My parents immigrated to the US from Guatemala but I was born in the US…does this mean I could count as a URM for prestigious universities? People have said I’d have to be Mexican or Puerto Rican to be a URM. Do I have to mark off “white” when I apply?
You would be a URM and considered Hispanic. There is a prompt for that In the Common App with a further drop down that lets you specify the region.
White is a race; Latin@ is an ethnicity. Don’t conflate them. The Common App asks for your race and asks a separate question asking if you are hispanic/Latin@.
Actually, the answer is: it depends.
The OP is certainly Latin@. But each university is free to set its own definition of URM, unless state law dictates otherwise. One definition of URM is as the OP states, although it’s actually even more restrictive, as it includes Mexicans and Puerto Ricans on the mainland (but not those living on the island).
https://apps.medsch.ucla.edu/wgea/Reports_Bylaws/urm.htm
Bottom line - it is what it is. No application has a box that says “Check here if you are URM.” You list your race/ethnicity (if you want; it’s not required) and the college will use that info as it sees fit.
Indicate Hispanic and Latino, and if asked indicate Guatemalan. Most colleges consider this URM btw.
Chapines are not considered Latinos. (Just kidding). Love Guatemala. If you have visited make sure to go. As to being Latino, Absolutely qualify 100%. Have an amazing time in University!