<p>I was born in the United States, but both my parents are immigrants from Libya, which is in Northern Africa. I know being African American is a huge boost for apps. Would i be considered African American? I have Libyan citizenship as well.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Are you racially black??? If not, unfortunately it would be ethically wrong to self-describe as African American. Your own descriptor says that your parents are Libyan, NOT black. So…that answers your own question. You are NOT racially black, therefore cannot claim African American status. And to do so fraudulently would cause you a lot of problems down the line if your deception were discovered. It would probably result in applications being rejected, esp. if your school report and teacher recs. were to, however accidently, reveal your true ethnic and racial identity as being at complete odds with your self-description.</p>
<p>Questions to ask yourself. Have you EVER in the course of your entire life self-described to anyone as African American or black? Do your teachers and administrators at your school know you to be African American or black? Do your parents call themselves African American or black? If the answer to all these questions is “no,” than you know that to do so now for the sake of getting a boost in college applications is tantamount to fraudulent misrepresentation and, if discovered, could have serious consequences in terms of college admissions. Schools will automatically reject anyone with a discovered fraudulent application, and dishonest self-identification for the purposes of admissions gain is a good reason to reject any applicant who would dare to be so dishonest.</p>
<p>Just my two cents.</p>
<p>Hi! In the states, the phrase “African American” is just the politically correct way of saying “black person,” and doesn’t apply to all people from Africa who now live in America. Because of that, you do not qualify as an African American unless you are racially black.
However, you DO have an international background, which can also help your application if you tell colleges somewhere (either through the essay or an interview) how your international background has helped you become who you are today.</p>