I have experience treating the mentally ill. It seems very pat to blame the parents, in the sense mentioned above. Genetics are critical in unipolar depression. The Asian parenting style (avoidance of discussion of mental illness, high expectations) is not a known risk factor, although it makes for an interesting article oo discussion.

The other objection to the article is that to the best of myknowledge, no one who is writing examined or spoke with any one who examined Azia Kim, making their conclusions about her mental state nothing more than idle speculation.

A lot of Asian American parents tell their kids that because of inequaities in the American system, they NEED to get into a good college. This is not a true statement since there are
successful Asian Americans who did not get into a good college. However, I don't think there is anyone who could disgaree that a non-white who is not gifted in some sense and did not graduate from a good college for undergrad has a much less chance of being successful in America than a white person who is not gifted in some sense and did not graduate from a good college. (Cheney, Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, and many other examples exist for white people, but there are very few minorities who fall under this category.) I think what would really help matters would be for more untalented Asians (untalented like Bill O' Reilly for example) to be successful without having gone to a good college for undergrad.

Oh, you said undergrad. If you go to grad school, where you did you undergrad doesn't matter so much anymore... Anyway, I think you're wrong about the chances for success. Everyone who's a minority hears those same things from their parents, but at some point you have to stop assuming the world is out to get you.

I think disadvantaged (yet ambitious) people realize that even with all its flaws, the admissions process to universities is much more fair than how it is in the real world, where corruption, nepotism, racism, sexism, and lookism are rampant. They look at a degree from a good university as a way to improve themselves before the horrors of the real world hit. If the real world were more fair, disadvantaged people would feel
less pressure to get into a good university.

Just some comments:
1. There is absolutely no cultural homogeneity among so-called "Asian" cultures. "Asia" is a useless nomenclature that Westerners continue to use to label everyone on a continent that doesn't exist apart from Europe. There is only one continent that incudes both Europe and so-called Asia. This article would be more useful if it specifically named the "Asian" cultures the researchers evaluated for study.
2. Families are by nature not democratic. To suggest that western families are democratic and "Asian" families are not is misleading.
3. Most Asian-American parents do not dictate to their children whom they should marry or what their major should be in college. This sort of broad-sweeping generalization is silly.

to observer wrote: "Even after living in California, a state with a large Asian population, for decades, I rarely come across an untalented Asian with a high paying job who didn't go to a top school."

Are you saying that Asians who don't go to top name schools will be doomed to a life of failure?

I guess then that all the Asians who graduate from UC Riverside and the like should just commit mass suicide.

This is a ridiculous and sweeping generalization. There are many, MANY successul Asian Americans who didn't go to good, "name brand" schools. Heard of a guy named James Sun? Korean-American founded successful company, graduated from University of Washington. John Liu, the first Asian American on the NYC Council, graduated from Binghamton.

With all that said, there is SOME degree of truth to what you say, and it does sicken me that Asian parents put too much pressure on their kids to go to prestigious schools only for the name and not the educational quality. The only way to change all that is to have Asians from no-name universities become prominent leaders in society. Right now, we do have Asians like Mike Honda (San Jose State), Leland Yee (University of Hawaii PhD), and Steven Choi (University of Pittsburgh PhD) in the California government.

BTW, Steven Chu is a pretty accomplished individual with excellent academic credentials (Rochester undergrad, Berkeley PhD) so I'm not sure if he's an example of a minority who succeeded despite not going to a good college. Unless you were referring to Steven Choi (LSU and Pitt PhD).

This article is worth reading! Thanks for the information.

The discussion here focuses on whether Asians need to go to 'name brand' schools to be successful, but that question is moot. The point is the *perception* by many Asians and their parents that they need to get into these schools in order to be successful in career and life. A voice of reason in school admissions, (former) MIT admissions dean Marilee Jones, was found to be a fraud and resigned. She's a fraud, but her ideas have merit. There's not much difference in the education you get at colleges anymore, and we all know it's what you make of the education that counts.

You can still lead a happy life without being successful (success in this context meaning career success meaning a well paying/very successful job). So no you don't have to
commit suicide if you are Asian who graduate from UC Riverside. I was not making a universal statement concerning prestige of university and career success, only a general one. There are untalented whites and there are untalented nonwhites in this country. (Mike Honda and Leland Yee are not examples of untalented nonwhites I'm afraid). The untalented nonwhites NEED a prestigious university to be successful, but untalented whites don't need them. Racism can be overplayed at times however it still exists and you are not helping matters by playing down its negative effect on minorities in this country. And Johnny, this is what Marilee Jones had to say about a Korean American who didn't gain admission to some university: "It's possible that Henry Park looked like a thousand other Korean kids with the exact same profile of grades and activities and temperament yet another textureless math grind."

How about Asian-American men?
Or is the underlying message about the oppression of Asian women perpetuated by Asian men and their only salvation in finding a white knight in shining armor to the rescue!

Man, I did not kow that Asians were so f***ed up over this academic stuff.

Here's some advice....

Cool it with trying to impress everybody. If you are smart, hard working and can produce results, most folks don't give a damn where your ancestors came from.

This is America, a melting pot where folks from all over the globe have made it.

If your parents are so weirded out about where you go to school, give them some weed so they can mellow out!

Geeeez!

Do the editors of the Stanford Daily not check grammar? They should!