According to foreign media reports, an organization representing Asian American students analyzed the profiles of over 160,000 students and submitted an analysis report this Friday as part of a lawsuit against Harvard University. According to this report, Harvard has consistently given Asian applicants lower scores than applicants of other ethnicities in personality traits such as "positive personality," likability, courage, kindness, and being "widely respected."
The organization opposes all race-based admission criteria. The analysis it commissioned shows that Asian American students scored higher than applicants of other ethnicities in admission metrics such as test scores, grades, and extracurricular activities. However, the analysis also found that the personality scores of Asian students significantly lowered their chances of admission.
Harvard University is one of the most popular and difficult universities to get into in the United States, admitting only 4.6% of applicants this year. This has fueled curiosity about Harvard's strictly confidential admissions process. Harvard had fought fiercely for months to avoid releasing the materials disclosed this Friday.
During the admissions process, Harvard University evaluates applicants in five categories: "academic," "extracurricular," "athletic," "personal," and "overall." Ratings range from 1 to 6, with 1 being the best.
According to the plaintiff's analysis report, white applicants received higher personality ratings than Asian applicants, with 21.3% of white applicants receiving a rating of 1 or 2, while only 17.6% of Asian applicants received these ratings.
Harvard University officials acknowledged that an internal investigation by the university in 2013 found that if admissions were based solely on academic performance, the proportion of Asian students would rise from the actual 19% to 43%. When factoring in Harvard's preference for athletes and children of alumni, the proportion of white students increases, and the proportion of Asian students drops to 31%. When extracurricular activities and personality scores are further included, the proportion of white students rises further, and the proportion of Asian students falls to 26%.
According to the Harvard University website, among the Class of 2021, 14.6% were African American, 22.2% were Asian American, 11.6% were Hispanic, and 2.5% were Native American and Pacific Islander.
