Hi, I’m an Asian who has lived about 11 years in Mexico, and I’m a rising senior.
I was immersed in the Hispanic culture since first grade and now I feel more Mexican than Asian.
I speak better Spanish than English or Korean, and I really want to emphasize the fact that I’ve been living more in Mexico than in Korea.
I also have this certificate called DELE (Diploma for Spanish as a Foreign language) with the highest level. I was wondering where I could put this in my college app?
I know that since I’m an Asian I will definitely be in disadvantage, since every single Asian will be better than me in everything I do. I just want to put myself in the best background position you know.
Is there any way I could emphasize that despite having Asian bloods, I’m more of a Hispanic person because I’ve lived here and have been immersed in this culture?
Thanks, and sorry for those haters who will definitely criticize me…
There was a half Caucaian/half Asian-American kid from my school who was born in South Africa but moved to the U.S. when he was young. He tried to use this to his advantage and decided to list himself as an “African-American” on the Common App, but there was a huge fiasco when Stanford contacted our counselor asking why his school records listed him as a different race than the one he used to apply. Needless to say, he was rejected and got in a pretty large amount of trouble afterwards.
For a couple of years after that, our school would send no kids to Stanford although the years before we would consistently send 2-4 every year.
The admissions office can figure out what “race” you are (by heritage, of course) just by taking a glance at the name on your application and/or your parents’ backgrounds that you list on the Common App. There are also school records, transcripts, and information that College Board has from taking the SAT. I wouldn’t take the risk of getting rescinded or potentially getting your diploma invalidated in the future - your best bet would be to mark down Asian-American on the Common App and then use your essays to elaborate on how Mexican culture has influenced your life and interests.
They might also just outright reject you without telling you the reason why, but in some cases they can notify your counselor and other schools that you applied to. You also run the risk of getting your school blacklisted from the university that you’re applying to.
Instead of trying to game the system (it didn’t work in the above case), use your life in Mexico in an essay. Talk about how you see yourself and how living in Mexico influenced your goals, interests. Are you going to use your knowledge of Spanish later in life? Will foreign language factor in your course of study? You potentially have a compelling story to tell, so tell it. Don’t do this BS of “I’m Hispanic because I lived in ABC X number of years”
That all said, being of Asian descent and living in a place where the majority language is not the mother tongue is the rule, not the exception. It’s just that for the vast majority of Asian-Americans applying to colleges, it’s English instead of Spanish. So be careful how you approach this.
I agree, use your time in Mexico as a great way to talk about your cultural upbringing in a Spanish speaking country. I could see a great essay coming out of this.
Talk to your Gc about how to list your Spanish certificate. It might go under awards and honors, or be added in the additional info section. You also should try to take the AP Spanish test or similar to show proficiency, so that you can be exempted from FLang requirements at college. You do not have to take AP Spanish to take the test. Or, I believe many colleges have their own competency tests, so look on college websites to see what they require.
Ditto. Write a great essay on your interesting sociocultural experiences. But ethnically you are not Hispanic.
As for African-American, most applications now say African-American/black, to avoid such use for, eg, someone from South Africa who is not black. It’s inappropriate for someone who is not black (or perhaps mixed but identifies as black) to use that designation.
Thanks everyone for commenting! No, I was actually going to put Asian as race obviously because race is purely determined by heritage and blood. It would be a total bs and lie if I put if I were hispanic. However, will essay be the only way I can emphasize my relationship with Mexico? I also took SAT Subject test for Spanish and scored 790.
Use your essays and any interviews you have to highlight your unusual background. You’ll stand out from all the other applicants. If you also have strong grades and test scores you should be in good shape.
You didn’t say if you are American by citizenship or what schools you are applying to. Being an international applicant from Mexico may be an advantage at some schools, probably better at schools farther from the border. Being Asian is still an URM at many schools, but doesn’t always help with admissions.
Yes! I vote for essay topic. I suggest telling a story that occurred. Drop us right into the story from the start with no intro, is my suggestion. Instead of “Being Asian in a Hispanic country is what made me different . . . etc. with run-of-the-mill thesis topic” say something like (I’m totally making up a story about a time when the cultural differences might have come to the fore) “The taxi sped along the twisting road. At each turn along the steep cliffs in Mexico, the ocean rose and then disappeared far below. I wanted to tell the driver to slow down at each curve but . . . . etc.” In other words, open your essay inside of a story that eventually highlights your unique background, whatever that story may be. best of luck.
It’s possible Stanford and other elite colleges are taking into account past applicants who pulled similar stunts and are reacting accordingly.
One person from my HS graduating class in the mid-'90s who is of Indian descent listed and successfully got himself admitted to several elite Us including Stanford with lowish GPA/SAT scores for those places by listing himself as “African-American”.
When confronted by several classmates about it when word got out, he justified it by saying his family spent a generation or more in East Africa before immigrating to the US.
Several classmates were so angry about his actions and the fact he effectively got away with it by being admitted and attending one of those elite colleges that they vowed if they were ever in a position to evaluate job applicants and his resume came up, they’d warn their organizational superiors about his dubious ethics and hopefully prevent him from ever working for their organizations.
He also became a bit of a punchline for many in our graduating class. Several classmates made it a point to put “African-American” right under his yearbook photo/entry in their yearbooks to underscore that.
These comments are about CURRENT applicants. The applications have tightened up some of the “loopholes”. As mentioned above, they now say “African/American/Black”. What some people did years ago to game the system are not relevant now. There are plenty of new ways to try to game the system, but that ship has sailed…
Colleges should be able to see that you lived in Mexico from your transcript. But it can be a good essay topic or you can include a short paragraph in the additional information section.
I was mentioning that to explain why Stanford and elite colleges have tightened up such loopholes due to the actions of past applicants so it is relevant to this thread. Implicit in that is for the OP to NOT pull that same/similar stunts in his application process.
Also, considering how that classmate rolled based on his slippery arguments during those confrontations, the “African/American/Black” wouldn’t have deterred him as he’d argue he’s African/American/Black on account of his dark skin. As I said…he’s pretty crooked.
An important distinction between the definitions of “Black or African American” and “Hispanic or Latino” is that one is defined more in terms of blood line, while the other is defined by culture.
No amount of living in Africa will make someone “Black or African American” by the above definition if s/he is not already. However, someone living in a “Hispanic or Latino” country for a significant amount of time may be culturally “Hispanic or Latino”, depending on how assimilated to the country’s culture s/he became.
If the OP lived primarily in an expat community in Mexico and associated mainly with expats, s/he may be much less “Hispanic or Latino” in culture than if s/he lived in a non-expat community and associated mainly with other Mexicans. But the distinction can be a subjective one, for which people will not agree on a clear boundary.
IMO it still goes against the spirit of the question. My DH grew up in Asia. from birth Until college. He would never, even if he wanted to or it would give him some kind of hook somewhere, identify himself as Asian.