Asians in Ivy League Admissions

Asians in Ivy League Admissions May 26 Caroline Simon of The Daily Pennsylvanian has written a great piece on the discrimination against Asians and Asian Americans in the admissions process. Lots of folks are discussing Asian Americans and Asians in Ivy League admissions these days. And we like that. Because theres a problem. And its one deserving of the publics attention. Indeed theres an article in The Daily Pennsylvanian, the newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania, authored by Caroline Simon entitled Colleges focus on diversity may leave Asians at an admissions disadvantage that we figured wed write about. The article discusses a Princeton University study that examines how race impacts admissions decisions. In fact, the study elucidates the impact of race on admissions decisions by quantifying it in terms of points on an SAT (so its easily understandable). As Simon Reports, The study found that applying as an African-American provides an advantage equivalent  to  an additional 230 points on the SAT, while Hispanics received a 185-point boost. Asian Americans have a bonus of negative 50 points.  Although the Asian population in the United States has been steadily increasing, the percentage of Asian students at Ivy League universities — including Penn — has remained roughly the same over the past two decades, according to data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics. This data seems to be quite telling. If youre African American, you get an SAT boost when applying to colleges. If youre Latino, you get an SAT boost. If youre Asian, you get an SAT handicap. Thats right. A handicap. Its not right. Its not fair. Its high time that action be taken. As weve written before, were not sure what will come of the complaint filed against Harvard College by various Asian American groups. Its certainly not the first time a complaint has been filed against universities for alleged discrimination against Asian and Asian American applicants. But, as weve long asserted on the pages of this college admissions blog, when more and more folks lift their voices to criticize the practice of discrimination against Asian and Asian Americans, change can be accomplished. These groups are discriminated against in the admissions process. This is fact, not fiction. The Princeton University study is quite simple and indeed its telling. These numbers share the true story. And this isnt only the case at Harvard. To single out Harvard as the sole culprit would be unfair as its the case at every highly selective college across America. Its high time this changed. Maybe hopefully that time is now. While youre here, read our post on Asian Quotas in Ivy League Admissions. To be clear, there are no quotas. But that doesnt mean there isnt discrimination. Because there is.