<p>So, if you leave ethnicity blank, are you just assumed to be a non-URM? At Brown and also other schools, do adcoms try to figure out your race from your name, parents’ country of origin, and other biographical info if you leave it blank?</p>
<p>Only the admissions office knows this. I’m an alum who has been interviewing for 25+ years and know a lot about admissions, and I haven’t the foggiest idea whether they work hard to read between the lines. But I truly doubt that they assume you are non-URM. </p>
<p>It’s human nature to be curious. Maybe admissions officers try to figure out your ethnicity, but without proof they can’t use their guesses in admissions decisions. Something like 15% of undergrads at Brown are “unknown.”</p>