For years, many Asian-Americans have been convinced that it’s harder for them to gain admission to the nation’s top colleges. Studies show that Asian-Americans meet these colleges’ admissions standards far out of proportion to their 6 percent representation in the U.S. population, and that they often need test scores hundreds of points higher than applicants from other ethnic groups to have an equal chance of admission. Critics say these numbers, along with the fact that some top colleges with race-blind admissions have double the Asian percentage of Ivy League schools, prove the existence of discrimination. The way it works, the critics believe, is that Asian-Americans are evaluated not as individuals, but against the thousands of other ultra-achieving Asians who are stereotyped as boring academic robots. Of course, not all Asian-Americans fit this stereotype. They are not always obedient hard workers who get top marks. Their economic status, ancestral countries and customs vary. But compared with American society in general, Asian-Americans have developed a much per emphasis on intense academic preparation as a path to a handful of the very best schools.
