<p>Hello I am multiracial and I identify, somewhat, to all of ethnicities. I am a mix if several minorities. Do you think my ethnic background gives me an advantage? And how much?
My background:
African American (50%)
Native American (1/8)
Portuguese-Hispanic? (1/8)
Irish-Caucasian (25%)</p>
<p>That certainly won’t hurt.</p>
<p>You cannot identify as Hispanic because you’re only 1/8th but you can definitely identify as African American. And according to A for Admission (a book by a former Dartmouth Assistant Director of Admissions), your ethnicity can seriously help you. She gave a scenario where she had almost 2 identical students where the only difference was SAT scores.
The white person has like 750s across the board, while the Hispanic applicant (or African American, it was one of the two) have scores around 720s or 700s across the board. She said that the URM applicant was accepted.</p>
<p>Also, Portuguese = not Hispanic. Only people with Spanish ancestry (Spain) are counted.</p>
<p>Native American would work best with proof of tribal enrollment, no matter the percentage.</p>
<p>African American is a sure plus.</p>
<p>It would give you a good advantage in those schools who are trying to diversify. However, if you are looking at schools that have a good representation across various ethnic and racial groups, it might be less of an impact. However, since you do identify with many groups, that could be a good topic for any essays where you have some flexibility in what you write, especially if you are a first generation college student. </p>
<p>Be careful with generalizations.</p>
<p>Some schools do not consider race or ethnicity at all.</p>
<p>Native American claims may require tribal enrollment.</p>
<p>The definition of “Hispanic” may vary.</p>
<p>Make your reach/match/safety assessments without assuming any boost for race or ethnicity, unless there is an explicit automatic admission or scholarship that you qualify for with it.</p>
<p>It helps a tiny bit, but you can’t rely on it as a hook. My children did not get that advantage as Mexican-American children. What really seemed to count was their NMF stats and and their EC’s.</p>
<p>It really depends on schools and States. In some states, the affirmative act has been banned for college admission. However, school may still justify to accept more minority for the diversity reason.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This would only apply to public schools in those states.</p>
<p>
Privates are not affected yet. But when it spreads to other states and became banned nationally, they may be affected as they also receive federal funding.
<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/how-supreme-courts-michigan-affirmative-action-ruling-affects-colleges/2014/04/23/7b0c79ae-cad7-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/how-supreme-courts-michigan-affirmative-action-ruling-affects-colleges/2014/04/23/7b0c79ae-cad7-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html</a> </p>