I have been searching through different college application boards in preparation for the college application process that lies ahead of me (currently going into senior year). I am of Latino background. My mother is Caucasian but my father is Latino. While he wasn’t born in Mexico he grew up in a very self contained society of people of Mexican Descent in deep southern Texas. For my birthday when I was about 14 I asked for one of those “DNA test” things from 23andme so i could learn a bit more about my background (I’ve always been a curious one). I always knew I was about half Mexican but I was surprised to learn that I was actually roughly 30% Spanish and 20% Native American. My father’s lineage can be traced back to the first Mestizos. This would make me a bit Native American in terms of central American indigenous. I always assumed College apps asked for Native American in terms of U.S. area natives. Now I am conflicted on whether I should put just Hispanic/Latino or both Hispanic/Latino and Native American on college apps?
I mostly ask in the context of MIT admissions but a general answer would be much appreciated.
Please note I have no form of registration paperwork
I would put Hispanic/Latino (whatever the box says) since that is what you have grown knowing and what you identify with culturally. I don’t think those DNA tests prove much of anything. Without a formal tribal affiliation or any cultural background saying your are Native American would be disingenuous.
All of us, with a latino heritage, were at one point mixed with Native American blood from either South and North America. The problem is in the identification of your tribal affiliation. You need to be registered with your tribe. The colleges are interested in the diversity that you bring of your North American tribe and those reservation activities that you have done to immerse yourself in the culture. 23Nme doesn’t count do that. You really can’t pretend that you have “lived” as a Native American. It is VERY different from the Latin American culture.
People, who aren’t affiliated with a tribe, shouldn’t try to “game” the system just to be admitted to a school. Don’t you think your high school records would indicate anything about race/ethnicity? I’ve traveled to Navajo country and have seen how those students strive just to live and to learn how to survive. Anyone, coming out of that culture with those harsh conditions, who is getting the grades to be admitted to universities, deserves that hook.
I am Mexican and Native American, but our tribe wasn’t one of the “original” five tribes and our names weren’t recorded in reservation paperwork, so we have no “paper” proof of tribal affiliation. The last pow-wow I recall was when I was about 9 years old. My children have no experience from their NA heritage so we didn’t use it.
Turns out they did fine in their admitted schools without it.
MIT has an essay question that say “Describe the world you come from”. I don’t think you should check the Native american box, but I do think that you should state in that essay that you are about a quarter native american. This way, they are aware that you are native american, but you do not get into any trouble since you are not registered with a tribe.
Disagreeing with @ConcernedRabbit. The amount of ‘lift’ your application would get from your claiming NA heritage is never going to be great, and for somebody who has 20% from 23&me it’s going to be nil - if not actually counting against you. Adcomms are used to applicants trying to game the system, and MIT is more likely to slate you than rate you in this instance.
I was just stating that if she really wanted to state that she was part Native american, it would be best to mention is casually in the essay rather than check the box in the race category. Ultimately, you’re latino, so you are already in the URM bracket of those applying. That said, the difference between Native American and Hispanic in terms of lift won’t be too great.
@melvin123, I didn’t mention anything about color. Yes there currently are latin americans (ex: Paraguay/Uruguay, Mex DF) who are caucasian). My Mother’s family in Mexico were originally from Spain (caucasian) 4 centuries ago. They continued to have blue eyes and light skin, but historically, over the past 400 years they “mixed” with Native Americans and were “Mexican”, given their geographical heritage. if you were on the continent, for a couple of centuries, chances are you “mixed” with the locals.
My children also"look" caucasian, but I happen to know their ancestral history on both sides of the family. They have a Native American history, but they don’t claim it because they haven’t lived in that tribal culture; we don’t have tribal affiliation but we do have the auditory stories and the holistic healing practices.
While many people who identify as hispanic or latino have Native American ancestry, not all of them do as pointed out by @melvin123 above. That is why the check boxes label it an ethnic identification, rather than a race identification.
That said, it is OK to check Native American if you know you have that ancestry. Most places won’t care at all one way or the other. Places that do care will ask about your specific tribal affiliation, so if you have one be sure to indicate it.
Hello all, Thank you for all of your insight on my question. I think it should be noted that I was at no point trying to alter the truth to gain a disingenuous advantage. I asked solely because I was sifting through the “common application” and there was a part that asked for if you were Native American and it had listed in parenthesis (All indigenous of the Americas should be considered). I would never claim to be of a northern tribe as I simply have no ties to any sort of Natives of what is now the U.S. My grandmother is almost fully Native American but even then it is not of northern tribes. I simply asked in the context of what to put on that specific part of the application. Having read the comments I have come to the conclusion that, as I have put Latino/Hispanic on every single standardized document up until this point, it would seem odd that I would alter this now, therefore, I will not. I would like to thank once more everyone who made their opinion known I sincerely do appreciate it!
@collegemom3717 I would also like to comment that I wasn’t coming from a position of leverage in my motives for selecting the NA option. I am and always have been a very nationalistic person. Growing up in Texas has made me always feel very proud of my heritage and my country (The United States of America). My family has lived in what is now Texas since long before It became a state of the union so I,understandably, have serious ties and pride in where I come from. I also believe in hard work. I am not naive, I understand that the world we live in today favors those who have diverse backgrounds for college admissions, but I do legitimately try my hardest to differentiate myself from just another “diversity admit”. My scores truly are competitive even in the scope of MIT. I sincerely am not trying to brag or sound smart, I would just like to differentiate myself from somebody riding ethnicity/race to get into a competitive college. All that being said, @collegemom3717 thank you very much for your opinion.
Selecting the NA box - zero boost
Selecting the NA box and being registered with a tribe - good boost
Selecting the NA box, being registered with your tribe, living on the reservation, immersed in the culture - very big boost.
A latino from Texas with Mexican parentage would probably be genetically affiliated with people in Mexico, depending on what region his parent was from. No tribal registry would be possible. If there was actual cultural and traditional tribes to the region that might be an interesting thing to write about, but like many Mexican Americans it sounds like the OP is pretty far removed generationally.
Check off the Latino box. Check off the Native People’s box. Indicate no tribal affiliation. Perfectly acceptable and common answer for people of latino/hispanic descent. Since the Common App includes all “people of indigenous descent” it is perfectly acceptable to do so.