Last time I checked Judaism is a religion. Through that religion, there are cultural similarities among people. But Jews can be of any race and they have various nationalities. Religion should be taken out of the equation here in terms of what boxes to check.
Firstly, Brasilians do count as latinos. That’s something I’ve checked and known for sure. Secondly, I am not Jewish, and that should not have been assumed because I was born in Israel. I grew up in a Portuguese-speaking home, so the only question is is the fact that my two grandparents were born in Brasil enough to make me Brasilian? My mom was born in Israel, and my Dad in America. @uskoolfish @skieurope @doschicos
When D applied for National Hispanic Recognition program almost 4 years ago, they did not consider Brazil Hispanic and they were not included. Just checked their website and they have re-named the qualifications and now list it as Hispanic/ Latino. So Brazil is included. This is from their website:
NHRP’s Definition of Hispanic/Latino
To qualify for this program, students must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category; students may be of any race. For purposes of the NHRP, students 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.
They consider you if you are 1/4 Latino, so yes, you definitely qualify.
NHRP’s Definition of Hispanic/Latino
To qualify for this program, students must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category; students may be of any race. For purposes of the NHRP, students 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.
@basketball135 FYI, in order to be listed as Hispanic by my D’s school, you needed to meet the criteria set forth by the National Hispanic Recognition program that College Board administers. This was important if you want to qualify for the program if your PSAT scores are high enough. Your school will probably ask you for some proof. We showed my husband’s birth certificate which indicated that his mother was born in Argentina. We indicated this on her PSAT, SAT, ACT and common app.
Good luck!
I’ve always been pretty unsure about my race / ethnicity too. My mother’s from Belize, the only country in Central America whose official language is English, haha. It’s also questionable whether its considered a Latin American country or a Caribbean country. She makes tamales, tortillas, empanadas, etc. and she’s one of the only light-skinned black people I know besides me and my brother, haha, so for a while I thought she “looked Hispanic.” So I’d just check “Black,” because my father’s from Jamaica, and then write in “Belizean” under “Other,” even though that’s not a race, haha.
So even if it looks dumb putting ethnicities under the Race thing, that’s always an option if you want to say “Israeli, Brazilian,” lol.
In your daily life, is your heart hispanic? Are you familiar with, and do you feel as if you are part of the culture?
If you’re doing it to game the systems and have suddenly felt the urge to be “Brazilian” to get a better “chance” at your universities, then no, you are not hispanic.
Don’t forget that the universities will have your high school records.
Brazilians can be Hispanic. Lots of Brazilians have Spanish ancestry. By the U.S. government Brazilians are considered Latino, but not Hispanic, so it kind of matters how the question is asked. But in every day parlance, Brazilians are often considered Hispanic by others. You’re not answering a census form; you’re answering an application.
National Hispanic Scholarship Program doesn’t say that Brazilians are not Hispanic. The program is for “Hispanic/Latino” scholars and they actually say the exact opposite: For purposes of the NHRP, students 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.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter whether you look white, consider yourself white, everyone else sees you as white, whatever - if you are Hispanic, you’re Hispanic. Personally I would put a Brazilian person under the Hispanic/Latino umbrella, and you seem to, too. You can be Jewish, Hispanic, and white all at the same time. The thing about race, ethnicity, religion, and culture is that they’re all tied up together and are difficult to separate and disentangle. It’d be different if you were applying for fellowships that are clearly defined by the U.S. government census groups or something, but you’re just checking a box on a form. If you want to be Hispanic, then go ahead, check it.
I think the mistake is in assuming that it’ll give you any significant leg up in admissions. I think also you should explore your reasons for doing it - are you checking the box because you’re starting to explore a new connection to your roots, or just because you think it’ll raise your chances of admissions? Regardless, though…if you feel that you are Hispanic by all means, mark yourself Hispanic.
Sounds to me like you’re grappling for an edge you don’t actually have. This whole thing smells of bs. If you have to ask, the answer is no. Deal with it.
@basketball135 By the OMB definition used as guidance by the Department of Education since 2000 (see e.g., https://nces.ed.gov/programs/handbook/data/pdf/Appendix_A.pdf and https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/reic/definitions.asp), you are “Hispanic or Latino” (you may also be of one or more races, BTW), as you are of South American origin. The full definition is: “A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.” This is not really in question, and you should definitely make use of the URM advantage it provides.
There really aren’t a lot of advantages for being Hispanic, especially if you are high income, attend a high ranking school, and haven’t had challenges. Or if you live in a state with a high percentage of Hispanics.
Also, lest there be any doubt about the standards used when applying to schools, the Common App uses the ED reporting requirements: “The ethnicity question on the Common Application has been updated to meet the Department of Education reporting requirements.” (from https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/1158/Ethnicity)
@MLM I can’t really say how large the advantage is – only that there clearly is one. The reason one can’t say for sure is that the schools practicing AA for Hispanic/Latino and other URM don’t release the data to assess the extent of the benefit. However, at the most selective schools I think the evidence suggests the advantages are significant. Consider what happens when the advantages are taken away: After Proposition 209 banned AA in California’s public institutions, Hispanic/Latino enrollment dropped precipitously: “The year after California’s ban took effect, the number of black, Latino and Native American students plummeted by roughly half at Berkeley and UCLA, the UC system’s most sought-after campuses.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/21/california-affirmative-action_n_1442851.html). And this drop occurred even while the admissions departments probably tried to work around the state law (see, e.g., http://dailybruin.com/2012/10/23/findings-by-law-professor-suggest-that-ucla-admissions-may-be-violating-prop-209/)
OP, You go far, don’t worry about what college you get accepted to.
@undeuxtroiscat @MLM My three best friends are basically in the same situation as I. They are all identifying as hispanic, and it has been strange for me to identify as white when I am just as latina as they are. It sucks because they will be getting into schools that I will not due to this advantage (and the fact affirmative action is a huge plus is not something that can be disputed). i have worked so hard all my life, and so it is very difficult to pass up on an opportunity to gain a huge advantage, which I should have. I have marked white all my life because it has been the easiest choice- it is my skin color. But if I had known it would matter, I would have gone with the other part of me which is not white. I don’t see why this is BS.
@DrGoogle what is OP?
OP=Original Poster
See my earlier post (#19); race and ethnicity are two distinct concepts.
@uskoolfish interesting story. I think I will go as Hispanic (national Hispanic scholars count Brasil as being Hispanic)
I think it’s disgusting that you are trying to game the system by identifying with a culture you seem to have no actual affiliation with, just simply your grandparents are from there. As a Cuban American, it’s people like you who disgust me.