<p>if you don't fill out the race category, you are automatically considered in the same category as "white"</p>
<p>Only fill that section if you are a URM that is Michelle's point in the book. Otherwise, who cares if you are white or Asian. It has no benefit to you.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It has no benefit to you.
[/quote]
It does to college admissions!</p>
<p>bobmallet: I think what it eventually gets down to is a moral question: do you want your child to get admitted bc of their hard work, or because of some recently discovered race that conveniently showed up just in time for applications? Also, it's gonna suck if their admission gets rescinded because the admissions office knows they aren't af. am.</p>
<p>Is a white person born in China considered Chinese or Asian? Or maybe they're (white)parents were born China, are they still considered Chinese or Asian? What do you all think?</p>
<p>If you are Chinese, you are Asian? What's the question? You can't be Chinese and not be Asian...</p>
<p>When they say race, I believe that they mean it ancestry-wise. After all, they are likely afraid they will offend someone if they flat out put "Black" on the application.</p>
<p>But to to put African-American on the application when you are Caucasian, is misleading, since that is mainly there to determine if you would make the school visibly diverse whether they admit of not.</p>
<p>Many times they say to put the way you "identify" yourself. If you identify yourself as "African-American" because of your hertitage you should be fine. Also, your admissions will NOT be rescinded by putting it down. Can you imagine a college saying "Oh, when we accepted you we thought you would look black, but since you look white we are kicking you out". They would look like huge racists and it simply doesn't happen.</p>
<p>if I was South African I would fill out "African American"...sure they mean "black" but if you can not find this specefied anywhere on the application then there is NO way they will rescind your admissions once they found out that you are "white"...imagine what kind of problems would arise from that. If they did you could sue them and tons of other fun things, and sure it could come off as "misleading" but having to fill out your race on an application and then being favored based on the color of your skin is ridiculous in of itself and therefor trying to find loopholes (within the realm of truth) should be applauded in order to destroy this inherently racist and dated practice. I know several kids who are half, one quarter, one eighth, ect. URM and can't wait to claim their one eighth heritage in order to get a leg up. If enough people mess with this hopefully colleges will admit what they actually want, URM's to fill up their viewbook pictures and stats. Affirmative action should be based on socioeconomic status and family history, not the color of one's skin. Why should a rich black kid get favored over a poor white kid who does not have any opportunities? Give an advantage to the people who ACTUALLY need it, not just people who colleges think LOOK like they need it. Favoring blacks, hispanics ect is also very racist towards those groups. For example, we had a black kid last year get into every school he applied to (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Wharton, and many more) and many people discredited him behind his back by saying "well it was only because he was black" when in reality he was more then qualified for all of those schools. Let people in on their own merit and help people who truly need it, not just the people who racist college admissions offices think LOOK like they need it.</p>
<p>I would be careful about accusing people you do not know of being racists. </p>
<p>Northstarmom answered the question correctly as everyone else has indicated. The U.S. Census Bureau defines the designation of the term "African-American" in this official document overviewing the Black Population in the United States. The link to it is here: <a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-5.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-5.pdf</a></p>
<p>I hope there will be no more inflammatory responses regarding this subject.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, your admissions will NOT be rescinded by putting it down. Can you imagine a college saying "Oh, when we accepted you we thought you would look black, but since you look white we are kicking you out". They would look like huge racists and it simply doesn't happen
[/quote]
</p>
<p>They would not be kicking you out because it would look racist, they would be kicking you out because you misrepresented your self on the application and even signed the application stating that all of the information you listed on your application was true.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind if you do anything that requires a background check (going into law for example, it will come out leaving you with not 1 but 2 worthless peices of paper).</p>
<p>"Also, your admissions will NOT be rescinded by putting it down. Can you imagine a college saying "Oh, when we accepted you we thought you would look black, but since you look white we are kicking you out". They would look like huge racists and it simply doesn't happen "</p>
<p>It would happen if the college learned that a student had misrepresented themselves. That could be easy to determine since on various forms -- including for the SAT and for the elementary and secondary schools one went to -- one has to indicate race. In addition, colleges automatically give information about URMs to the student clubs related to those races and to the administrators in charge of diversity.</p>
<p>What exactly is a student who misrepresented themselves as black going to say if, for instance, a black student stopped by their dorm room to invite them to the African American Student Union? What would the student who misrepresented themselves say if they are in a class taught by a black faculty member who has a list of black freshmen, and takes the time after class to talk to the student to find out how they're getting along as a black student on campus?</p>
<p>Since there are African Americans who look as white as Paris Hilton, how the student looks won't cause others to definitely know that the student lied about their race, but I bet their reaction to the situations that I mentioned would.</p>
<p>Another possibility: Suppose the student achieved National Merit or National Merit Commended. If the student were black, they also would have had scores high enough to be National Achievement scholars. Colleges would have good reason to look askance at a student who indicated on their college app that they are black, but "forgot" to include that info when taking the PSAT.</p>
<p>Also, the world is small. Wherever the student is from, there's a good chance that someone connected with their college would encounter someone from the student's hometown and the truth would come out. </p>
<p>When it comes out, the student's admissions would be rescinded even if the student had already been enrolled for a long time. The admissions would be rescinded because the student lied on their application, which is an ethical violation.</p>
<p>I thought it was pretty clear that race is about ancestry... Or these days are black and brown the new white?</p>
<p>wait, so Northstarmom are you saying that they'll be able to tell the race just by what school one went to and how they scored on the SAT? That seems kind of bias and unjust</p>
<p>so authentic, your reading comprehension skills are sorely lacking.</p>
<p>lol, you put a race down for your High school.....stick with that race and don't change it.....</p>
<p>
She never said that. She just said that you indicate race on the SAT and other standardized tests like the PSAT. So, say you put you are white on the PSAT and SAT and then become a National Merit Finalist. Then around college admissions time you find out that your grandfather was a white African, so you decide to put African American on all of your applications. When you designate your school as a National Merit school and they recieve your information, they may be wondering why this African American kid who scored high enough to be National Merit wasn't also a National Achievement Finalist.</p>
<p>lilybbloom, Can't you read? Its a question not a statement meaning I was looking for some clarity because it seemed unclear to me .......Troll!</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification hotpiece</p>
<p>White South Africans are not African, they are considered European. Just as a Nigerian born in France would be considered Nigerian and not French, maybe a Nigerian French. Just as a white person born in China would not be considered Chinese. One's race, or specifically, one's ethnicity is based on one's ancestry. That is the way things are. It asks ethnicity/race not nationality.</p>
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