Hi all, I have been recently confused on what race I should put on my college application next year. My Dad is Chinese Surinamese and my mom is Korean. Am I technically considered half latino? Am I entitled to put both races, latino and asian on the college app? Thanks
Call me crazy, but…none of those countries speak Spanish?
What is a Surinamese? What country?
A Surinamese is from Suriname, of course.
It’s Dutch speaking. I have friends from there.
From Suriname, South America
You might get extra points from being Surinamese than half Hispanic. There are lots of Hispanics in California. My daughter’s friend in high school was full Mexican with reasonably good grades but was rejected from USC(her dream school). So I don’t know if it counts that much.
Unless Suriname is presently your country of nationality or residence, I have a hard time seeing how this will help you.
My friend from Suriname is black. What race is your Chinese Surinamese dad? Asian? Black? White?
Are Suriname or Aruba, Netherlands Antilles considered part of Latin America?
Easy. Put Hispanic as your ethnicity and Asian as your race.
But they don’t speak Spanish! According to the Internet, Suriname doesn’t even have any Spanish-speaking neighbors – it’s bordered by French Guyana and Brazil.
If you look closely at the boxes to check, you will find that Hispanic is a self-defined ethnicity (i.e. if you consider yourself to be Hispanic, you can check that box), and that the other boxes are for self-definitions as well. You will also note that you can check as many as you wish - or none at all if you prefer things that way. As for whether or not Surinam is on the list of suggested countries of origin for Hispanic self-identification, that would be another thing entirely.
Checking any of those boxes will not get you into a college or university that you are otherwise unqualified for. Not checking them will not keep you out of a place either. These boxes exist primarily to keep the US Dept of Education happy when the colleges/universities report their application and admission statistics.
It depends; the definition of “Latin America” is almost as vague as the definition of “Hispanic.”
The U.S. Census Bureau defines it as a person of Cuban, Mexican, PR, South or Central American (Except Brazil).
Tough call. It says Suriname is a mix of Black and East Asians and others. I’d pick the one that most closely resembles your racial makeup…I don’t think it will help or hurt you though.
Alternatively, the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP), defines Hispanic as having ancestors from one or more of the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, or Venezuela.
https://www.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt/scores/using-results/scholarships-recognition/national-hispanic-recognition-program
So at least for their purposes, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, Belize, and the English-, French-, and Dutch-speaking Caribbean are not included.
For the original poster, make the determination as you see fit. Your potential colleges are free to agree or disagree with your self-identification.
If you have to ask, no. You are not.
I agree with Ski Europe. Frankly if the country your parent is from is in Latin or Central America I would count it as Latino however it is your call. and I have no experience with this. As for having to ask meaning you not. I strongly disagree with that. There are many people who do not know the rules for who is considered hispanic or latino, your question indicates inexperience with the rules not any confusion about who you consider yourself. Last month that same response was given to someone who was half brazilian and the National Hispanic clearly does include him even if he is not spanish speaking.
For application purposes, they classify Brazil as latino and they speak Portuguese.
Its part of Latin America, so Latino but not Hispanic.
I’d think a Latino Asian would be rare, so it would definitely impact diversity on any US college campus.
No, I don’t think you would really qualify as Hispanic. The culture there does not seem Latino/Hispanic. It does seem very interesting though. I do keep seeing these threads where kids applying to college seem to be grasping at anything that might give them a perceived edge. OP, your heritage seems pretty interesting on its own without you having to present it as something it is decidedly not. Be honestly aware and proud of what you bring to the college community.
Despite the OP asking, I do not think it is up to us to judge what he is or is not. It is not like his father grew up in Ohio, he did grow up in latin america. I thin if OP just puts down Asian he will be perceived as an ORM and his unique culture will not shine through.
I have met Hispanic kids who come to their country clubs in dad’s corvette and bring mom who is decked out in Prada and who was born hispanic but the mother converted to greek orthodoxy (or whatever the dad is) and has retained nothing of their hispanic culture and are blonder than I am (I know ethnicity not race). When it came time to apply to Duke, they were only to happy to have their college consultant check the hispanic box. That is their choice, one I cannot make and that is ok. Would I if I could? I have no idea.
There is an easy answer. Attach a statement and list the ethic background honestly. The probable outcome? The school will --and should-- consider the student as an Asian. The school might, however, play the game and report him or her as a Hispanic of mixed heritage.
Both sides like to play games. The OP can either play games by marking the Hispanic box or marking Asian honestly or attaching a statement to let the school decide.
The Suriname part is not really relevant.