Entry 3: Asian-Americans and the College Admissions Process

Sean Guntvedt

A02

Constituting 38% of the student body as of 2012, Asian-Americans have certainly made their presence known on the UC Davis campus. However, this trend is not only limited to UCD, but is also pervasive throughout the campuses of other leading universities in the United States. Nakanishi explains in his article that, contrary to the popular belief that Asian-Americans’ superior academic abilities have led to the to this demographic trend, the reason why colleges have accepted so many Asian-American applicants is due to the fact that this group of minorities has become the America’s fastest growing group in addition to America’s “fastest growing college-growing population.” Thus, it is no surprise why Asian-Americans have started to become the ethnic majority in higher education institutions, so why does it appear that admissions committees have enacted discriminatory practices against these group of people? Does the reason lie in the fact that these committees want a more diverse student body? Or that non-Asian-American students are being denied the option to pursue more competitive majors?

As a half-Asian, half-Caucasian individual, I was poised with the difficult question of whether I should identify with being Caucasian, which I believed would not hurt my chances at college admissions, or with being Asian, which I believed that would put me under more scrutiny during admissions. Like Monchen Kao, who is featured in the embedded video, I did not believe my application was neither weak, nor and therefore, did not make me stand out in any particular way. In the end, I opted to identify with being Caucasian, so that at least I would not be compared with more competitive Asian-American applications. I do not believe my choice to do so was a morally incorrect one, as I identify with both races and chose to decide on one “on paper” to put my best foot forward. I think anyone in my position would likely do the same.

Question: Maryanne Zhao believes that affirmative action should be given based on socio-economic status as opposed to being based on race. What are some alternative methods that college admissions could enact to ensure that the process is non-discriminatory towards ethnicity while ensuring overall fairness?