they need to be able to strategize and plan for their future.

Even in college, with such a bleak job market they need to be able to - do well academically, have hobbies and skills, form close friendships, embrace new experiences and interests,  get internships/jobs to get experience, network,  develop skills, prioritize their physical, mental and emotional health - for future.

Getting into college is not the end-all. There is a whole lot more adulting needed once they go to college.

[/quote]

I respect your lived experience, and it’s clear your DS is very accomplished and will continue to do you proud! Just to provide a counterpoint, my family is Asian American, and our DS does not appear to have encountered a bamboo ceiling in college admissions - he got into his top choice HYPSM early. So many T5 applicants have stellar achievements that we consider his admittance to be luck, and would not have considered a denial to be due to bias.[/quote]

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