<p>I'm a female caucasian (middle eastern). I've heard, for example, that being asian can be to one's disadvantage. Will this, too, be disadvantageous? </p>
<p>At affirmative action schools, being Asian is disadvantageous. Being white, though, is neutral from what I understand. It should neither hurt you nor help you.</p>
<p>Having a low GPA is more disadvantageous…race won’t make or break your application (some schools frankly don’t care) so don’t worry about it</p>
<p>^I’d disagree. For a URM, the race hook can “make” an application. </p>
<p>No, it doesn’t hurt you. It certainly doesn’t help you though. </p>
<p>I wish middle eastern were considered URM 
There just aren’t enough of us hahahhaa</p>
<p>It doesn’t hurt you, but it doesn’t help you. For example, The Crimson surveyed the incoming class of Harvard a few years ago and found that the average SAT scores of admitted students for Asians was around a 2320, for whites a 2230, Hispanics a 2130, and Blacks a 2110. I’ll try to find the link for you.
All this means is that URM will have a slightly easier time getting into top schools because they have more leeway regarding scores and GPA.</p>
<p>I read this as “does coming from an advantageous background put me at a disadvantage”…</p>
<p>Wow! </p>
<p>I would really like to believe being an URM does not play in a decision, but I feel differently now given one of our acceptances and starting to wonder about the other acceptances.</p>
<p>Our D was accepted to a University for Fall admission. All 5 of her friends were accepted for summer start. All ENG. Majors. Now, between them they concluded that there was a good chance that my Ds nationality may have helped her admittance for Fall due to “diversity”. My D even said that they all have almost identical stats down to SAT and ACT. </p>
<p>My boyfriend is middle eastern and actually puts down Asian on forms, usually. I’d definitely just put down white; it won’t help or hurt you whereas Asian might hurt a bit.</p>
<p>^From the CA:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>White is neutral.
Asian is a disadvantage.
URM is an advantage.</p>
<p>From various news sources and studies that I have discovered online, Asians and Asian-Americans are currently at the greatest disadvantage… followed by “unhooked white female” applicants. White males, who were disadvantaged for many years, now seem to be in a neutral position. URMs do seem to still receive a moderate advantage. </p>
<p>Other factors… like geographical diversity… can outweigh ethnic factors however. Colleges, and especially elite colleges, are looking to field a well-rounded and diverse freshman class. They want students from every state, from as many countries as is feasible and representative of the general population as a whole. And this is why the large # of qualified Asian applicants and white female applicants are hurting many such applicants on an individual basis. They can only accept a certain # of those groups as a whole… so most such applicants are getting turned away. </p>
<p>The key is finding some way or manner to differentiate yourself and stand out as an applicant. Good Luck…</p>