Am I Latino/Hispanic?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello.</p>

<p>My mother's side of the family is white. However, my father's side, which I am extremely close with and lived with for years when I was little, are Portuguese. My father's mother and father were both born in Portugal. Therefore, my dad then spoke Portuguese as a first language when he grew up in the U.S.. I have always viewed myself to be Latino when I grew up, especially because my family and I lived with my grandparents when my parents struggled to make ends meet when I grew up.</p>

<p>While I identify as Latino/Hispanic, will this pose a conflict if I check it off on the common app? I need recommendations...</p>

2

<p>This is how I was planning on writing the common app:</p>

<p>Checking off yes to hispanic/latino. Clicking Other and typing in Portugal.</p>

<p>For the how else to identify myself question, I clicked white. For which describes this background best, I clicked Europe. </p>

<p>Is this a problem?</p>

3

<p>Read this first</p>

<p><a href=“Hispanic/Latino defined - aka: AM I HISPANIC? - Hispanic Students - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/641650-hispanic-latino-defined-aka-am-i-hispanic-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>You are white. Portugal is in Europe. Being economically disadvantaged doesn’t make you Hispanic. You can indentify as anything, but technically, you are white.</p>

5

<p>yes you select whatever you identify with not a problem</p>

6

<p>""Definition of Hispanic or Latino Origin Used in the 2010 Census:</p>

<p>Hispanic or Latino” refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."</p>

<p>“Hispanic origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States.”</p>

<p>“People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be any race.”"</p>

<p>Still not sure.</p>

7

<p>Any other recommendations?</p>

8

<p>According to the U.S. Census Bureau—No.</p>

<p><a href=“| Disclaimer: US Census Bureau will not classify Portuguese as Hispanic – UpdatePortuguese American Journal”>http://portuguese-american-journal.com/disclaimer-us-census-bureau-will-not-classify-portuguese-as-hispanic-update/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

9

<p>While having a background from Brazil is a gray area (considered Hispanic by some programs, and not by others), a Portuguese background is NOT considered HIspanic for ANY college admissions or scholarship programs. </p>

<p>You can mark that you’re Hispanic if you like, but you also need to indicate your country of origin, and Portugal will not confer an advantage. I have answered this many times in the thread skieurope gave you the link to.</p>

10

<p>You are not Hispanic. You come from White Europeans on both sides of your family.
You could write an essay on being disadvantaged, but that doesn’t make you a minority.</p>

11

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<p>Statements like these are why there’s a Hispanic Students forum and a sticky thread (link above) that explains the definition of Hispanic. </p>

<p>The above two posters don’t understand the difference between race and ethnicity. Hispanic is an ethnicity and can be/are of any race. </p>

<p>Spain is in Europe and most Spaniards are racially white, but they are considered Hispanic according to the US Census definition which is what is used in college admissions. And they are also considered Hispanic by the NHRP, a recognition/scholarship program based on PSAT scores. </p>

<p>Another example, while few will argue that Argentina is a Hispanic country, the overwhelming majority of citizens are white, with immigration coming heavily from Spain and Italy:</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html”>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

12

<p>Many government agencies consider Portugese-Americans to be Hispanic/Latino. I know those terms may not make literal sense in this situation, but Portugese-Americans are sometimes considered to be of this ethnicity regardless. It really is a gray-area, and for you, Hispanc/Latino and/or White would be appropriate.</p>

13

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<p>College admissions uses the US Census definiton, as cited in several of the above posts. If you have a citation/link to ANY college admissions or scholarship that considers Portuguese background Hispanic, please post, I and many others would like to see it.</p>

14

<p>I will look, and as other’s have said, the Census definition is unclear because it allows for “other Hispanic/Latino origins”, and some Portugese-Americans consider themselves to be of these origins, while others don’t. I would call a prospective college and check, but I would assume no, you would likely not be considered hispanic because: “For purposes of the NHRP (Hispanic/Latino Recognition) , you must be from a family whose ancestors came from at least one of these 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.”</p>

15

<p>These are backgrounds the CA lists:</p>

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<p>My point is, the OP can mark Hispanic (anyone can mark whatever they want), but they need to be realistic about the impact, or lack thereof, it will have on their admissions decisions.</p>