I’m applying college this upcoming year and I’m wondering if I count as a URM. My father is African-American, but my mother is white, so I’m only half black. My skin is also fairly light, I have freckles and I have my mom’s flaming red hair, so I wonder if any person who may interview me may question whether I’m actually half black and tell the admissions office. So when I fill out the application and say I’m half black and half white, will colleges consider that to be a minority or not?
Yes, you have to be a quarter, so if your father is at least 50% black, you should be good.
I would just check the AA box. I see no advantage in mentioning being half white on your app.
You’re a minority. Period. Shoot, freckles & red hair ought to count on their own (JK people). You should not question your right to check that box.
What college says students “have to be a quarter” to count as African American?
Ummmm, no you don’t have to be a quarter. But that’s not really the issue here, since the OP is 50%. The OP is fine checking the AA box, or AA and white boxes.
The OP can choose whatever s/he feels, but a college, if it gives a bump for AA, is not going to give less of a bump for mixed race.
Well it depends on what school (so it could vary), but it doesn’t really matter, since 50% is way over the limit of any average school.
Okay, but you can’t just claim things without proof and then hem and haw when called out on it. Sources, please.
I’d check biracial (if available) or both white and black and you will still count as a minority.
Yes, you are a URM and there is no % measure. Even the federal government lets people self-identify for census purposes.
If the legal definition of black was “one drop” for the purposes of segregation, voting and marriage (it was - the last law was struck down in 1967 and that rule has been applied as recently as 1985 - so definitely within most college parents’ lifetime), then it ought to remain so for the purposes of AA.
It seems Harvard (researchers) would agree. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/12/one-drop-rule-persists/
Do you have access to Naviance? If so under your personal information it should have how the school district lists you.
What if one parent is Asian and the other white? Neither an URM. Is combo an URM? Does being half white remove the disadvantage that being Asian has at some schools?
Asian is URM at many LACs, @saillakeerie . I doubt being biracial affects that much.
@saillakeerie, in my experience the hapa kids with “white sounding” last names minimize their Asian background in their applications. I don’t know how that is received or evaluated by adcoms, but among applicants there is a perception that it’s better to hide the Asian half of the identity. Of course, in most circumstances, that doesn’t work when the father is Asian and the mother is not. 
- You may check any or all categories that you self-identify with.
- How colleges consider your answer depends on the college. Some do not consider race or ethnicity at all in admissions.
@saillakeerie - in California and as @3girls3cats hinted at, the biracial students with white sounding last names listed white as their race when applying to the UCs and it tended to work more often than not wrt admission.
UCs do not consider race or ethnicity in admissions.
My daughter is 100% Asian with a 100% Irish name. She did check the ‘Asian’ box but that is the ONLY thing on her application that would indicate she’s Asian - no clubs, languages, travel, essay mentioned it… Made absolutely no difference to her acceptances at colleges but does often cause a double take when people meet her for the first time.