Hi guys, so I’m 25% Spanish, but my Spanish ancestry comes from a “Morisco” (Morisco’s are Spaniards of Arab descent although this ancestor of mine was basically a Moroccan) and the rest of my family is Indian. I’m mostly Indian but I do have that Spanish blood in me, my name is very Indian lol and whilst I do have some Spanish ways (i play flamenco guitar and my uncle lives in Spain) I feel like colleges would think I’m lying by putting Hispanic? I plan to specify that I’m a Spanish Arab but I’m not sure if that really is going to help. I don’t speak Spanish but I do speak Arabic. It’s weird I act somewhat Spanish but I also look very Indian and my name is Indian lol. Should I put down Hispanic? Would I get rejected by colleges who might think I’m not actually Hispanic? I’m going make sure I write Asian-Indian as well.
I know I’m a weird combination
Being a Spanish person of descent from Spain (Europe!) gives you almost no advantage in the admissions process lol. You should present that aspect of yourself if you’d like but just know that especially if you have a Indian last name it will be fairly obvious that you are not Hispanic
you should mark it if its who you are, no one will think you are lying if you put that down
@leafraindcollege Oh yeah I certainly will explain I’m a Spanish Arab, but I guess that’s better than being fully asian haha
The only people who get affirmative action are Puerto-Ricans and Mexicans officially, although I’ve heard of other minorities (like cubans, costa ricans, guatemalans, etc) getting a bit of a leg up.
By saying that you are a Spanish Arab, you are simply moving yourself out of the overrepresented minority box and into the more general pool of people who don’t get any sort of major strikes for or against them.
@ConcernedRabbit well at least i won’t be an ORM then! i’m fine with that, i’m just hoping they don’t reject me when they see hispanic marked when my last name is VERY indian lmao
idk where you are applying but there are a lot of places where asians are not neccesarily orm…, they are still considered a minority. Just know you wont be considered a minority, especially if you arent disadvantaged. Also to the person above, there are plenty of Chilean, Bolivian, other spanish countries who still get an advantage, esp if they are low income or have overcome adversity
@leafraindcollege I’m applying to Bowdoin College, Vanderbilt University (ED), Amherst College, Boston College, Cornell University, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, University of Southern California, Tufts University, University of Chicago, Rice University (these are my tops, yes I have safeties)
“The only people who get affirmative action are Puerto-Ricans and Mexicans officially, although I’ve heard of other minorities (like cubans, costa ricans, guatemalans, etc) getting a bit of a leg up.”
Not.
Nor do they vet this by last name. Of course, a person could have a Hispanic mother and plenty of cultural immersion, but Dad brought a surname from his own background.
OP, if you are part Hispanic, you have the opp to indicate multiple identities. In fact, your particular combination may interest them, as it represents the multicultural perspective you bring. And the flamenco guitar is a neat extra. But you have to get an understanding of the “whole” they will look at and for.
^ true. But also do not use the “hispanic” part of your identity to make you seem like a urm, as you are not. If you are qualified then you should depend on that. There are many people who actually have had a harder time who come from hispanic backgrounds - for instance none of my friends Mexican family has a degree higher than high school, partially due to the country they migrated from and their situation and this is why being hispanic is a disadvantage, not simply because its part of your parents history
please do not do that for ethical reasons as well, there is a reason people that come from disadvantaged backgrounds get a leg up, they are - disadvantaged
@leafraindcollege “Underrepresented minority” is a loose term colleges use to increase diversity, I’m not not going to check the Hispanic box just because I’m not Mexican or Puerto Rican… I’ll say I’m Spanish-Arab as I said before, if I get a URM benefit, great if I don’t okay fine too…
@lookingforward yeah I will definitely stress my strong connection to India, and how being partially from Andalucia has shifted my worldview in a way (if i have the oppurtunity to in some supplements), otherwise I’ll mark “Asian”, “White” and Hispanic.
Colleges can and do use their own definitions of “Hispanic” and “URM”, so it is not necessarily the case that any given college will limit consideration as such to Puerto Rican and Mexican applicants.
Note that the US Census definition of “Hispanic or Latino” includes other groups in addition to Puerto Rican and Mexican: https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html
Regarding the OP’s question, the OP should ask himself/herself if either of the following are true:
A. Does the OP self-identify as Spanish in contexts other than for checking a box on college or other applications?
B. Do others commonly identify the OP as Spanish (or a superficially similar group) or of multiethnic ancestry including Spanish (or a superficially similar group)?
URM is not simply about disadvantaged or low socio-economic status. There is also a lean at many top schools to look for low SES kids of merit, not just URMs.
There’s a lot of misunderstanding about the identity check box, but you check as many as you feel apply. Of course, if one had zero ties to the culture, issues, unique aspects, etc, it would be hard to expect adcoms to see benefit (to their community,) just because you checked it.
OP, so far, sounds like you have a mature understanding. Keep trying to learn how your targets view candidates. Best place to start is what the colleges themselves say and the sorts of current students they highlight.