<p>Hi all! I was born in an Asian country and have lived in that country only. But a lot of my relatives and friends are American and Australian. I have never considered myself Asian.</p>
<p>I am more of a white. I look like white( my name seems Asian though), my accent is American, eating habits are American, even day to day actions don't seem like those of an Asian . I am not a score obsessed guy like many Asians are( this is a stereotype, I guess).
I am wondering as to what to put in as my race. I've always considered myself as White/American. Should I put " American Asian"( more specifically "American Indian"). Because colleges ask us to put what we identify ourselves, I can't help but wonder.</p>
<p>PS: This is not any gimmick to have a leg up in admissions.
Thx! :) Please reply!</p>
<p>What race are your parents and grandparents? What your friends are and how you eat and interest in test scores have nothing to do with this question. American isn’t a race --they are native or Afr. Amer or Caucasian or Hispanic or Asian etc. American Indians are indigenous people of the United States and I doubt you are that ethnicity if you were born overseas. Is there a tribe you or your ancestors are a member of?</p>
<p>What does race even mean anymore? It’s unfortunate they even have to ask. Barack Obama is considered our first African-American president, but he is mother was white. Tiger woods is considered the greatest African-American golfer, but his mother was Asian. Your post reminds me of someone I knew of many years ago who described herself on college apps that she was African-American. She was white, but she was born and raised in Africa. So yeah, I guess she was “African-American.”</p>
<p>Race is socially constructed, but that doesn’t mean that it has no meaning in our society. There are metric tons of research showing that there are racial differences in the way people in modern society in a variety of cultures (including the U.S.) are perceived, from everything to hiring to police action to pay and yes, college admissions. If Obama or Woods walked down the street 10 years before they were famous, they would be perceived as black by anyone who passed them - and research shows that that could change the way people reacted to them. No one would be like “Hm, I wonder if that guy has a white or Asian mother.”</p>
<p>A white person from Africa who puts that they are “African American” on application forms is simply being disingenuous, since the standard meaning of the term is widely known.</p>
<p>My parents are Asian, MYOS1634.
juillet: So does that mean that race/ethnicity( I don’t even know the differencence b/w these two) depends on how I "perceive myself and how others perceive me? If the answer is Yes, then I’m white!!</p>
<p>Are you asking if having white friends and “white eating habits” makes you white by association? I don’t really follow…</p>
<p>Assuming that by Indian you mean India-- If you have asian parents, live in an asian country, and have an asian last name, I’m pretty sure that makes you asian. Not white.</p>
I agree. And at the college she ultimately attended, she received many invitations to join black student groups on campus, which she declined. In our multi-cultural society, what does someone call himself who is 1/4 white, 1/4 black, 1/4 asian, and 1/4 hispanic? It’s very possible. Do you have to choose sides?</p>
<p>MODERATOR NOTE: Discussion is no longer about the OP and has devolved into a generalized discussion of AA, which belongs ONLY on the Race FAQ sticky thread.</p>