Some of the comments here are judgmental, passive aggressive and one is outright rude. However all are the opinions of strangers. Just answer the questions correctly.
That’s the basis of this discussion: the opinion of what is “correct”.
My opinion is that clicking Hispanic/Latino + White is technically correct. Even if some posters here dismiss grandpa’s latino status on the basis of country of birth, grandpa’s Brazilian mother makes the OP 1/8th hispanic/latino. If harvard can enthusiastically tout a 1/16th Native American blonde/blue-eyed/white woman as a Native American, then the OP has a strong precedent for claiming latino status w an even higher percentage of Brazilian roots.
I don’t see what grandpa’ s European roots have to do w anything. Many hispanic/latinos are white Europeans. Spaniards are white hispanic/latino. When was the last time u saw a Miss Venezuela who didn’t have white European roots? Hispanic can be ANY race. In fact, Peruvians w Japanese roots are hispanic/latino.
I also don’t see what the OP’s cultural observances have to do w being hispanic/latino. Do u think chinese orphans adopted by white American parents, who grow up to speak zero chinese, aren’t asian?
At the end of the day it’s all a cynical numbers game. The colleges just want numbers. As long as OP has some evidence of the grandpa’s status, then the OP is covered.
This is a case where you have to hold your nose, avert your eyes and answer the question accurately. The OP is Hispanic by gvmt. definition, no matter how she ‘feels’ about it.
The College Board says you’re Hispanic, and eligible to contend for NHRP…
NHRP’s Definition of Hispanic/Latino
To qualify for this program, students must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category; students may be of any race. For purposes of the NHRP, students must be from a family whose ancestors came from at least one of these countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, or Venezuela
They don’t ask if you ‘feel’ Hispanic, or Anglo.
You can amend your PSAT/NMSQT ethnicity selection to reflect this fact. (And I think you should)
Not to many people have addressed the other parts of my question, which is, will it raise red flags? And is there any way to submit this paperwork to authenticate what I’m saying?
Many thanks to everyone who’s replied so far!!
Some schools want to see tribal registration for Native American status. Other than that, it’s entirely self-identification. I never heard of any “red flags” or any college challenging how someone self-identifies. Multi-ethnic people are in a grey zone, anyway.
Just be sure to tick BOTH boxes for White and hispanic/latino.
Not true. An acquaintance of mine’s daughter is 1/8 black. The kid is blonde and whiter looking than Lindsay Lohan. Last year’s admission round, the kid self-identified as African-American on the basis of her 1/8th and became a National Achievement Finalist. I nearly fell out of my seat in amazement at how mother bragged about her kid getting a full-tuition scholarship to Arizona on the basis of being a NAFinalist.
Since Arizona & harvard aren’t complaining, then I surmise that other schools don’t object either.
@GMTplus7 it’s called lying and not getting caught.
@TheAtlantic Lying implies intent to mislead. If the organization’s rules for ethnicity say 1/8th is sufficient, then they are playing by the rules. Which is acceptable in the eyes of the only group for which it is a concern.
@gabriellafilardi No, it won’t raise any flags. Sometimes people forget to check boxes, sometimes they make mistakes, sometimes they have new information. Playing by the rules is part of life. The folks who are reacting as though you’re misrepresenting yourself don’t have a valid point. Honest recognition of a grandparent’s heritage is legitimate.
How is it lying if u are abiding by the delineated criteria? And why are so many people so riled up?
I grant u the criteria for hispanic/latino are totally bizarre & arbitrary, but I didn’t make up the criteria. And colleges seem content to leave things the way they are in order to maximize the number of people who qualify to be URMs, thereby maximizing the potential for increasing their URM enrollment numbers.
In any case, I advised the OP to tick Hispanic/Latino and WHITE.