Asian American Discrimination in Admissions

For many years, from atop our soapbox in college admissions, we have been shining a spotlight on the discrimination that Asian American applicants too often face in America’s elite college admissions process. When admissions officers proclaimed that they didn’t lump Asian American applicants together in the admissions process, we pointed them toward the science of implicit bias. We reminded them that admissions officers are people too and, as they sang it in Avenue Q, we’re all a little bit racist. Yes, even you.

Yet when groups allegedly representing the interests of Asian American young people — including, at the time, our federal government — chose to sue the likes of Harvard, Yale, and UNC Chapel Hill over Asian American discrimination in admissions, we didn’t think it was the best strategy. We also didn’t think that the people who brought the suits truly cared about ending Asian American discrimination in admissions so much as they cared about outlawing the practice of Affirmative Action. These folks, in our view, were using Asian Americans as pawns to advance their own agenda of banning any consideration of race in admissions.

It is our firm and deeply held belief that systemic racism is alive and well in America and until this racism is rooted out, a system must remain in place that uplifts underrepresented groups, including African American, Latinx, and Native American young people. To fight to end Asian American discrimination in admissions at the expense of African American, Latinx, and Native American young people makes no sense to us. We’ve also always been dismayed why these folks set their sights on dismantling Affirmative Action rather than legacy admission or the admission of recruited athletes. Both of these groups, of course, are overwhelmingly white and affluent. Admits in both groups fill many seats in incoming classes. Yet it’s Affirmative Action that remains the target of these groups purportedly representing the interests of Asian American young people. We’d be left scratching our heads if we didn’t understand their true motive.

After all, these folks who are committed to dismantling Affirmative Action have filed numerous suits in the past, though always with white plaintiffs. The change in strategy to file suit with a group representing Asian Americans was, in our view, a no-brainer since Asian American discrimination in elite college admissions is very real, as Judge Allison Burroughs’ ruling upholding Harvard’s admissions policies made clear. Yes, the judge ruled at the time that while Harvard’s admissions policies passed constitutional muster, they were imperfect. She even cited some of the ways Asian American applicants were stereotyped in the Harvard admissions process, including through all those notations by admissions officers that came out in the trial and became fodder for so many news stories on the case.

But, as we said at the time, we don’t believe any lawsuit can bring about the end of Asian American discrimination in elite college admissions. No, we believe change in America — real, systemic change — begins not in our courtrooms but in our streets. In places like Selma, Seneca Falls, and The Stonewall Inn. For many years, we have asserted that until Asian Americans fight to end this unjust discrimination through organized protest, no real change — no enduring change — will ever be achieved. And thus, in these weeks of March 2021, we are delighted that our nation has begun to reckon with its history of Asian American discrimination, which existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic. We wish the heinous events that have led our citizens to take to the streets in the fight for equality never happened. But Asian American discrimination has captured the zeitgeist. Maybe just maybe this is the moment when Asian Americans can achieve the change we’ve long wished to see. Here’s hoping!

And, for our readers, we are aware that the topic of Affirmative Action — more so than any other topic we discuss on college admissions — engenders great passion in the Comments section. We are aware that many don’t agree with our position. And that’s ok! We just ask that you kindly keep your comments civil.

 
 

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6 Comments

  • Bruce Lee says:

    Lol. Let me use my crystal ball too, since mine is a little more sophisticated. Any admission process that makes it harder for rich white kids and/or Asians to get admitted to elite colleges, is great for the college counseling business, because they are probably a big majority of your clients.

    So what does Ivy coach recommend? Ban legacy and athletic preferences which benefits rich white kids and keep Affirmative action that discriminates against Asians.
    Excellent way to get more desperate Asians and rich white folks begging for your services to get into these universities.

    As the great Thomas Sowell said, there are no right solutions, only trade-offs and this trade-off is great for Ivy Coach.

    Color me impressed 🙂

  • Whitey Bulger says:

    I agree with you Bruce Lee. Ivy Coach is Karate Chopping the bank accounts of Whites and Asians, while crying foul (Called playing both sides). Maybe they need more white bank accounts so want to eliminate legacies and athletes? Good deduction! Everyone is a victim of racism except white males. So let’s see how that white privilege is doing at Harvard:

    US WHITE POPULATION:
    62%
    HARVARD WHITE POPULATION:
    45%

    US ASIAN POPULATION:
    6%
    HARVARD ASIAN POPULATION:
    27%

    Hmmm. That’s interesting. Asians have over 400% representation at Harvard. Whites have only 72.5% representation. Someone is the victim of racism at Harvard….but it’s not Asians.

    But wait. Only Whites are Racists. Well It looks like the whites are being racist against wites at Harvard- that’s the explanation. The whites are always to blame. Damn whites!

  • The Riddler says:

    You look over ivy coaches past blogs they have advocated for the following:

    1. Getting rid of Test Scores.

    Who does this hurt? Wealthy Asians, Whites

    Who does this help? Ivy Coach Who will get their dollars to get into the schools then.

    2. Getting rid of Legacy Admissions.

    Who does this hurt? Wealthy Whites.

    Who does this help? Ivy Coach Who will get their dollars to get into the schools then.

    Which groups benefit from #1 and #2? Blacks, Hispanics. Those groups traditionally do not have the money to pay for Ivy Coach’s $7500 fee for a letter of continued interest. Naturally the coach would like rich Whites and Asians to be desperate to pay them. What better way than to do away with test scores and legacies?

    Riddle Solved.

  • Sarah Wang says:

    Asians and Whites are wholly discriminated against in a big way when factoring in average test scores for these two cohorts. But if admissions were color-blind and affirmative action was thrown out- the latter ethnicities would comprise 90% of the Ivy League. That is based on a higher education report by the US Govt. Stats Office study. I do not see how you can not discriminate and have affirmative action at the same time and have a balance of diversity these schools covet. It is an impossibility and, for that reason, the discrimination will continue and these schools know that.

  • CJ Edwards says:

    I want to applaud Ivy Coach for publishing all comments. They truly allow disagreement- something NOT allowed by the woke left, a.k.a., the Ivies (which is scary). I also agree you can charge whatever you want to. Hope that woman from Vietnam or wherever she was from paid her whole bill too. Her daughter was definitely admitted to schools she had no business getting in.

    • Amanda Horn says:

      I want to thank you for showing us just how nasty and ugly the voice of hate is, and why we must fight for people to receive the respect they deserve.

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