Fastest-Growing Ethnic Category at Great Colleges: "Race Unknown"

<p>[Moderator's note: This thread was originally opened on 30 December 2007. This thread has been superseded by a newer thread, </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1366406-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-10-a.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1366406-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-10-a.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>which you are welcome to visit for the latest information in the first few posts of the thread.] </p>

<p>Here's my FAQ on ethnic self-identification questions on college applications. </p>

<p>ETHNIC SELF-IDENTIFICATION </p>

<p>Self-reporting ethnicity is OPTIONAL on the Common Application, which is what many colleges (for example Harvard) use as their main or sole application form. Self-reporting ethnicity is also optional on the Universal College Application, which various colleges, including Harvard, also accept. Every college in the United States is required by federal law to track voluntarily self-reported ethnic data on students. The colleges ask for this information, and have to report it to the federal government, but students don't have to report it. Harvard's Common Data Set reporting to College Board </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Harvard College - At a Glance </p>

<p>shows, based on that federally mandated data tracking, that 13 percent of its students are "race unknown," so evidently quite a few applicants to Harvard decline to self-report their ethnicity and yet are still admitted. MIT still has its own application form, and asks its own brand of the ethnicity question. Ethnicity questions are optional on the MIT application also, but the application notes that MIT has an "Affirmative Action Plan," with the comment that MIT "guarantees equal opportunity in education to students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds." About 6 percent of MIT's enrolled class is counted as "race unknown." </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT - At a Glance </p>

<p>Columbia University has its own application form, which also makes clear that ethnic self-identification information is optional. Approximately 11 percent of enrolled students at Columbia are reported as "race unknown." </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Columbia University - Columbia - At a Glance </p>

<p>The University of Virginia is another college with its own application form, which says (from the U VA downloadable application):</p>

<p>"Race or Ethnicity (optional): check one or more</p>

<p>". . . .</p>

<p>"The University of Virginia does not discriminate unlawfully in any of its programs, procedures, or practices against any person on the basis of age, color, disability, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or veteran or marital status.The information requested above is for reports the University provides to federal authorities and to other agencies collecting data on equal opportunity for education and employment." Virginia's Common Data Set information shows that about 6 percent of enrolled students are counted as "race unknown."</p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of Virginia - UVA - At a Glance </p>

<p>Don't worry about it. Self-report or not as you wish. Recognize that students from a variety of ethnic groups--including whatever one you would claim for yourself--are admitted to each of your favorite colleges each year. On the other hand, admission to some colleges (e.g., Harvard) is just plain competitive, so lots of outstanding students of each ethnic group you can imagine are not admitted each year. Do your best on your application, apply to a safety, and relax.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/493318-don-t-forget-apply-safety-college.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/493318-don-t-forget-apply-safety-college.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>College admissions offices refer to the U.S. Census bureau definitions for ethnic categories, because they required to report by federal regulations, and you can look up the definitions on the Web.</p>

<p>


</p>

<p>Black</a> or African American persons, percent, 2000 </p>

<p>


</p>

<p>Persons</a> of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2000 </p>

<p>The federal Department of Education has posted guidance to colleges about how they are to ask about student ethnicity and race according to the federally defined categories. </p>

<p>Standard</a> 1-5 - NCES Statistical Standards </p>

<p>You'll see that footnote 2 at the bottom of the webpage says, </p>

<p>


</p>

<p>The Department of Education has more recently updated its guidance to colleges on how to ask ethnicity and race questions </p>

<p><a href="http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-20613.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-20613.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>and has requested colleges change their forms by the high school class of 2010 application year to ask a two-part question, first inquiring about Hispanic ethnicity and then about race, for each student. The student will still be free to decline to answer. </p>

<p>


</p>

<p>Students of higher education (and applicants to schools of postsecondary education) are treated as adults, and are explicitly permitted to decline to identify their ethnic or racial category. </p>

<p>So the preferred order for listing racial categories to gather data for federal reporting is to first ask about Hispanic ethnicity, as defined by federal law and self-identified by the student, and then to ask about "race," again as defined by federal law and self-identified by the student, with the preferred order of listing race categories being </p>

<p>White</p>

<p>Black or African American</p>

<p>Asian</p>

<p>American Indian or Alaska Native</p>

<p>Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander</p>

<p>in that order, and with the student encourage to choose "one or more" race categories. </p>

<p>It would be dishonest, and possibly grounds for revoking an offer of admission, to self-report according to a category that doesn't fit you at all. On the other hand, all of the categories named in federal law are based on self-identification and colleges have no means to double-check every student's self-reporting. </p>

<p>I find it interesting, and full of good hope for this country's future, that more and more college applicants are declining to self-report their ethnicity to colleges, </p>

<p>None</a> of the Above :: Inside Higher Ed </p>

<p>which is everyone's right under law and something that someone of any ethnic categorization might choose to do. People can decide this issue for themselves, but I like to emphasize in my own life, as a member of a "biracial" family, the common humanity my children, my wife, and I share with all our neighbors and compatriots. </p>

<p>Some colleges have reported very large percentages of students as "race unknown" for the entering freshman class of 2007 (college class of 2011). </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1060083699-post603.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1060083699-post603.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>The latest version of the Minorities in Higher Education Report </p>

<p><a href="http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=CAREE&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=23716%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=CAREE&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=23716&lt;/a> </p>

<p>has a lot of detailed numbers (all based on reports colleges make to the federal government) about the growth in college enrollment in all the reported ethnic groups, and the growth of the group "race unknown."</p>

<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>

<p>Very interesting post. Kudos to you for that.</p>

<p>Well, if your last name's Chen or Kim, I think adcoms will assume that you're asian, whether you report it or not. Likewise, if your last name's Gonzalez, they'll probably assume you're hispanic.</p>

<p>if you don't check the race thing, would there be a lower chance of acceptance?</p>

<p>what if you're asian and like 1/1000000000000000000 african can you still put african =)</p>

<p>i feel like its presumed that anyone who doesnt opt to mark their ethnicity is an ORM rather than a URM. i mean really. if you were of a race that you thought might help your admissions chances, you would report it.</p>

<p>lol no narcissa i dont think you can</p>

<p>inspiration^^ exactly...i mean lets get real...adcoms can easily..figure out someones ethnicity based on their first or last name.</p>

<p>CollegeBoard also was finding an increase in Decline to State for both race-ethnicity and income over the past years, which was creating some concern for their data gurus. As a result, they changed the online registration for the SAT so students are forced to use the Drop-down box; Decline to State is still available, but at the very end of the list.</p>

<p>What if one were to change one's name in order to seem to be URM, but still chose not to report their ethnicity, leaving the adcoms to assume (if they do), but not lying, and therefore not grounds for revoking offers of admission.</p>

<p>(not that anyone would change their names for the sake of having affirmative action on their side)</p>

<p>that wouldn't matter
the school isn't going to say... well we have x number of students that reported themselves as hispanic...</p>

<p>But we have an inclination that Y students are hispanic, but just didnt want to tell us, therefore we have x+y hispanic students</p>

<p>the "diversity numbers" are the ones reported
A school doesnt really get anything out of just for kicks admitting a student solely because their last name sounds hispanic
they DO however, get something out of it if they marked themself as hispanic</p>

<p>otherwise, your just one of the 10-15 percent of presumably Asian/white students</p>

<p>
[quote]
Well, if your last name's Chen or Kim, I think adcoms will assume that you're asian, whether you report it or not. Likewise, if your last name's Gonzalez, they'll probably assume you're hispanic.

[/quote]

What if you were adopted? I also know that the surname "Lee" can be asian and white (Robert E. Lee anyone?)</p>

<p>^^^ Lee would just have to be the lucky ones</p>

<p>lol well there's some last names that no one can guess with. Like mine, (just take my word for it) is like WHAT? WHERE IS THAT FROM??</p>

<p>my name would easily be recognized as hispanic, but i have no reason to not check the little box anyway.</p>

<p>My name is "White" sounding, because I use my mother's name, and she is Anglo. My biological father name is Spanish and "Hispanic-sounding."</p>

<p>Racially, I consider myself to be mostly white, and ethnically I consider myself to be Hispanic/Latino. Therefore on the college forms I chose to answer the "ethnicity" aspect of the "race/ethnicity" question and put Hispanic/Latino, specifying Colombia or " not Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban" if it asked.</p>

<p>They probably just put you in the worst pile if you do put race unknown anyways, because an URM would want to take advantage of their... advantage. So if you put uknown race, chances are you think your race may hurt your app, and so they'll put it in the pile which does hurt your app.</p>

<p>
[quote]
is like WHAT? WHERE IS THAT FROM??

[/quote]
Spain?</p>

<p>Does anyone honestly find this a dilemma? I wouldn't want to go to a school that decided against a person because of their race anyway--I'd think that if race was a factor in admission, it would be a factor on campus too, and in student services.</p>

<p>
[quote]
adcoms can easily..figure out someones ethnicity based on their first or last name.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What casts doubt on this statement is the very large number of enrolled students who are reported to the federal government by colleges as "race unknown." </p>

<p>(22 percent at Case Western) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Case Western Reserve University - Case - At a Glance </p>

<p>(21 percent at Cornell) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Cornell University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(21 percent at William and Mary) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - College of William and Mary - CWM - At a Glance </p>

<p>(21 percent at Brandeis) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Brandeis University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(20 percent at Amherst College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Amherst College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(18 percent at Princeton) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Princeton University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(18 percent at Reed College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Reed College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(16 percent at Chicago) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of Chicago - Chicago - At a Glance </p>

<p>(15 percent at Penn) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of Pennsylvania - Penn - At a Glance </p>

<p>(14 percent at Pomona) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Pomona College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(13 percent at Harvard) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Harvard College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(13 percent at Brown) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Brown University - Brown - At a Glance </p>

<p>(13 percent at Vanderbilt) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Vanderbilt University - Vandy - At a Glance </p>

<p>(12 percent at Carnegie Mellon) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Carnegie Mellon University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(11 percent at Yale) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Yale University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(11 percent at Columbia) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Columbia University - Columbia - At a Glance </p>

<p>(10 percent at NYU) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - New York University - NYU - At a Glance </p>

<p>(10 percent at Agnes Scott) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Agnes Scott College - ASC - At a Glance </p>

<p>(9 percent at Whitman) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Whitman College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(8 percent at Washington U in St. Louis) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Washington University in St. Louis - Washington U. - At a Glance </p>

<p>(7 percent at Berkeley) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of California: Berkeley - Cal - At a Glance </p>

<p>(6 percent at MIT) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT - At a Glance </p>

<p>(6 percent at Virginia) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of Virginia - UVA - At a Glance</p>

<p>
[quote]
So if you put uknown race, chances are you think your race may hurt your app, and so they'll put it in the pile which does hurt your app.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I didn't put down my race... didn't do anything to my application. I think you're exaggerating way too much by saying that they'll automatically put you in some separate pile with those who are unlikely to get in. What happens if this person CAN contribute to and diversify the campus, but simply chose not to put down their race? Adcoms are REASONABLE, not ridiculous.</p>

<p>i've always wondered if race really does have a factor...as an asian, ive always wanted to change my last name to hernandez or s/t and leave the race box unchecked. see if the adcoms ass.u.me what my race is</p>