<p>My grandparents originated from Spain. My father is 100% Spanish born in the United States, & my mother is white. Does that make me a minority?</p>
<p>I have read so many threads about white students with parents or grandparents from Spain. The consensus on those threads usually turns out to be, yes, you can check the box for "hispanic" background, if you can check more than one box, probably should check the "white/caucasion" box too. Will checking that box automatically confer Under Represented Minority status on you? Probably not.</p>
<p>Personally I think it's very cynical. People of Spanish decent are Europeans, most people of European decent are a mix of national lineages. The point of questions about ethnic background are more related to issues of cutural diversity. The reason "hispanic" is a catagory of its own is because Spain colonized Mexico, Central and South America. There is not catagory for "Italian", and in the context of Europe, why Spain and not Italy? So, in my opinion, it is not ethical to put yourself in the same catagory as a kid with a Mexican background, or Honduran or whatever.</p>
<p>That said, you are technically Hispanic, or partially at least, and there's nothing that I've ever heard of that says you cannot check that box. Some people object to questions of ethnicity altogether and see it as a small act of civil disobedience to use them as they see fit. I think in those cases the more ethical choice is not to check any of them at all, but people come to different conclusions about this.</p>
<p>See <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/641650-hispanic-latino-defined.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/641650-hispanic-latino-defined.html</a>. According to the federal definition, you are in fact Hispanic, and may indicate so on any form asking for your ethnicity.</p>
<p>I don't think there is anything cynical about truthfully self-identifying your ethnicity. If a college decides to grant an advantage to an individual based on their parent's country of origin, that may or may not be a rational policy on the part of the college, but if a student belongs to that particular group it is perfectly reasonable and honest of them to let the college know about it.</p>
<p>I think you can check the Hispanic box and then write in the details as above where asked. Some schools may give you the URM boost but many won't depending upon whether a kid with Spanish heritage is or is not the kind of diversity they're looking.</p>
<p>Most schools drill down and after you check Spanish, they ask Mexican, SA, etc and I dont think being from Spain will help.</p>
<p>I was in the same boat. My mom is from Spain, but I am about as white as you get (light skin, blue eyes, etc). I put down Hispanic and white, other, or multiracial if they don't let you select more than one. </p>
<p>But for all intents and purposes, you are Hispanic.</p>
<p>Well, the OP is technically Hispanic, that's for sure, but whether that's true for "all intents and purposes" is not likely. It depends on the intent and purpose of the question. Clearly the purpose and intent of ethnicity questions relates to racial and cultural diversity. Otherwise they'd ask if you had Italian ancestry or Irish or German or whatever other European strain they'd care to name.</p>
<p>I think it would be better if the question was re-phrased to something along the lines of "Latin American" or something to that effect. Unless of course they really are interested in Europeans from Spain over other European countries.</p>
<p>Well there are numerous places that differentiate between Hispanic and Latin/South American. But for people that ask for "Hispanic", the OP is without a doubt Hispanic. Should it be changed? Probably, but it is what it is.</p>
<p>BethAnn4 -</p>
<p>Depending on when your grandparents immigrated to the US from Spain, you may be able to reclaim Spanish nationality which would give you an European Community passport and the opportunity to live, study, and work anywhere within the EC. Here is a link from the Spanish Consulate in Miami:</p>
<p>And boy do I ever get it about "Hispanic Enough". Happydad's grandparents all immigrated to Cuba from Spain. Then the family moved to Venezuela. Happykid is tall, blonde, and hazel-eyed - just like all of those Northern Spanish ancestors. She holds dual US-Venezuelan nationality, speaks Spanish fluently, and still after 11 years in the local public schools causes a bit of a stir when she says "Yes, I'm Hispanic."</p>
<p>I say, check the box. Let the colleges decide what to do with that information.</p>
<p>no. you are at most white hispanic.</p>
<p>BethAnn: check the box for hispanic.
And wait for the special attention and, most likely, $$$ to start rolling in.</p>
<p>Yes, it doesn't matter if you are "white" hispanic, you are still hispanic.</p>
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no. you are at most white hispanic.
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<p>Being white has nothing to do with it</p>