<p>Hi, does anyone have any idea about it? Are they in the same category URM?</p>
<p>Hmm, I don't think so. If you look at what the school actually reports, it's on race, not religion. Unless you can write a great essay, etc. about being a Muslim, I don't think it'll help or be in the same category as a URM.</p>
<p>URM = African American, Hispanic (preferably Mexican or Puerto Rican), or Native American. That's it.</p>
<p>nope your white (middle easterners count as caucasian)</p>
<p>Being Muslim may not classify you as a URM, but depending on your life experiences, an admissions officer might see admitting someone like yourself as enhancing the diversity of the freshman class. Of course, that would only happen if you wrote compellingly about your religion and the impact it had on you in one of your essays, since it is illegal for many schools to consider religion in their admissions decisions. I would advise you to emphasize who you are and what you can bring to the school instead of focusing much on race or religion.</p>
<p>it is a good thing to mention, but it wont give you an admissions boost</p>
<p>
[quote]
if you wrote compellingly about your religion and the impact it had on you in one of your essays
[/quote]
</p>
<p>yes, also: if you have some interest in communicating with others who are different than yourself </p>
<p>Just "being" a Muslim, Christian or Jewish individual doesn't add to diversity all by itself. But if you have some interest in participating and communicating with others through campus activities, or extending some of your interests from high school days, this might be seen as adding to the campus. </p>
<p>I think you need to ask yourself if you care a lot about this, and it shapes a lot of your thinking and values as a student. If so, you might consider writing it into an essay or mentioning it casually there. Just be careful not to sound parochial, exclusive, closed-minded towards students of other faiths. I'd advise this to any student with a strong religious identity, by the way.</p>
<p>College is the place where you're expected to be "you" but stretch that "you" by meeting and interacting with others who think differently than yourself.</p>
<p>Being from a minority religion won't boost your admission chances the same way being from an URM background would, however. </p>
<p>If the essay is good, you will be appealing. If you can't think of what to write about being Muslim, you are just as good to write about skateboarding, collecting butterflies, or anything else that is the real you. </p>
<p>You probably need to reflect on what role your religion plays in who you are today...since the colleges want to meet the real you in the essay.</p>
<p>My kids all have strong religious identities but chose not to write about them at all, because they were afraid of sounding narrow in what they had to offer their campus. It was already apparent from their lists of EC's, however, that they had a strong education and identity in their religion. You couldn't miss it.</p>
<p>When it came time for essay-writing, they didn't want to be so one-dimensional or obvious. Instead, they choose other topics and hobbies to discuss. I think they didn't want to be stereotyped as "only" caring about their religion.</p>
<p>One of my kids did devote a main essay to his leadership role in a religious youth group, but didn't write about the religious aspects at all. Instead, he described how the elected office gave him a chance to travel, host others, lead and organize activities, speak in front of others, develop confidence. If you're active in a Muslim Youth association, that could be a way to approach it. Or, if the teachings of your faith cause you to devote significant time to charitable works in the community, you might mention the faith as a motivating force but then go on to describe what you actually DO with those teachings in practical application, and how you might do similar kinds of charitable works in college. </p>
<p>Another dimension would be if you are so involved in the faith teachings that you might want to take courses or even major in Comparative Religion, Philosophy, Islamic or Near East Studies, or Arabic. Your Muslim background might be a springboard to explore and extend these ideas further in your academic studies. If the religion lives in your thoughts and you might want to study it in college coursework, that's interesting to mention and adds to diversity within the classroom discussion. If you discover that a school has a new department or is expanding its offerings in these classes, then you are wise to mention you might be interested in studying with a certain professor or name the kinds of courses that you could imagine taking. That's not a promise; it's just describing your academic interests and what you might take.</p>
<p>"nope your white (middle easterners count as caucasian)"</p>
<p>his white, miktau? or, he's white? see the difference between "his" and "he's." There's also a difference between "your" and "you're (you are)."</p>
<p>"URM = African American, Hispanic (preferably Mexican or Puerto Rican), or Native American. That's it."</p>
<p>What about lesbian, gay, transgender community? They're underrepresented.</p>
<p>^Yes, but so what? There's plenty of underrepresented groups in colleges; the ones they care about are the ones that they're pressured to increase their numbers of. They're under much more pressure to have a wide array of skin colors in their class pictures than to increase the member populations of their Gay-Straight Alliances, so the skin colors (without taking into account the my-great-granddaddy-was-black-so-I-count African American claims and the 1/16th "Native Americans") get the AA - although I did hear about an effort by Princeton a few years back to increase its gay population. There's no "diversity" like one you can see without having to actually know anything about the people you're seeing.</p>
<p>And yes, this is a sarcastic post, so put away your sticks and pitchforks. Race gets the AA. That's how things are.</p>
<p>Being muslim sure as hell makes more of a difference than aesthetic coloring.</p>
<p>i think it's a great idea to mentio that</p>
<p>In my opinion, any middle eastern should be considered an URM, especially in today's world. Racism is all around, but I've never seen it this bad towards middle eastern people. The bomb threat jokes and anything relating to 911 will never, ever decease. I've seen teachers look down upon them as well. Absolutely unbelievable.</p>
<p>Oh, and pertaining to the skin color difference and all, middle eastern people DO have a darker skin tone color than your average Caucasian. The only reason middle eastern people aren't considered an URM is because of racism. You think these college professors and old, white politicians want to see them get into college easier? Not after what happened not too long ago.</p>
<p>Btw im not middle eastern loll</p>
<p>Now that there has been topic drift in this thread, it's time to point to the main FAQ thread on "race" in college admission: </p>
<p>It would be quite an ignorant assumption to assume that just because someone is a Muslim, that person is also middle Eastern. The majority of Muslims are not middle Eastern, and a plurality of them would be classified as "Asian" by the current federal ethnic definitions. (Middle Eastern people are classified as "white," by the long-standing federal definitions.)</p>
<p>Miktau, being a Muslim does not indicate you are from the middle east.</p>
<p>AHAHAhAaH</p>
<p>Dude I used to think and ask the same question as you. </p>
<p>But think about it.</p>
<p>What do you think every Muslim in the United States answers when they are asked the question "Describe the world you come from and how it affects your dreams and aspirations."</p>
<p>They probably get hundred of topics about going to mosque, praying 5 times a day, fasting, etc.</p>
<p>^ ^ ^ maybe not, but the majority of middle-easterners are muslim. and anyways, y is this a question of religion? i believe the answer is simply...if u are a middle-easterner and u don't identify with being 'white' or 'asian', u can put 'other'. no one cares what the "federal definitions" are, sorry...</p>
<p>hahaha im muslim too but im african... doesnt mean im arab.
its all about race, not religion... what race are you?</p>
<p>
[quote]
AHAHAhAaH</p>
<p>Dude I used to think and ask the same question as you. </p>
<p>But think about it.</p>
<p>What do you think every Muslim in the United States answers when they are asked the question "Describe the world you come from and how it affects your dreams and aspirations."</p>
<p>They probably get hundred of topics about going to mosque, praying 5 times a day, fasting, etc.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's like assuming every Christian is identical in behavior to every other Christian and has identical beliefs. Also, there are plenty of Muslims who don't go to a mosque every Sunday (or is it Saturday?) or roll out a prayer rug every day.</p>
<p>That's true there are different types. The major break is shi'a or Sunni and then there are many many more divergions after that. For example as a very involved shi'a Ismaili Muslim, I am not required to pray facing mecca 5 times a day or fast all of Ramadan , and that doesn't make me what some call a lazy or out of practice muslim</p>