<p>URM is a designation given to those ethnicities which are noticably under-represented at the elite universities in the US. These institutions WANT to see more of those ethnicities succeed in their schools.</p>
<p>Including your son. May he rise to the heights that they imagine...best of luck</p>
<p>What she said ^^^.</p>
<h2>"I myself am pretty similar to JS jr. My father's side of the family is spanish but my mother's side is all white. I have a Spanish last name and I speak and understand Spanish pretty well although it isnt used in our home very much (we only speak spanish when with other relatives)."</h2>
<p>This is our situation exactly. My husband's parents' first language is not English and his grandparents spoke no English. So a fair amount of Spanish is spoken among the family, even though we speak English only in our own home (because of me and my very poor Spanish skills unfortunately). My d approached applications as follows: Where permitted, she indicated she is half Hispanic (Mexican American) and half Caucasian. MOST applications do allow you to check more than one box, so there is no reason not to be as truthful as possible. On the few applications that allowed only one box, she checked Hispanic (Mexican American)....but in the parent name area, she put my maiden in addition to my married name, so it would be clear I didn't have a Hispanic surname. Ironically, since my family has lived in the Rio Grande Valley for generations, I probably have had a more culturally diverse upbringing than many despite the fact that I am Caucasian. Furthermore, my side of the family is so blended by marriage...I have Hispanic aunts and uncles, a Hispanic brother-in-law, Hispanic nieces and nephews. So we felt those few times she had to pick one box, it was legitimate for her to pick that Hispanic box.</p>