I’m half-asian and half-white. In appearance, I don’t look Asian at all, some say I even look Hispanic. However, my first name is Asian (not a “typical” one though, please PM for details). Last name is actually from European descent, but it may come off Asian to some people (weird, I know). I believe I have 2 options…
Option 1:
Apply white. Hopefully they won’t realize/question. This would help in terms of affirmative action, but then again I can’t use EC’s/potential test scores relating my Asian language.
Option 2:
Check both white and Asian. I go to foreign language school every week, which happens full-day on Saturday (takes a lot of time). Additionally, I could take the SAT 2/AP tests relating to it (pretty sure I’ll get a 800/5).
Which option would help me the most in terms of admission to elite schools… Thanks!
Edit: Forgot to mention, don’t know if it matters but: In my school, Asians are a super-minority (less than 1%). Blacks, Hispanics, and whites fill out the rest of the student population evenly.
Apply as white. Sat II and APs don’t really matter. Be noteful though that you have to list your parent’s name on the common app, so your asian parent may give you away.
It’s fine if you don’t disclose your race. It’s not mandatory or anything. They may be able to infer what your name is depending on how Asian it is…mind if you PM me it? I’ll be more able to answer you.
I would just not disclose your race. I just did a ton of research on affirmative action for a thesis project and honestly, revealing your Asian ancestry is going to hurt your chances of being accepted. Being white isn’t going to help much either though.
And if they infer your race from your name, there’s not much you can do. Not disclosing your race shouldn’t hurt you.
In the end, I think it’s a personal choice. If you disclose that you’re Asian, perhaps you could write about family traditions in your essay. Either way, unless you’re planning on attending one of your reach schools, your race isn’t going to make or break your application.
I don’t know how much being white will help. Also the reader of your application might see some typical activities like taking AP Chinese, heavy load of math and music EC. But since you are half white you can check white on your application.