"The asian kid with a 1560 SAT and state violin awards (probably) isn't getting into Harvard"
18% of Harvard students are Asian, so yeah, he (probably) would. And, that's with a long-standing policy of "ethnic cleansing" in Asian matriculation[1].
It really does nullify the point. If, as he claims, Harvard were trying to actively prevent the "asian clones" from invading, they would not allow a minority that makes up only 4% of the general population take almost up almost 1/5th of the slots, especially when you're underrepresenting whites, blacks, AND hispanics in the process (again, as a percentage of the general population).
But, to answer your question, 23% of total applicants are Asian-American, and 18% of total accepted are Asian-American[1]. So, yeah, little Johnny Violin is likely getting into Harvard.
PS, yes, my math was totally mucked up. Thanks for pointing that out :D It should be around 8% acceptance, which is actually less than the acceptance rate overall. Hmmm... so I guess they are rejecting them in droves.
That does not mean the acceptance rate is near 80%.
Imagine 100 people apply, 50 of which are Asian. 5 people get in, 1 of which is Asian. 20% of the total accepted are Asian, but the acceptance rate among Asians is 2% and 8% for other races.
The kid who merely has 1560 SAT and state violin awards won’t get into Harvard. The people running admissions for top-tier schools are looking for freshmen who are “well-rounded” as well as smart, and they want a “diverse” student body as well. If you show up with exactly the same extracurricular activities on your resume that a thousand other pushed-to-overachieve seventeen-year-olds all over the country have, you are at a disadvantage.