<p>So, I hear that Asians are at a serious disadvantage in terms of college admissions because of our over-representation at top colleges.</p>
<p>But I hear that it's only optional to enclose your racial background.</p>
<p>My last name is very obviously Chinese: Xie.</p>
<p>Now, if I were to leave the race portion of the application empty, would the colleges just assume that I was Asian anyhow because of my last name?</p>
<p>Would they think that I was not confident? Or would they take the race factor out of the decision process?</p>
<p>Would this be more beneficial or detrimental to me if I were to leave the race portion unchecked? How and why?</p>
<p>I believe that whenever race is asked, it is always optional to answer. That being said, this is a game you cannot win. Leave it blank, and they assume you are caucasion, or in your case, Asian. They also know that, deep down in your heart, that you believe this will work against you -- not that they care about that part. </p>
<p>As an aside, you cannot believe how many kids I know who are putting down that they are hispanic when they are not, or putting it down because they are 1/4 or 1/8 of Latino heritage. What does that say about this whole process?</p>
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As an aside, you cannot believe how many kids I know who are putting down that they are hispanic when they are not, or putting it down because they are 1/4 or 1/8 of Latino heritage. What does that say about this whole process?
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<p>putting it down if you are not hispanic at all is just plan dishonest. putting it down if you are 1/4... i see no problem there. when i did my application this year, you could check up to 5 answers for the race question. obviously no one is 100% (or even 50%) of any of those races, if they check more than 2. </p>
<p>my best friend is 1/4 black (among other things, including 1/4 cherokee) and she plans to put both black and cherokee on her applications (she's a junior)... i don't see anything wrong with that. </p>
<p>on the other hand, someone who is 1/64 or 1/128 black shouldn't be putting it down. and as "upsetting" as this may be, there is a way of determining what is "minority enough" to count... it's done every time a census is taken.</p>
<p>to the op: i don't think you will gain anything by leaving the race portion blank, but at the same time, i don't know if you will lose anything. i would say that since your name definitely is chinese, not officially telling them you are asian really won't make much of a difference either way.</p>
<p>I have the same last name as the OP, albeit spelled differently. :D</p>
<p>Why -wouldn't- you want to reveal your race? The Hsieh/Shieh/Xie/countless-other-spellings family is the best! Fortify your application with the statement that, yes, you are Asian.. then sit back and watch those college acceptance letters pour in, attesting to your ethnical background elitism!</p>
<p>Why not change your name or something? I know I would, if it helped. And parents' too, of course. There's no way they could trace your real race/ethnicity. (presuming of course that your citizenship in non-Asian)</p>
<p><i>on the other hand, someone who is 1/64 or 1/128 black shouldn't be putting it down. and as "upsetting" as this may be, there is a way of determining what is "minority enough" to count... it's done every time a census is taken.</i> </p>
<p>The thing that bothers me about this is that historically speaking, in much of the US, if you were even "one drop" black, you were <em>all</em> black, as far as discriminatory laws were concerned. So you have families that have experienced limits based on laws or local custom for generations -- and then someone says, "Oh, but you're white for the purposes of college admission". </p>
<p>Not that it happens much, I'm just saying, it's sort of wonky to say "They don't count as black", when historically, the absolute opposite was true.</p>
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The thing that bothers me about this is that historically speaking, in much of the US, if you were even "one drop" black, you were <em>all</em> black, as far as discriminatory laws were concerned. So you have families that have experienced limits based on laws or local custom for generations -- and then someone says, "Oh, but you're white for the purposes of college admission".</p>
<p>Not that it happens much, I'm just saying, it's sort of wonky to say "They don't count as black", when historically, the absolute opposite was true.
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<p>I agree with that... the law was that if one was 1/32 black, that person was considered black.... that's one great-great-great grandparent, and honestly, I doubt most people (with exceptions, i know) can trace their history back much farther than that. </p>
<p>I personally think that if you can justify putting something, go ahead. Just be prepared to defend your statements if it comes to that. And don't lie... all you're doing is cheating others (and, in some way, yourself).</p>
<p>This is getting awkwardly close to an AA discussion though, so I'm going to leave before it turns to that.</p>
<p>What if your name is obviously Asian but you are in fact 50% hispanic, can you just put down Hispanic and leave out Asian/Caucasian/etc? It wouldn't be lying, but it is leaving a part out... and then again, it may seem fishy if your name is not stereotypically hispanic. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Celita. I was in the same boat. 1/2 Hispanic and 1/2 Asian. My last name is Luyo, not really an asian sounding name because my grandfather changed it when he moved to Peru. I really associate myself with my hispanic heritage more than my asian.</p>
<p>Hell, even my dad forgot Cantonese and only knows Spanish and English now >_>.</p>