<p>I read the bookmarked thread by entomom but I still have some questions.</p>
<p>My dad (Asian by race) was born in Mexico and lived there for several years. He also lived in some other South American countries(not Portuguese) and the Philippines. His Spanish isn't as good as it used to be, and in terms of fluency it would be English, Korean, and then Spanish. We eat a combination of American, Mexican, and Asian food and we also celebrate some Hispanic holidays/traditions. I know basic conversational Spanish and look Asian. We speak English at home.</p>
<p>I never thought of myself as Hispanic, mostly because I thought that I would have to be a Hispanic/Latino race. I didn't know that Hispanics were an ethnicity and that anyone can be Hispanic regardless of race as long as one of the parents have Hispanic ancestry.</p>
<p>The main reason, I guess, for asking this question is to ask if I can mark myself as Hispanic on my college applications. I know that other parts of my application have to be strong, but I think the "URM" hook rather than an "Asian" status would definitely boost my application.</p>
<p>Another question for my sister: She's taking the PSAT next year so would she be allowed to list herself as Hispanic and participate in the National Hispanic Recognition Program?</p>
<p>Summary Questions:
- Is my dad Hispanic?
- Am I Hispanic?
- Can I mark myself as Hispanic for ethnicity on applications/scholarships?
- Can my sister apply for the PSAT National Hispanic Recognition Program?</p>
<ul>
<li><em>*What would colleges think of me if I put Hispanic and have a Asian name? *</em></li>
<li>Is the fact that I'm marking Hispanic for a "hook" too obvious?</li>
</ul>
<p>Hope this isn't too confusing and makes sense.</p>
<p>I know a kid that has one parent that’s Filipino and one that’s Inuit (don’t ask me how). What he did was he put down he was “multi-racial” (since he couldn’t pick two boxes) and put in the box that he was Native American and Asian, not Hispanic since he didn’t directly descend from Mexico or other Latino/a countries. You should be fine with putting down that you’re Hispanic</p>
<p>If you read the Definition sticky thread, then you know that Hispanic ethnicity is not based on what you eat, what language you speak or how you look. It is based on self-identification as Hispanic.</p>
<p>Are there racially Asian Hispanics? Yes, Alberto Fujimori would be an example, my kids would be another (Hispanic father from SA, Asian mother), as they view their background as mixed. </p>
<p>Are you Hispanic? Only you can answer that. But be aware that adcoms see lots of applications and have plenty of experience assessing candidate within the Hispanic pool based on many factors such as SES, country of origin, association with the Hispanic community, etc. If you’re honest, you will have no problem. If you are trying to work the system, do so at your own risk.</p>
<p>Also note: the US Census definition that colleges use to define Hispanic is not necessarily what scholarships and other programs use, they may have their own definitions and thresholds of Hispanic background (eg. NHRP is 1/4).</p>
<p>I think your father’s nationality might be Mexican if he is a citizen of Mexico, but that would not make you ethnically Hispanic. </p>
<p>I have a Chinese daughter. We eat a lot of Asian food, celebrate the holidays, have traditional clothing. That doesn’t make ME Chinese, but she is. </p>