<p>I'm a rising senior with, in my opinion, a rather unique heritage. My father is Lebanese and my mother is Spanish (from Spain). I am fluent in Spanish and view myself as Hispanic and I know that I technically am under most definitions. I have heard, however, that Spaniards are given less weight under college admissions compared with stereotypical "hispanics" (i.e. latin america). Is this true?</p>
<p>It may depend on the “diversity” of the students of different schools.</p>
<p>The most underrepresented Hispanics in higher ed are MA and PR, and they are the most favored in college admissions. It is generally believed that following these 2 groups, students with Latin American backgrounds and lastly Spanish heritage are favored. However, I can’t cite you a source that states this. And more importantly, other factors such as SES, overcoming adversity, participation in the Hispanic community, etc. can play a part in how ad coms will view your Hispanic identity.</p>
<p>So, I’d say that having a Spanish heritage will put you in the Hispanic pile of applicants, thus likely giving your application a longer look. It’s up to you to have an application that stands out within that group, if not for your country of origin, then for your academics, ECs, essays, etc.</p>
<p>x-posted w/Sheryl: I agree that the college makes a difference. The most selective colleges will have large numbers of highly qualified Hispanic applicants from many countries. Schools that have more difficulty recruiting and retaining URM students are likely to be less concerned with the country origin.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your informative post! Based on what I’ve read within this forum, I understand that the “perks” of being hispanic vary due to many factors (educational and socioeconomic background, school type, etc.) and under my circumstances it seems that I will receive a minimal boost in that regard.</p>
<p>Do give full consideration to which schools you apply to and how anxious they are to have Hispanic students attend. D2 is half Hispanic (Argentina) and half Asian, she was accepted by both Carleton & Pomona which are right next to each other on the US N&WR LAC ranking. Carleton gave us a much more generous FA package and small merit scholarship compared to Pomona, I believe due to the fact that they have a harder time recruiting Hispanic students to a relatively rural, midwest location.</p>
<p>Thanks again. I will certainly take a good look at that.</p>