Dai Chengxin (R2), a Chinese students in Harvard, takes part in a rugby match. (File photo)
Chinese living in the U.S. are questioning the latest college admission reform initiated by Harvard.
Affected by former education discrimination against Chinese in America, including Affirmative action and Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 5, Chinese living in the U.S. worried that they will be discriminated by the education reform under which responsibilities to people and communities are more valued than academic performance.
Chinese and even Asian people attach more importance to exams. When it comes to social activities, these students are constrained to music-related ones, said Li Fu, a professor from the Portland State University.
Zhong Ming, who already has two children, said that large numbers of Chinese parents save money to give their children better education. However, it is much more difficult for Chinese to receive good education in America, not to mention that they can enter the mainstream society.
As for reason about this reform, some Chinese hold the view that due to low enrollment rate of native students, famous universities in the U.S. want to find a way to diversify students backgrounds.
Li pointed out that the reform itself is not discrimination-oriented.
Universities and colleges should pay more attention to students' responsibility for others and their communities rather than simply value their achievements during admission process, a report by Harvard says.
The report, entitled Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good Through College Admissions by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, takes a major step in trying to change the college admissions process to make it more humane, less super-human.
More than 80 stakeholders from first-tier colleges and universities, including admissions officers (like Harvard's), deans, professors and high school counselors have endorsed the proposal.
Yale University will be adding an essay question on next year's application that asks applicants "to reflect on engagement with and contribution to their family, community and/or the public good."
A staff member in charge of student admission from Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that students spend too much time on exams and "we do not want those who only want to be enrolled in a prestigious school."
