Ethnicity on my App

<p>I recently found out my grandpa was spanish (he died long before anyone thought to ask) and I have never marked the "Hispanic or Latino" box on anything (ex: STAR testing). I was wondering it would be weird for me to never mark it before but do so for college apps. Would it be necessary for me to mark the box at all if I do not want to identify my race?</p>

<p>Please read the first post of the Definition sticky thread at the top of this forum. The definition of Hispanic used in college admissions is that of the US Census; the critical question is whether or not you ‘identify’ as Hispanic, not the proportion of your Hispanic background. </p>

<p>This question can only be answered by you. As with everything on your application, honesty is best as adcoms are very familiar with students stretching the truth to try to gain an admissions advantage.</p>

<p>Be aware that colleges look at additional factors within the Hispanic pool of applicants, such as SES, association with the Hispanic community, etc. Read the links in the Hispanic applicants & the Admissions process section of the Resources sticky thread.</p>

<p>Scholarships have their own definitions of Hispanic which may include percentage of Hispanic background, you need to check their websites for details.</p>

<p>Colleges ask separate questions for Hispanic ethnicity and race, either/both are optional.</p>