<p>What would happen if you check "Other" and then write down German, Scottish, etc.? What would they think of that?</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and UMich is not going to have a problem doing AA this year because all they have to do is "Geographic advantages" Where they just give kids from the schools with 99% black students or 99% hispanic students and advantage. It is just <em>chance</em> that all the kids from those schools happen to be minorities. It's not their fault. It's just the fact that Michigan is the most segregated state in the Union. We should get an award!</p>
<p>Thats the dumbest thread && college rules I ever read. There shouldn't be no orientation for one set of people. Everybody is equal and their shouldn't be no special or deifferent treatment for a certain group. SMH. They are all going to the same school and why should they have different orientations for people that are ~99% the same but different in color. Who really gives a rats ass about whether you are a URM. you shouldn't get a different treatment than any other. SMH (again)</p>
I'm not sure if you were being facetious here, but I'll go ahead and respond anyway. The different orientations are that those minority students feel at home in their new college environment. It's the same as having a special orientation for international students or transfers. Say that you are black and grew up around only black people your whole life and then you go to a college that is 70% white. The black orientation can help you acclimate yourself to your new environment.</p>
<p>The real problem comes from colleges using the term "African American" when they mean Black. Not very many whites will with a straight face claim to be Black. It's too much of a flat out lie. But here on CC you see a lot of them trying to claim to be African American, because the term has more wiggle room built into it. </p>
<p>These bogus claims usually involve being descended from white South Africans, or white Arab north Africans, or white French colonists for north Africa or some such. The logic goes, "Well my ancestor was an African of sorts, and I'm an American, therefore I can check the African American box." They are technically right but morally wrong. They know that they are stretching to try to claim a benefit that was not intended for them.</p>
<p>In your Friend's D case, she would just check other and list that she is biracial(african american + caucasian). She could also use one of her essays to write about her experience.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarity again hotpiece, & yeah I was actually serious
I geuss it seemed like they were trying to be biased by giving URM special treatments but anyway like Gryffon5147 said, these discussions are getting over-rated and sorta lame.</p>
<p>I would see anyone who has ancestors from North Africa as black if they want to be viewed as black, and would classify them as African even though they don't have the stereotypical African features. Cleopatra was born in Africa, Egypt, but she herself was not African, she was European, her roots were.</p>
<p>And thank you valawe for trumping those people who wanted to claim they're Hispanic.</p>
<p>"Zoosermon,
In your Friend's D case, she would just check other and list that she is biracial(african american + caucasian). She could also use one of her essays to write about her experience."</p>
<p>I don't think she would do that. She considers herself to be black and not biracial. Not African American, either. Dad's family is from the South with slave ancestry and she is adamant about being a black woman. Ok, she's 15, but still.</p>
<p>Zoosermom: This is a perfect example on why Affirmative Action should be based on family situation (income, family education history, quality of kid's school, ect) and not on the color of one's skin. That way people who deserve an advantage b/c of what they have been through would get one and people who college admissions officers feel LOOK like they need an advantage would only recieve one if actually qualified. This would also put an end to a racist instituation in which white's in power feel this parental need to "help minorities out" because clearly a black/hispanic/native american person couldn't get into a college on his own merits! Preposterous!</p>
<p>I'm not quite sure why she wouldn't consider herself African American. The term generally refers to people whose ancestors were slaves, not Africans who immigrated to America...</p>
<p>"I'm not quite sure why she wouldn't consider herself African American. The term generally refers to people whose ancestors were slaves, not Africans who immigrated to America..."</p>
<p>She chooses to refer to herself as black. Personal choice, that's all. I suspect that it's because she doesn't look black but is part of a family that's so active in the black community. Like "I defy you to think I'm white."</p>
<p>The real issue with your friends daughter in the eyes of admissions officers is this: She would not look good in a viewbook, therefor they couldn't care less about what her life is like.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The real issue with your friends daughter in the eyes of admissions officers is this: She would not look good in a viewbook, therefor they couldn't care less about what her life is like.
[/quote]
abank is incorrect here. If your daughter put African American/Black down on her app, it would be completely fine. I go to Harvard and I know a lot of biracial people who consider themselves black and are very, very active within the black community at Harvard and put black on their applications. So, admissions officers would consider her black just as they consider other African Americans black.</p>
<p>^^I mean come on, why wouldn't they? but they should also take into account that she's not only black && shouldn't say she's black alone</p>
<p>I hope you all realize that on college app you have the option of bubbling more than one race. (Especially online applications) also, they give you a blank space to indicate a little bit about yourself. So people need to take advantage of that. especially if you're from a foreign country. I heard that gives you a slight boost because they favor diversity</p>
<p>
[quote]
^^I mean come on, why wouldn't they? but they should also take into account that she's not only black && shouldn't say she's black alone
[/quote]
The application does not ask for race. It asks for ethnicity she most identifies with. So if she grew up in the Black community and thinks she's black, then she obviously identifies with the "African American/Black" ethnicity.</p>
<p>Also, most black people are considered black if they have one drop of blood in them. It's known as the "one drop rule."</p>