Do I really need to indicate my race on the Common App?

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>There is an optional section where I am supposed to fill out my personal data and one of the questions asks my ethnicity. I am asian, which is an over represented minority, and could it hurt my chances if I filled in my ethnicity rather than left it blank or filled in other?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>I doubt it'll hurt your chances. most adcoms would assume the worst.</p>

<p>I'm curious which one to fill out though. If I'm an Asian living in Canada with a Canadian citizenship, do I fill out Asian-American, or Asian, including Indian Subcontinent??</p>

3

<p>If you have names like Susie Wong, Jonathan Kim, Steve Wang... it wouldn't be hard to figure out.</p>

<p>Zephy - you would fill out Aisan.</p>

4

<p>Adcoms aren't going to assume anything if you don't check the box.</p>

<p>Just leave the box blank.</p>

5

<p>You really, truly can leave the question blank. That's not only a good idea in many cases, it's the law. See the FAQ thread </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/568159-race-college-admissions-faq-discussion-2-a.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/568159-race-college-admissions-faq-discussion-2-a.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>for much more information, including a list of colleges with high percentages of students reported as "race unknown." </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1061012037-post4.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1061012037-post4.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

6

<p>I'm leaving mine blank. I'm an ORM, but at least I can leave them guessing since my name doesn't give it away (yay!)</p>

7

<p>i said i was white ( middle eastern)</p>

<p>but on common app i decided to do the diversity essay and i talked about my Persian heritage</p>