<p>Hey! My grandmother is 1/2 Spanish, which means that I'm 1/8th Spanish. I look completely white (as many Spaniards do), and I have a very European sounding last name (I am not Spanish on my father's side). Is it dishonest to identify myself as Hispanic - Spanish on college admissions? On one hand, I have never been discriminated against due to my ethnicity because no one even knows that I am part Spanish. On the other hand, I volunteer for two organizations that benefit Hispanics exclusively. My entire life (I am a senior in high school) I have identified myself as Caucasian, from Spain and Eastern Europe. Would being from Spain even help me in the college admissions process? Would it raise flags if I marked that I am Hispanic - Spain and the interviewer didn't see my Spanish resemblance (I have blonde hair, pale skin, and green eyes)?
Thank you for answering this bombardment of questions!!!</p>
<p>There are lots of threads on the Hispanic student section that take up this issue, and some of the helpful contributors will point to them. This question comes up up often.</p>
<p>My view is the following. There is no blood test for Hispanic. It’s a self-definition based on heritage, culture, and the way you view yourself in society. Some students do not think twice – they live this identity and say they are Hispanic or Latino without hesitation. For others, it’s a more complicated matter. In some cases, students who do not normally identify that way all of a sudden start to wonder what the effect of ethnic identification will be on college apps. (The threads address this question.) The problem is that you are not going to get one answer – it’s a complicated question that you have to work out for yourself. Good practice for college. You might ask yourself, do I really view myself as Hispanic and/or want to identify that way? And if somebody were to ask you to explain why, be ready to say why.</p>
<p>Hello and welcome to CC and the Hispanic Students forum!</p>
<p>Yes, this is a FAQ and the first page of the sticky thread about the definition of Hispanic will help, as well looking at a few threads. In a nutshell:</p>
<p>Hispanic ethnicity is separate from race and Hispanics can be of any race(s). So, your being Hispanic and white is not a contradiction. </p>
<p>Appearance or being discriminated against is not a factor in whether or not you can or should identify as Hispanic. The most important factor is honesty, whether or not you identify with your Hispanic background.</p>
<p>Marking Hispanic for college admissions will not raise red flags, particularly if you support your Hispanic identity in other parts of your application: academics, clubs, volunteering, essays, etc., which it sounds like you will.</p>
<p>As far as how much it will help give you a boost in admissions, that depends on many factors including your accomplishments, the individual school, and other demographic and personal factors, see this thread for some of my thoughts:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/931488-ivy-league-admissions-nhrps.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/931488-ivy-league-admissions-nhrps.html</a></p>
<p>I think the jury is still out on Spaniards and college admissions. While they definitely are Hispanic (the CA lists Spain under Hispanic background), they would IMO probably be the least ‘desired’ of Hispanic groups since they are likely the least underrepresented in college. However, perhaps after MA and PR, Hispanics of all other backgrounds are considered similarly, I’m just not sure because the numbers are low and there’s no hard data.</p>
<p>Hi, entomom. Thanks so much for your incredible hard work on this forum! What would we do without you?</p>
<p>Your statement above that Spaniards are the “least underrepresented in college” threw me for a loop. My daughter is Spanish by birth, lived in Spain till she was eight, and her dad is Spanish. Here in California, Spaniards are few and far between; we only ever come across the very occasional tourist. I can’t imagine there are many Spaniards enrolled in colleges across the US, either. Remember, the population of Spain is only 40 million, not much more than the population of the state of California.</p>
<p>My daughter has a strong sense of her cultural and linguistic “otherness,” and in that sense, I think she would definitely add diversity to the mix of students at her future college. Furthermore, I often see the statistics published by schools which break down the total number of international and dual-national students enrolled, and the different countries represented. I can’t help thinking, therefore, that colleges must value Spanish students if for no other reason than to up their statistics on international students. Granted, this may only hold true when the Spaniard or his parent(s) are foreign-born, thus giving the student Spanish nationality. However, colleges can also add Spanish students to the overall percentage numbers for Hispanics in general, which reflects well on the institution in terms of higher diversity stats.</p>
<p>Thanks marama, I appreciate this community so much!</p>
<p>Underrepresented refers to the percentage enrolled in college compared to the percentage in the general population. So since Spaniards make up a small percentage of college students and they also are a small percentage of the general population, they are not considered dramatically underrepresented. That’s why I said that they’re probably the least underrepresented of Hispanics. Hispanics of South and Latin American backgrounds may be similar, I’ve never seen the data broken down, so I can only surmise from my general knowledge of their demographics. Contrast this with MA and PR who make up a much greater percentage of the general population but in contrast, a relatively low percentage of college students. That is why these two groups in particular are considered highly underrepresented in college and why they are likely more sought after than other Hispanics for college admissions. </p>
<p>In contrast, Asians are overrepresented in college, not because they make up a large percentage of the general population (only about 10% in CA during the 2000 census), but because the percentage of college students is high (about 40% at UCB & UCLA) compared to their representation in the general population. These percentages are higher in CA than in the US in general, but this trend carries over to the national college population.</p>
<p>I agree that some colleges are interested in many types of diversity, but for college admissions purposes, internationals are not considered URMs, no matter what ethnicity or race they are.</p>
<p>Thank you so much Copterguy and entomom! Your responses were extremely helpful! I have decided that I will mark Hispanic - Spanish on my applications, because even though I may not look it, being Spanish is a part of who I am. From looking at that thread, I’ve uncovered two things:
- I am not eligible for NHRP because I am 1/8th and the minimum is 1/4th
- I will never need to prove my ethnicity.
Are these assumptions correct, especially #2 because I don’t know how I would. Also, one final question: is it not a problem that I’ve been marking “No” to the “Are you Hispanic” questions on all forms prior to college (ex. SAT, AP Tests, etc.)? I figured that this was for some form of merit, and I assumed that I did not make the “cut-off” (of 1/4th). Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Yes, both of your assumptions are correct. The only URMs that need to show any kind of documentation are NAs. </p>
<p>Many students mark school forms and tests as non-Hispanic because they don’t understand the categories; and in some cases they have had to chose between Hispanic and racial categories. It is only recently that the two categories have been separated and students are able to give an accurate and complete description of their background.</p>
<p>Here are my recommendations: </p>
<p>1.Have your parents contact your HS GC, explain your situation and ask that you be designated as Hispanic on your school records. This should then be noted when your GC fills out the SSR. </p>
<ol>
<li>As I stated before, be sure to indicate your links to your Hispanic background on other parts of your application. Many schools have a diversity essay, this would be a good place to discuss your links to your Spanish heritage.</li>
</ol>
<p>As long as you are straightforward and honest in representing yourself you shouldn’t have any problems. The definition of Hispanic is fuzzy, as Copterguy described, and this has been made more confusing by the ill conceived designations that people have had to chose from in describing themselves until recently. So, I don’t think you should feel badly about not marking Hispanic before, even HS GCs are often poorly informed and give incorrect information. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Hi, FGumby. Welcome to the Hispanic forum.</p>
<p>I’m just curious: How has your Spanish descent affected you in terms of general outlook on life, politically, linguistically, socially, in areas like food, holidays, music, sense of humor, etc? Do you feel you would not be the person you are today if not for your connection to Spanish culture?</p>
<p>Thank you so much entomom! You’ve been very helpful. Marama, my heritage has given me outlook on many different cultures which I embrace, but ultimately I am who I choose to be. For example, I practice flamenco on the guitar because at an early age my grandmother played it for me and I loved the sound, but I also play Led Zeppelin. Does that make sense? For example, I don’t think that being Spanish has given me any differences to my sense of humor, but we celebrate a few Spanish holidays (just the other day was All Saints Day, which I may not have even known about had I not been Spanish). I would be a different person, sure, but it would be different interests than anything else; I am who I am.</p>
<p>Oh and entomom, I’m 90% sure that my school doesn’t mark any ethnicity, as I looked at the secondary school report on the common app and there’s no mention of race/ethnicity (nor is there on my transcript).</p>
<p>^That makes things simpler. </p>
<p>It sounds like you know who you are and can present it in a reasonable manner, that’s all anyone can ask for. Keep in touch (there’s a sticky for current year applicants, if you’re interested in participating) and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>You’ve been immensely helpful! I’ll make sure to post back here when decisions come out! :)</p>