My friend is a Mongolian and she was wondering if she counted as an Underrepresented Minority in college admissions.
Depends on the college.
Possibly more likely if the college asks for specific ethnicity than just a large category of “Asian” (though even “Asian” can be URM at some colleges where there are very few).
Of course, whether a college actually considers race/ethnicity in admissions is another question. Many do not, as listed in their common data set, section C7.
As a U.S. citizen of Mongolian ancestry? I don’t think so. Clearly, Mongolians are severely under-represented. But I think the idea of URM is to tap minorities who historically have been subject to discrimination or have not had access to equal opportunity in this country. Not sure if Mongolians as a group have not had equal opportunity. As an Asian, she might even be counted as an over-represented minority.
In America, URM doesn’t actually mean “underrepresented minority”. It’s a code word for “Blacks and Hispanics”. So, to the vast majority of colleges, your friend will be classified as Asian, with all the consequences that entails.