<p>for federal government documents about these questions on college forms. Note that beginning next year (high school class of 2010, applicants to college class of 2014), there will be no choice of "other" and there will be no option to write in some other category. But the law will still be that students can decline to self-identify, and of course student can always say anything they like about their family heritage and life experiences in their college application essays and optional additional information sections of college applications. </p>
<p>Check the facts. That's what the links to official documents are for in the thread-opening post of this "Fastest-Growing Ethnic Category at Great Colleges: 'Race Unknown'" are for. (The former "Race confusion..." has been merged into this general FAQ thread, so that the questions get answered definitively and threads on the same subject appear in the same place.)</p>
<p>Affirmative Action is practiced in a variety of capacities all of the United States. For our purposes, it occurs in college, for the purpose of bringing diversity to a school. Is it fair?</p>
<p>I personally think it defeats the whole entire mission of these schools. For the most part, undergraduate admissions functions as a meritocracy with a few exceptions, namely athletes, legacies, and URMS. Athletes make sense, since they contribute a significant amount of their time to another activity, which they obviously excel. Legacies are a harder issue to address, but usually those who are admitted are qualified (except for the few cases of the super super rich). URMS are the one exception, where schools tend to focus on these kids and accept them, even if they fall far below the academic admissions standards of the school. How is this fair, that someone benefits simply because of what race they are? It was not fair when it happened to white kids and its not fair if it happens to black kids. If anything affirmative action should function on a class system, where anyone, regardless of race at a very low economic bracket can benefit in admissions, because they did not have access to the same opportunities as others. But right now, in this current system, it is unfair and ultimately counter-productive, at least in my view. What do you think?</p>
<p>It's so simple to me: it makes sense to apply affirmative action to students based on their economic status and the opportunities they were able to take advantage of (a student in a school that doesn't offer APs shouldn't be expected to have taken them, unless maybe a nearby school would have allowed them to or something). It does NOT make sense to do this purely based on race. Their are underprivileged whites and asian, and there are very privileged blacks and hispanics.</p>
<p>I feel like the proper version of AA would hold everyone to this same standard: did you take advantage of the opportunities you were able to, have you become passionate and involved with something, have you worked hard, and have you been able to overcome problems?</p>
<p>"If anything affirmative action should function on a class system, where anyone, regardless of race at a very low economic bracket can benefit in admissions, because they did not have access to the same opportunities as others"
This happens as well. I had a friend from a bad public school, where he was near the top, 1850 SAT and average scores, get into both UCLA and Berkeley. Not a genius, nor a subpar student. No real ECs. His father is a mailman, and his mother did not work. He is an URM. I don't know if he deserved it though. There were lots of great students from my school that didn't get in at either of those.</p>
<p>I don't know, as an ORM, I feel that it takes away spots from people who may be more deserving in some ways, but I do feel that it helps take them out of bad situations. I'm on the fence.</p>
<p>An article by a former economic advisor to President Clinton suggesting a new form of affirmative action (which may be becoming more common at some colleges): </p>
<p>So my friend came up to me and said he had an advantage in applications because his grandmother is Hispanic, and thus making him partly Hispanic. Keep in mind both his parents were born in America. Will colleges consider someone to be a certain minority even if both parents are not that ethnicity?</p>
<p>I don't think anyone will question what box a student checks. It would be pretty incorrect to second guess someone, so I guess he can describe himself however he wants to. I once knew someone who considered herself to be a person of color. She was definitely not. But no one really had the right to question her. Many Hispanic people are born in America, by the way. And, I don't know if there is a mathematical formula for deciding ethnicity. That would smack of racist policies from a long time ago....</p>
<p>BTW, many students of many ethnicities are refusing to "check the box," and there is a thread somewhere on this forum devoted to the "fastest growing ethnicity," in which there are many posts about this very issue.</p>
<p>What does his parents being born in America have to do with anything? If his grandmother is Hispanic, than that means her child (either his mom or his dad) is also Hispanic, which means that he is Hispanic.</p>
<p>I had a cuban friend who looked no different than everyone else in my 98% white hs, found out he was cuban after he got to put hispanic on his app. So yeah, you can probably be considered hispanic.</p>
<p>My hair is blonde and my eyes are blue but I am part Native American and a member of a California tribe. Being an URM helped my sisters get into a top college and I hope it helps me. I feel weird applying as an URM and your friend may feel weird too but what are we supposed to do? We didn't create the system that has two different admission standards, and we're not lying about our status. My Spanish teacher told me that being born into a family that qualifies as an URM is like being born 7 feet tall. You didn't do anything to earn your advantage, but it's not wrong to take advantage of it either. I guess he's right.</p>
<p>Sure. I have a friend who's one-quarter Puerto Rican and was a National Hispanic Scholar, even though she's as pale as the rest of us here in suburban CT. A lot of people were really surprised when they announced it- they had no idea she was Hispanic.</p>
<p>MODERATOR'S NOTE TO "Question Regarding Ethnicity in Applications" THREAD: </p>
<p>There is already a FAQ thread about ethnic self-identification in college applications, and this new thread will be merged into the FAQ thread, as has been the typical practice here on College Confidential for more than half a year. </p>
<p>After edit, after thread merger: </p>
<p>See the opening post of this FAQ thread for links to the federal definitions of the various ethnic categories, and for links to Department of Education regulations about how colleges use the data voluntarily supplied (or NOT) by students. </p>
<p>Users of College Confidential can frequently find threads with valuable, helpful answers to common questions by using the search link on any forum page.</p>
<p>The problem with “Hispanic” is that many people think it’s a race when it’s not. It’s just a very broad term for “person with heritage from a Spanish-speaking Latin American country.” I have met several Hispanics since I started college. None of them identifies as “white” even though all of them are as white or even whiter than people they would refer to as “white.”</p>
<p>When people think of “Hispanic” as a race, what they are really thinking of is a cross between indigenous Latin Americans, Spaniards, and Africans.</p>
<p>A kid from my HS was 100% Jewish, but his parents had lived in a Jewish community in Africa before immigrating here. He got into a very competitive prestigious school after checking that he was "African American." This is so unfair to ACTUAL racial minorities when super-entitled, rich Jewish kids with overeducated parents are stealing spots from actual poor, visibly non-white, first-time college students who have dealt with racism their whole lives.</p>
<p>MidwestMom,</p>
<p>Socioeconomic diversity should be up there, too! I was a first generation college attendee in my poor, struggling family, but I still knew it wouldn't help me much, so I only applied to a local state school. I wish it counted.</p>
<p>^ But is it a "race" or ethnicity or something else lol? They're definitely not "white" but they're not really any of the "established" races either lol.</p>
<p>I think the question about race should be removed. America is the melting pot of several races and many people cannot identify their race. What should the children of Asian and Caucasian parents put on their applications? What should Obama or Tiger Woods put on their applications?</p>