Indian/Chinese vs. Indian/Chinese American applying to b-schools

Question for the forum. I always read that Indian and Chinese applicants face much tougher odds of getting into a top 5 or 10 business school but I'm curious what they are for Indian/Chinese Americans (people who were born in China or India but are now citizens in the US and lived here for most of their life or born in the US but have parents who moved from India/China).

Are the chances better? the same? worse? for this group of ethnic Asians but legal Americans? How will the admissions committee view you?

Would love to hear some opinions. To me it seems like you should be at an advantage over Indians from India or Chinese from China being an American citizen and identifying as American culturally but I could be wrong.

 

IMO: I think its a matter of at which age one moved rather than if they moved. My opinion stems from the fact that I am an arab american who moved to the states at a very young age. In short, I don't think that the latter "people who were born in China or India but are now citizens in the US and lived here for most of their life or born in the US but have parents who moved from India/China" have any advantage, once you're a citizen, it's stats that make you competitive. If I am wrong and chances are good that someone has a counter point, how would you go about using a birthplace outside of the states to your advantage when applying to MBA programs?

 
Best Response

If you're American but of Asian descent (South Asian, SE Asian, East Asian), you are considered Asian-American.

There's some distinction made (unofficially) as well when they get into your applications - whether you are culturally American (born in the US, or came to the US as a toddler), or a more recent US citizen (i.e. moved to the US when you were a teen). If it's the former, you're seen as essentially American. For the latter, you'll likely be compared more to those from Asia (even if on paper you're Asian-American).

As for those from Asia, it's a a different story.

Indian applicants are very different than those from China. With the Indians, it's overwhelmingly male and engineering. It feels like it's 99%. With the Chinese, there's a healthy mix of men and women (in fact, probably close to 50-50, and along with American applicants, the biggest share of women applicants compared to any other nationality) - and overrepresented in finance (but not to the same extreme like Indians and engineering).

Also, anecdotally, the Indian applicants have continued to grow, while the Chinese applications have stagnated (perhaps the recent downturn may change that).

With other Asians, it's a completely different story (and fewer numbers; in fact, the Japanese applicants have essentially disappeared).

Assuming strong stats (GMAT is in range, GPA is strong), the key distinctions/factors for admission are this:

Indian: don't be an engineer, and if you are an engineer, find a way to stand out amongst the millions of others who on the surface have identical profiles; yes it's probably the roughest applicant pool to be in

Chinese/Korean/Japanese: speak English. If you're fluent, it's a HUGE advantage (because so many of the applicants aren't as proficient as they should be in English to thrive at a top b-school). With the Chinese, it helps not being in finance.

Other Asians (SE Asia): similar to Europeans and white Americans, have a solid profile; yes you have to find ways to stand out, but the challenge isn't quite as daunting as compared to the Indians since there's not as many of you; also it helps not being in finance

Asian-American: not being in finance really helps. On the whole, Asian-Americans have a tougher time getting into top b-schools (particularly H/S) compared to white Americans, but that is a function of the greater finance skew amongst Asian-Americans, whereas white Americans seem to as a group have more diverse professional backgrounds (more balanced mix of finance, consulting, engineering, corporate, etc). But overall they tend to have an advantage in getting into the top b-schools: they're citizens (no immigration issues that limit post-MBA job options for internationals), culturally there's no concerns about "fit", and there's frankly less of them compared to those applying from Asia.

Alex Chu www.mbaapply.com
 

I don't understand the hate for finance and econ undergrads what if they pursued that degree because they were interested in it and it's curriculum. Does the Adcom believe that if someone studied STEM in undergrad they're more entitled to a corporate or finance job? I get the appeal that they pursued a more challenging major but wouldn't it be presumed that they wanted a degree in STEM because they liked what they were studying? Anyways i'm not saying they shouldn't accept people with STEM undergrads but I think they should offer more priority to those who have an undergrad in finance/econ/mathematical finance etc.

 

It is all about relative strength. Adcom evaluate applicants within certain pool (race, nationality, academic background, professional background). So the smaller pool you are in, the easier to get in.

Business schools already enroll more business major students than other background in absolute term but there are just too many applicants with business degree. So it is obviously more difficult to stand out.

 

Thanks SMDRNB and Alex, appreciate the very quick responses. Alex, just to clarify, when you write:

"But overall THEY tend to have an advantage in getting into the top b-schools: they're citizens (no immigration issues that limit post-MBA job options for internationals), culturally there's no concerns about "fit", and there's frankly less of them compared to those applying from Asia."

The THEY, you are referring to is Asian Americans and not white Americans, correct?

Overall I agree with your analysis and thankfully I fall into the Asian-American category but was curious how that would shape my candidacy.

 

Sed ut odio qui quam earum. Vel et fugiat debitis ut. Autem molestiae est non aut. Magni sint qui provident cupiditate quas nesciunt. Explicabo voluptas est officia magni fugiat voluptatibus.

Est illum ad dolores ab. Aut alias explicabo dolorem quod. Vel tenetur recusandae quaerat atque molestiae inventore. Eos vel ipsa voluptate pariatur reiciendis maxime.

Incidunt non nihil necessitatibus expedita eos quos. Illo eligendi suscipit fugiat at. Impedit doloribus amet aut commodi a qui. Perferendis quo totam iure et corrupti est.

Alex Chu www.mbaapply.com

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”