<p>Most universities consider ethnicity in their assessment of a student. Certain attention is given to what a school may lack (ie a school with 3% African Males will value them more than asian females if they compose, say, 40% of the population)</p>
<p>But how do admissions officers view bi-racial students? In their own category? Is it considered "less" if you are a mix of white and black instead of being completely black? I've heard of bi-racial students being denied certain scholarships for African Americans because they were really only half black or "sort of black". </p>
<p>lol, that bit about scholarships is pretty messed up. I can see black people doing that though (thumbs up for stereotypes). Nothing like creating divisions between ourselves that the rest of the world doesn’t really see at all.</p>
<p>I’m mixed here as well, I put mixed on all of my applications and everything came out just fine. I don’t know what colleges thought of it specifically, but I also sent a picture of myself so they knew I had fairly dark skin (i.e. I wasn’t someone that was 75+% white and <25% black that could “pass” or something). If you identify as just black though I think it’d be fine to just leave it at that. Probably not worth worrying about too much.</p>
<p>I remember when my son was young, I was told of a scholarship for a private nursery/Kind. school, the person it was named after was a black woman that was a first leader in education for blacks. They later told me my son didn’t qualify…I asked them why and they said, “he doesn’t qualify”. I never would have sent him there after that, their attitude was racist in itself. I told them I was sorry if he wasn’t quite dark enough for their brochure and left as they blushed : )
Didn’t see that type of thing very much later, but I’ll always remember it.</p>
<p>in terms of admissions i think it could sway either way, or have a dampened effect, but that scholarship bit is messed up. when it says check all that apply on the app., if you do, and get a scholarship, i think it is totally messed up to take it away. if you really want to stack the odds just list the urm part of the mix because if you call any college and ask they will just say “put down how you identify yourself” i could be as white as the moon but if i identify myself as “black” they can’t really say anything to me with being hypocritical. i think the whole ideology behind the push for “diversity” is racist. they really only mean diversity of color, not of thought background, or country of origin.</p>
<p>Aww. That reminds me of a girl in my class last year. The WHOLE year I thought I was the only black. Then, she comes back angry from the counselor saying, “I didn’t get the scholarship b/c I didn’t look black enough!” 1. you would NEVER know she was part black but after you realized it, it made sense 2. I hope that didn’t happen to her, but my best bet would say it did.</p>
<p>I mean, you’re biracial, people are dumb and make me wonder what’s the problem with applying for a scholarship you qualify for? Are they gonna give you half the money? It’s really dumb esp. when someone NEEDS the money.</p>
<p>I used to see the with photos. I had a friends who’s son was light skinned but obviously black. The school he went to always used the darker complexion black students in their advertising, his photos never quite made the cut. That was over 10 years ago though, I think things are changing.
I read a report that said that bi-racial students sometimes don’t get the same scholarships as students that put just “black”, but most of the time it didn’t matter.If I find it I will post it.
<a href=“http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/josi/2009/00000065/00000001/art00008[/url]”>http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/josi/2009/00000065/00000001/art00008</a>
I also think with smaller scholarships,more local, that there is still a dislike of black/white unions, by people on both sides and if they had a choice, might not pick that person. I do feel that is changing as more and more people are mixed, but some things take time.</p>
<p>wow. i didn’t know being biracial was a DISADVANTAGE. i have a white/african american friend who thought it would at least be partially advantageous, but now…maybe not.</p>
<p>it’s definitely not a disadvantage!! In a way, it makes one unique, rare. A college or scholarship committee that does not recognize that either is not actually taking that as their deciding factor, or is not in the right.</p>
<p>Biracial children are more of a minority than actual minorities and should be entitled to minority scholarships. I know of one case where a child was targeted (they would approach him, try to get him to join, or sometimes threaten him, thinking he was in the “other” group)by gang members because he appeared to be Hispanic. In actuality he was biracial and of Filipino/Caucasian descent. He was moved to another school because of this.
In some cultures, children of mixed races are looked down on, and are at a definite disadvantage. Since America is a melting pot, it would be foolish to think these prejudices against biracial children do not exist.</p>
<p>I don’t think a Bi-Racial person should be allowed to receive a strictly African American scholarship for the simple reason that they do not fit the qualifications. Would this same Bi-Racial person honestly believe they would win a strictly “white’s only” scholarship? If you think a white organization is going to give a scholarship to a half black candidate over a full white one, then you have no experience in the real world.</p>
<p>However to answer your question I think colleges view bi-racial students under black.</p>
<p>Of course through out this I am referring to bi-racial specifically as black and white mixed.</p>
<p>“I don’t think a Bi-Racial person should be allowed to receive a strictly African American scholarship for the simple reason that they do not fit the qualifications.”</p>
<p>If they identify as biracial, I agree to an extent; if the scholarship is elusively for black students, I get it, but if it’s for the black community I think biracial students count, especially if they mainly consider themselves to be black. I’m biracial (75% white, 25% black) but I just consider myself biracial, not black, not white. So I personally would be uncomfortable with getting an African-American scholarship because that’s not how I identify myself. On the other hand, my dad is half black, half white, but I think he mainly identifies as black, so I would think someone like him really should count. </p>
<p>However, for college admissions I really think being biracial should be a plus. We are in a way the biggest (as in smallest) minority, and I think as a biracial person I would bring a unique view to a school since I have a different experience with race than most people. I don’t know how biracial students are actually considered by adcoms, but I would assume they’d realize that we do bring diversity to campus.</p>