Asian Americans, Admissions, and College Choice: An Empirical Test of Claims of Harm Used in Federal Investigations

Abstract

The Coalition of Asian American Associations (CAAA) and Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE), two small but vocal groups of Asian Americans, have argued against affirmative action practices. One of their more prominent claims is that Asian American applicants who are not accepted and do not attend their first-choice colleges face a multitude of negative consequences, a claim that has become the impetus for the current U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into the college admissions process at a number of universities. This study empirically tests the claims made by CAAA and AACE with particular attention to the differences in Asian American student outcomes, relative to their college admissions and choice decisions. Our findings indicate a limited, if any, statistical difference between Asian American groups that attend differing choice institutions.

The Time All San Francisco Fought Over School Fairness and Equality

“…It answers the call to document the agency and selfdetermination of the Asian American community Chen & Buell, 2018). As researchers fill in the historical gaps on Asian Americans (Hing, 1994;Okihiro, 2005;Quinn, 2020;Takaki, 1998Takaki, , 2008Wu, 2003;Zia, 2001), most studies still relegate Asian Americans to one side or the other (Black et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2020;Nelson et al, 2017;Nguyen et al, 2020;Students of Sociology of Asian America, 2019;Torres, 2020). Some studies have analyzed how the educational system and standards have influenced academia's discourse and understanding of Asian Americans (Chen & Buell, 2018;Espiritu, 1993;Lee et al, 2020;Lew, 1995;Omi & Winant, 1994), the present research is one of the first to directly demonstrate Asian American efforts, motivations and methods at developing and expressing themselves in the arena of civil rights.…”

When Extracurricular Activities Become “Problems”

“…Asian‐American families are competing with these families for limited slots at prestigious universities. While this worry may be overstated (most Asian‐American students wind up at universities that are similar in prestige to their first choice universities; see Nguyen et al 2020), it is not an aberrant worry. Many white, middle‐class parents have this same worry.…”