I am already beginning to fill out my college applications. I have
noticed that different colleges have different boxes to check on the
application. For instance, some just have five choices, and some have
over fifteen. Then, of course, there is the “Other” category. I am Cape
Verdean and also consider myself to be Black. Do I check the
“Black/African American” box, or the “Other” box? My friend is
half-Vietnamese and half-Mexican. What about her? This is frustrating!!
Why do you think colleges want this information in the first place?
Please help!!!
<p>look at the wording. just answer the question. being vietnamese and mexican, one could go with either really or say other. you could say black/african american or other.</p>
<p>You should mark all of the boxes that are relevant. Nobody is required to mark any boxes, but under-represented minorities (URM's) want to mark the boxes because they have an advantage in admissions. Colleges want to create freshman year classes that mirror society. The boxes are also used to report information to the Federal government because they are interested in tracking it for affirmative action purposes.</p>
<p>For practical purposes, they don't care where you are from. They just want to know your "skin color". URM's are black, hispanic, and native American. If you are black, then you are African-American even if you consider yourself South/Central American. Hispanic means the same as Latino. Asians may or may not be URM's depending on the college, typically not-URM at the extremely selective colleges.</p>
<p>Another Common App question:
When I'm listing community college courses that I've taken for credit, can I include courses that I'm currently taking (those without grades yet)?</p>
<p>Yes, I would put them on the app, and leave the grade part blank. The most important thing that an applicant can do is to take the most challenging curriculum possible. As part of your application package, you can request the comm college to send a copy of your transcript to the colleges that you are applying to. (This is in addition to your high school transcipt.)</p>