<p>Is there a threshold of how hispanic you have to be to qualify to be a National Hispanic Scholar? I'm always a bit amused each year when the National Hispanic Scholars are announced, because there's always at least one kid that no one had a clue was hispanic.</p>
<p>But, I was talking to the mom of a current junior....the mom is half hispanic, which would make her daughter 1/4 hispanic. Can she check the box? I told her too (the mom had never heard of National Hispanic Scholars.)</p>
<p>One-quarter is the cutoff. From the website:</p>
<p>"NHRP Eligibility Requirements
Qualification for recognition is based on the student’s combined critical reading, mathematics, and writing skill scores on the PSAT/NMSQT when taken in the eleventh grade of high school. PSAT/NMSQT score cut-offs vary each year by state. Students must also self-identify themselves as Hispanic on the PSAT/NMSQT answer sheet. A minimum grade point average (GPA) is established for the program and academic information is requested directly from the high schools.</p>
<p>“To qualify for this program, the student must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino and descended from at least one of the following: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, or Venezuela. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category, and Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. (Revised March 2008)”</p>
<p>I think people would be surprised to know my son is half Hispanic because of having his dad’s last name, which is not Hispanic.</p>
<p>Thanks! I just emailed the requirements to the mom. A friend of my son’s got extra merit $ for being a National Hispanic Scholar. Might as well let people know about all the possibilities!</p>