[hotspicedcider]

I graduated high school in June 2003... it was awhile ago, but not that long ago.
I just graduated from college this semester, and I've decided to leave a note to all of those applying to undergraduate school (as I am myself applying to grad school). After my own personal stumbles and anxieties about getting into college and stuff, i've come to realize the importance of prioritizing and how they play their respective role in admissions.

First off, I'd like you to ask yourself if you are...
1. the asian kid who has a gpa between 3.9-4.6
2. SAT scores the size of jupiter
3. part of the orchestra
4. in the tennis team
5. board member of the Key club
6. a hospital volunteer with 500+ hours
7. praying at church, and holding prayer meetings, about getting to the college of your dreams.

If all of the above apply to you, I believe you fit into the sterotypical asian high school student... blah blah blah (BORING).
I am sure if you have all these things, you would probably get into most colleges... but think about it this way... do you REALLY think that's how you wanna get there? What if you got there doing things you REALLY enjoyed?

I have a problem with the educational system and admissions committees. Everyone knows that colleges want to up their rankings so they can bring more prestige and revenue to their program. Most programs pay little attention to the actual character of the student. COME ON, guys, do you actually think state universities like the University of California actually read the personal statements? Or... do you think all those prototypical extra curricular activities matter in the end (considering most people just join them to get into college)?

If i were to do high school all over again, this is what I would do.
1. I would pay less attention to what everyone around me is doing, and I'd do my own thing at my own pace.
2. join clubs that I am ACTUALLY interested in joining... like a photography club, movie club, jogging club, cooking club (the way i see it is that you dont have to join a club to do community service. you should do it on your own free will at your own time, and where you want to).
3. stop stressing so much about the grades, and worry more about the learning process. learning how to learn is much mroe valuable than actually getting an A (I know plenty of kids in college who used to be 4.0 students and ended up failing classes for one reason or another).
4. Concentrate on building character and improving talents.
5. have fun with friends... go to more dances.... play more sports.... just act my age.
6. I WOULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE PRETIGE OF THE SCHOOLS IM APPLYING TO. IT DOESNT MATTER WHERE YOU GO TO SCHOOL AS LONG AS YOU MAKE THE MOST OUT OF IT (i hate hearing about those kids who want to go to USC, UCLA, Stanford, Harvard for apparently no other reason than they "being just good schools").

so yeah..
i dont know if anyone is reading this... and for all i know, i could be preachign to the choir.
anyway... as long as you remember to not let school get in the way of your education, then you are good.

[Avex]

I'm number one, but I don't think much about my GPA anyway.

I don't have oh-so-great SAT scores, but they're okay.

I have a little bit mix of each category.

However, I do everything because I like it.

I thank you for this quote:
"I WOULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE PRETIGE OF THE SCHOOLS IM APPLYING TO. IT DOESNT MATTER WHERE YOU GO TO SCHOOL AS LONG AS YOU MAKE THE MOST OUT OF IT".

Now, I agree with everything you say. I really hate doing things just because "you have to". It makes it very tiring for me and takes out all the energy for me to continue.
I don't like the particular emphasis that seems required on the test scores (especially the SAT, which I oppose dearly, but understand that the colleges need to use it as a comparison among students of other schools), because it really makes it harder for us to explore our own interests. Seriously, I have to put so much time into studying for a test, hoping I could improve, when I could be doing other stuff.

Asians aren't necessarily the only ethnic group that faces the issue of "what do I have to do to get into this college", but they do suffer from the stereotype that they have to get "good grades", etc., which prompts them to "do ECs" in order to get into a good college because "it looks good", while fearing that colleges will look at them as "nerds" if they don't do it.

Here's a UCB Hardboiled Article that discusses more about that:
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Ehboiled/iss...10-2-price.html

I think it's hard for me, but not impossible, to actually "learn" more than worry about the grades because of the pressure you are surrounded by, but I'm going to take your advice.

[DaAzNkIgGa627]

Hmm I fit 1, 2, 3, and 6.

I agree with you there is a "must do attitude" that is felt among Asians trying to get admissions into Ivy's or equally prestigious universities. I think it starts with the parents. And while we may not be able to undo our parent's generation way of thinking we can make sure we do not make the same mistake.

My parents are in my opinion very lax about things and yet they still try to nudge me to have "resume padders" in which I would not enjoy. I know they are well meaning, but it is up to our generation. The 2nd generation Asian-Americans to redo this cultural attitude.

I admit I am one of those high strung overachievers, but I have found activities that I thoroughly enjoy. Some my parents forced me into such as Orchestra. Others I have found myself. Darfur Activism, Track, and Weightlifting that are not so stereotypical. I think we as the 2nd generation Asian-Americans need to set a good balance. We need not to be pushy, but we need to steer our children in the right direction. We need not dictate their lives, but instead let them flourish on their own accord with our support.

Thank you for making this post.

[f0reveralways]

1. the asian kid who has a gpa between 3.9-4.6
2. SAT scores the size of jupiter
3. part of the orchestra
(4. in the tennis team ) uhh. ehehe i find a lot of asians swim too. as in, varsity-level. lol. or maybe it's just my school
(5. board member of the Key club ) Interact Club, my school doesn't even have a Key Club
(6. a hospital volunteer with 500+ hours ) 100+ hours
7. praying at church, and holding prayer meetings, about getting to the college of your dreams.

lol. i thought it was funny i sort of fit in them

oh and about the orchestra thing, i have a tendency of only knowing koreans who are in the orchestra , everyone else is in band

[Vindictive]

aww.
i fit none of the standards above
but i really did write a kickass personal statement though.


now i worry.

[lilxtiffstah]

every asian i know is practically the typical asian.
ahahah i myself am one too, but less so. =P

[hotspicedcider]

1. the asian kid who has a gpa between 3.9-4.6
2. SAT scores the size of jupiter
3. part of the orchestra
(4. in the tennis team ) uhh. ehehe i find a lot of asians swim too. as in, varsity-level. lol. or maybe it's just my school
(5. board member of the Key club ) Interact Club, my school doesn't even have a Key Club
(6. a hospital volunteer with 500+ hours ) 100+ hours
7. praying at church, and holding prayer meetings, about getting to the college of your dreams.

lol. i thought it was funny i sort of fit in them

oh and about the orchestra thing, i have a tendency of only knowing koreans who are in the orchestra , everyone else is in band

hahaha... in high school i was in the band (and went to band camp) and key club (AAAAAAND interact club). I really wish i had joined something else (or made my own club) because I couldnt stand the community service-college aps driven attitude that me and everyone around me had. in retrospective, i think it shows more character to volunteer on your own (like at a soup kitchen whenever it's convenient for you), and then join the activities you want (in my case i would love to create a cooking & movies club).

[illneverletyougo]

1. the asian kid who has a gpa between 3.9-4.6 CHECK !!
2. SAT scores the size of jupiter eh not really. 1980
3. part of the orchestra YESSS
4. in the tennis team nopeeee.
5. board member of the Key club we dont have a key club but i was in Earthwatch and interact and a bunch of other clubs
6. a hospital volunteer with 500+ hours YES (forced by my parents)
7. praying at church, and holding prayer meetings, about getting to the college of your dreams. nopeee

[knickstorm]

i also graduated high school in 03, college earlier this year.........i pretty much did my own thing............plus college admissions is always a crap shoot........you'll see idiots that make all these great schools that other who you consider smart, get shut out of........I didn't get into COrnell,,,,,,,,while this person who i thought was an idiot did!

someone i know got rejected from carnegie mellon, while i got in.......so to me it's all russian roulette.

[sgwannabe]

wow...you are a psychic
But for me, I would never want to relive high school. It was great and all, but I think that college is where you can truly delve into your interests. High school is just a phase of life and it would be great to have done what I really wanted to do, but there's too much pressure from parents and other students around you who succeed by going that route. But, hey, I'm pretty sure I'll find much more reign on my life in college, so I don't worry. Thanks for the advice though.

[xhullabaloo]

Asians aren't necessarily the only ethnic group that faces the issue of "what do I have to do to get into this college", but they do suffer from the stereotype that they have to get "good grades", etc., which prompts them to "do ECs" in order to get into a good college because "it looks good", while fearing that colleges will look at them as "nerds" if they don't do it.

Here's a UCB Hardboiled Article that discusses more about that:
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Ehboiled/iss...10-2-price.html

I think it's hard for me, but not impossible, to actually "learn" more than worry about the grades because of the pressure you are surrounded by, but I'm going to take your advice.

That article was freaken crazy!
the pressure is onn

i think the philosophy where learning is a lot more important than an A is a very good point
i never exactly thought of it that way, and its so significant in the learning curve.

[HUAY]

LOL sshoot D: i just wrote about Key Club for hte short answer on the common app.

1. the asian kid who has a gpa between 3.9-4.6
2. SAT scores the size of jupiter I wish. =_= My writing wasnt too bad though (too bad its the one that most colleges dont care about)
3. part of the orchestra
4. in the tennis team I suck at sports.
5. board member of the Key club =__= Omigosh failz0rs. ;__;' (xD 0607 Division 19 Lieutenant Governor..;;.)
6. a hospital volunteer with 500+ hours .. well O_O not the hospital, but I do a lot of Community Service everywhere (but lol. 500 hrs.. not sure about that XDD0
7. praying at church, and holding prayer meetings, about getting to the college of your dreams. not Christian/whatever.


D: but. /sigh.. O_O But.. Im not like the superstereotyped asian though. Becauseee.. O_O Im not supersuper uptight about my grades. I work hard when I actually work, but its hard to get me working XD'' I procrastinate too much ;__;'' So that crosses that out. But yeah. I dont do things that I think will be good for college--it annoys me when people do that. They join clubs just because "itll look good on college apps".. Get a life, god =(. I love community service <3 so I do it to help people out.

I think what makes me different though. Is that O_O. where I livethere are/my school has pretty much 0 (other) Asians.. So I keep trying to do things to bring Asian culture here (I started the Asian Culture Club at my school)/I have to try my best to immerse myself in it; it's not just available to me.. (I taught myself how to read and write Korean, and then I started Aigoo Lyrics, so more people could have access to more romanizations =D)

And yeah. Im rambling. WHat am I doing. I should be finishing these apps.

(XD procrastinator ;__; its so bad'' instead of doing apps during break, I played tetris.)

[Avex]

Hi, HUAY, I didn't know you started aigoo lyrics, but let me say that you should continue what you were doing, such as keeping aigoo lyrics.

let me tell you something. there are people like me who want to learn a little bit more about asian culture. maybe, for example, looking at korean lyrics, especially if you put it in readable terms instead of using the korean characters. those are hard to find, especially if you can't read korean (i know the korean alphabet because I taught myself like years ago, which makes it a little bit easier for me to like put korean characters in readable words for me). you are doing a big favor for people who just want to learn some korean through music, and learn about the culture easily. Believe me, I want to learn more about my own culture (I'm Chinese), and opportunities like creating culture clubs or doing activities, etc., especially if coming from people my age, make it easier for me because its people my age who are helping out with the cause. I'm really into my own culture, but I'm probably a lot more immersed than some people I know.

if you really can make an impact, helping introducing asian culture as much as you can with a heart and a passion of taking those risks is beneficial because it helps those who aren't the most immersed or a part of the culture so well. you have to understand, as generations of asian-americans go on, and become more "americanized", I ask, how are you going to keep your culture? also, there are some people who have little thought about their own culture, which makes it important to help asian-americans be aware of their culture. but yeah, i assume your a senior, so i'm not sure if my advice will do anything with your applications at the moment. But, even if you are finished writing your application, if you can, keep up any work you can to keep any form of our culture alive.

But yeah, for those who aren't seniors, the 3rd paragraph applies to a lot to anybody, regardless of what culture you belong to.

[Rin<3]

1. the asian kid who has a gpa between 3.9-4.6 (True, lol)
2. SAT scores the size of jupiter (Haven't taken it yet)
3. part of the orchestra (No, but I take private piano lessons, haha)
4. in the tennis team (No, I'm not the athletic type)
5. board member of the Key club (No, I gave up on Key Club)
6. a hospital volunteer with 500+ hours (I'm getting to that)
7. praying at church, and holding prayer meetings, about getting to the college of your dreams. (Yep, xD)

I feel like an Asian that attempted to be the typical Asian but failed, haha.

But I really agree w/ your post. I'm a junior now...and I started doing clubs that actually interest me this year. The only part that's hard for me is concentrating more on the learning portion than what grade I get out of the class. I'm still working on that. The grade still worries me a lot. Although, what you said is really true - honestly speaking. It's hard, but true. Thanks~! ^^*

[touche`]

6. I WOULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE PRETIGE OF THE SCHOOLS IM APPLYING TO. IT DOESNT MATTER WHERE YOU GO TO SCHOOL AS LONG AS YOU MAKE THE MOST OUT OF IT (i hate hearing about those kids who want to go to USC, UCLA, Stanford, Harvard for apparently no other reason than they "being just good schools").

I'm freshmen in college but I totally agree with this statement. I'm personally not a high achiever like everybody else but at least I still got into a good college. It doesn't have to be Stanford or any IVY school. There are reasons why I am not a high achiever but I didn't give up even when I didn't get into my dream school.