> My default answer is that it would not have affected your chances at all unless someone in your application process was racist. This would most likely have happened with someone who wrote a reference letter rather than someone affiliated with the universities.
Of course there was. An admissions officer saw it and they have to stop the school getting too Asian.
> An admissions officer saw it and they have to stop the school getting too Asian.
Where do you believe that this specific situation has actually happened this century?
I am fairly certain that this has not happened at any elite school in the recent past.
The worst actual evidence I’ve seen is of an admissions officer referring to a “standard strong” applicant as something slightly less flattering like “a familiar profile” Asian applicant.
Note that “standard strong” basically means great grades and scores and little else of significant note. This title defaults to non-admit.
Below is a link to a click-bait article that discusses the topic. Note how almost all of these “inappropriate” statements fall into the category of least charitable possible interpretations of the rater’s comments rather than the explicit malice that you seem to suggest is happening in admissions offices.
These are people who know that anything written down will eventually be used in a lawsuit. They’re not going to use slurs. I bet they wouldn’t even have any problem with their children marrying an Asian. But it’s their job to keep the Asian percentage down below what it would be if the student was White, and very far below what it would be if they were Black, among students with otherwise similar credentials. If that doesn’t qualify as anti-Asian racism what is it?
The reason the holistic admissions system was made up was to avoid having too many Jews. Now it’s used to prevent too many Asians.
Of course there was. An admissions officer saw it and they have to stop the school getting too Asian.