<p>I was under the impression that I wasn't considered Hispanic and should simply list myself as Caucasian on college applications, but my friends have recently been telling me that I messed up by listing myself as non-Hispanic. My maternal grandmother was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and was of a line of descent from Spain. To my knowledge she's the only Hispanic ancestor I have. Since I don't really have much of a connection with my Hispanic heritage (I only speak very basic Spanish and have only seen my Puerto Rican relatives a handful of times) and I'm not underprivileged by any definition of the word, I thought that I was supposed to list myself as a Caucasian non-Hispanic. What am I classified as in the context of college applications?</p>
<p>revolt,</p>
<p>Please read the first post in the Definition sticky thread at the top of this forum, it gives the US Census definition of Hispanic, which is what is used by colleges for admissions purposes (note: some scholarships and programs may use different definitions of Hispanic).</p>
<p>Also, please note the difference between ethnicity (Hispanic) and race; Hispanics can be and are of any race(s).</p>
<p>For college admissions, the important factor is whether or not you ‘identify’ as Hispanic. This identification does not need to be exclusive, but to truthfully check the box, you have to have some degree of identity with your Hispanic culture/community/background/etc., and you are the only valid judge of that.</p>
<p>While being underprivileged is immaterial to whether you are Hispanic or not, it can play a role in how much being Hispanic will affect your college admissions. For some discussion, see post #2 of this thread and the thread it gives the link to:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/1229462-does-being-hispanic-have-any-impact-all.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/1229462-does-being-hispanic-have-any-impact-all.html</a></p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>