Letters to the Editor: Your smart kid wasn’t the only perfect student rejected by Stanford or Berkeley

To the editor: I sympathize with the anguish of young Asian Americans looking for the secret sauce that will get them into an elite college. (“Post-affirmative action, Asian American families are more stressed than ever about college admissions,” Nov. 26)

Something your article does not mention is the simple fact that there are not enough spaces in elite college admissions programs to admit everyone who is qualified.

As a former Stanford alumni volunteer who helped recruit applicants at college fairs, I’ve listened to more than one high school counselor express shock that their star student didn’t get into Stanford despite having stratospheric grades and test scores and extracurricular achievements galore.

I note that most of the students and families profiled in your article have the wherewithal to hire consultants to help them with the admissions process. At least this gives them a leg up over students whose families cannot afford such assistance.

Agustin Medina, South Pasadena

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To the editor: I have been a teacher at an ethnically mixed high school for the last 49 years.

First, of course the bar goes up. Schools only have so much space, and more students are applying.

Second, college admissions are opaque, because if the schools listed exactly what they wanted to see, then every student would try to supply exactly that, and the process would only get more confused. And, students would feel even more pressure to do exactly what the schools wanted.

Third, members of one ethnic group aren’t any smarter than members of another.

Fourth, the best colleges probably do not have room for even one top student from every high school, let alone more. California alone has more than 400,000 high school seniors.

Fifth, parents tend to see their child as the best without any reference to all the other students applying.

Monty Armstrong, Irvine

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To the editor: Perhaps more parents should consider the decision of the “student known as a genius” to attend Pasadena City College as a choice, not a failure.

Theresa Lopez, Glendale