My Take on this :
Its simple fact Top US schools ( Read top 10) though global by reputation ,inherently are American schools ,catering to American Population. Just look at the % of Intls in these schools and it hovers around 30-40% ..So to include rest of world in that 40% to make it a diverse class is a tough ask , So yes hard luck to all Indians and Chinese applicants because it is bound to be tougher for us due to sheer number of applicants applying ...
So if you are very good and have experiences ( read work and beyond experiences) which add value to the class, you will be good to get in .. However if you are same like next candidate , no amount of GMAT/GPA will help us (read Indian IT Industry Software Experience) ...I am an Indian btw..
This is the harsh reality..
And someone mentioned Asian Economies doing well .... Its one thing economies doing well than West and its other having quality of life (read life, career, living) as West. The truth is still Asia inspite of its great strides have still long way to go... Goodbyeboy was spot on Rich Poor gap and inflation .. Outside Singapore and Hong Kong ,almost all think twice or thrice or even averse to accept a job role in other parts of Asia just because the living standards, money, lifestyle, comes no way close...
As long as India, China and other developing countries continue to their journey where their GDP Per capita, living standards,quality of life,infrastructure matches Advanced Economies , Western Educational establishments will continue to thrive on recieving large number of Asian applicants and thus will remain tougher for almost All Asian applicants
goodbyeboy wrote:
Quote:
This is a pretty racist statement. You are basically saying that Asians are only good at getting higher scores, but lack other skills. This is simply not a true assertion. If Asians lack inherent drive and creativity, why are the Asian economies doing so well? The perception about other people is a dangerous one to have. Because one day they will eat your lunch.
I'm sorry, but I have to ask you where you got the idea that I was making a racist statement. That is a strong assertion and I take that kind of assertion very seriously. Where did you get the conclusion that Asians are only good at getting higher scores from what I wrote?
Have you ever stopped to wonder why I said I am able to look at this from insider's perspective? Everything I wrote on my previous post is true - that's what I went through when I was young. I was educated in 3 countries throughout my life and I think it's safe to say I know what I'm talking about since I experience all of them myself. Education and work culture in Asia is very different from one you might have experienced elsewhere. I don't know what your background is but most schools and workplaces in Asia discourage being different and creative. It's sad, but it's true. It may have created many people excel academically but for many of them they're mostly empty shell who lack important attributes and leadership skills that MBA schools look favorably upon. It shows on applications and schools notice. As I said, there's always an exception. Among all those academically-competitive applicants ones who will really shine are the ones that was able to grow and nurture their leadership skills and attributes through rigorous if not hellish studying for nearly 15 years. It's a difference in mindset and culture, and that's why I said you lack the experience and knowledge to make your assertions citing MLK and Gandhi - This is something you have to experience to understand.
Asian economies doing so well? Have you even been to Asia? It might look good with all the skyscrapers from outside but inside it's a mess. The gap between rich and poor, inflation, kids committing suicides b/c of low grades, top college grads struggling to find jobs, soaring jobless rates....the list goes on. Believe it or not, beside the horrible world economy we face nowadays, it has a lot to do with what I mentioned above - fanatic education culture that discourages creativity and only pushes for numbers on record. I don't expect you to understand, but that's what's going on. It's a social problem here.
Quote:
Furthermore, I do believe b-school should accept the best holistic candidate. However, when there is an arbitrary definition of “diversity”, and you slot the classes this way, it inherently causes inequity. For example, two candidates with equal softer skills and quant skills, one is URM, one isn’t, which one do you think would get the slot? Now let’s presume, two candidates with equal softer skills, the URM has lower stats, but the non-URM slots has been filled. Who do you think would get the admit? Is this fair and equitable? What happen if the URM was brought up in an affluent family? The non-URM had to fight their way through poor education opportunity, and difficulty in getting recommenders who can write in English. Did the URM add diversity to the mix?
Any time when there is a pre-determined class mix, you lose the argument accepting the best candidate.
Going back to MBA topics, as I mentioned It will work as disadvantages for candidates from Asia and China. That means it worked as disadvantage for me when I applied to schools this year. Here's the bottom line though -
suck it up, seriously. Bite the bullet, accept the situation, rock those applications and get into schools. If you are truly outstanding candidate, and if you truly want MBA, it's your responsibility to get what you want out of your life. No excuses necessary and no need to occupy business schools with I have a dream speech. I wish those schools have rooms for more Asian and Indian candidates, that would be wonderful, but that's not the world we live in and there are undeniable things in our lives that we need to consider when applying to B-schools. Population keeps growing and space is still limited. If people can't live or work with that fact, they should reconsider applying to B-schools.
The perception about other people is a dangerous one to have. Because one day they will eat your lunch. Beautiful statement my friend - totally agree. Except it was me sharing my thoughts based on my experience than me having the perception about other people. So let's refrain from jumping ships and accuse me for making racist comments first without knowing my background and where I come from, because that's very dangerous and one day will eat your lunch.
close
28 Dec 2011, 21:32
