Amidst the clamor of getting college applications, interviews, and SAT or ACT testing completed, there is always the concern that families and students alike face: the admission process. Every year, thousands upon thousands of students send their applications in to top-ranking colleges, in hopes that maybe—just maybe—their choice college will add them to the undergraduate list the following fall. For some, this process provides a welcome relief; for the others possessing the same criteria as those accepted, it is cause for question.

In a study conducted by Princeton University sociologist Thomas Espenshade, there are factors that may put a prospective student at an advantage or a disadvantage. Athletes with the same qualifications as non-athletes have double the chances of being accepted, private school or top-notch public school applicants are more than likely to receive acceptance letters than those of the regular schools, and the top 10 percent of a school can expect a better rate of getting into college than those in the lower percentiles. These criteria are normally expected for top colleges—the applicant pool numbers in tens of thousands, while the available undergraduate seats are a minor percentage. However, Espenshade’s study also touched upon the rates in which different races were accepted.

According to Espenshade’s research of 10 undisclosed elite colleges in 1997, the breakdown percentage of the races who applied within the United States were: 66% whites, 22.1% Asians, 6.6% African-Americans, and 5.3% Hispanics. Of the applicants, those who were accepted were 31.9% whites, 14.0% Asians, 33.8% African-Americans, and 21.3% Hispanics. With the rather large Asian applicant pool—which includes those from countries found in the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the subcontinent of India—it then leaves us wondering: Why a small acceptance rate for Asians?

Asian-Americans have filed complaints about this discrimination, some of whom are parents that have students scoring the perfect 2400 on the SATs, while others speak against the affirmative action process. A professor of higher education at UCLA, Mitchell Chang, even argues that there is a possible stereotyping of Asians as “academic [nerds],” which decrease their chances of being accepted over the athletes with the same excellence in academia. Chang, however, insists that the Asian pool is just as diverse as those of the other races who have applied, and thus should not be dismissed so easily.

On the other hand, the data does not take various aspects of the application process: essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, community service hours, interviews, and musical or artistic skills all play a certain role in the admission process. Furthermore, it has been 12 years since the study was conducted, and there are some of the elite colleges who are pushing for diverse culture on campus as well as academic excellence. Affirmative action may be in effect on a certain level, but it still goes down to the level of work that each student has provided in his or her application.

Class Cliatt, Princeton University spokeswoman mentioned that “Princeton considers factors such as interest in and demonstrated commitment to a particular field of study or extracurricular activity, exceptional skills and talents, experiences and background, status as an alumni child or Princeton faculty or staff child, athletic achievement, musical or artistic talent, geographic or socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, any unique circumstances, and a range of other factors.” Of the 17,564 applicants for the class of 2010, only 1,231 seats were open for admission. While Princeton did not take part in Espenshade’s analysis, its decision process is most likely similar to the other elite colleges today.