My kids, several of whom attended UC schools that are well-populated by Asians, report that a significant number of them do not do so well in college. They are the kids who had no life, who did nothing but study in high school. They get to college, have a little more control over their time and their interests, and they are now competing against a smarter pool of kids. Now, it is not so easy to excel by simply working hard, and a lot of them choose not to work as hard as they used to.
I'm not sure how true this is. I know there are still a lot of very smart Asians graduating from college. But it is believed to be true by a lot of kids who go to college with Asians. They believe they are not doing as well in college as in high school overall.
First day of any “hard” university class,
role is called,
an Asian name is read,
and you hear “there goes the curve!”