mexican heritage

<p>It’s not an affirmative action thing. Affirmative action quotas only apply for citizens or permanent residents, so don’t worry, those elites latinos are not benefiting from AA. And most Latin Americans are not peasants or farmworkers.</p>

<p>Your statement implies that affluent latinos aren’t citizens/perm residents. That’s insulting.</p>

<p>I know a whole bunch of Hispanic families in the US (especially those that are 2nd/3rd/4th generation) who are all quite affluent. One Hispanic friend of mine just sold her company for $90Million.</p>

<p>To imply that affluent Hispanics are (or must be) internationals, and therefore ineligible for any Affirmative Action benefits, is not only VERY wrong, but insulting to the many affluent Hispanics living in this country.</p>

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<p>Yes. </p>

<p>And yes, you can have it both ways (I saw before your edit).</p>

<p>It’s like asking if someone from Germany is Germanic or European.</p>

<p>Toblin “Is someone from Spain hispanic or european?”</p>

<p>Agree with romanigypsyeyes. To confuse matters further the first language for a good number of Spaniards (approx 1/4) is not even Spanish. Or, as they will tell you there is no such thing as the “Spanish” language. There are number of official languages in Spain: Castellano, Catalan, Basque, Galician, and some other recognized regional languages. So, you can be Hispanic but your first language is Catalan and are from Spain. You can be Hispanic and your first language is English (very common in US for children of two recent immigrant parents from Latin America - some kids may be functionally fluent while others don’t speak much Spanish at all).</p>

<p>The College Board tried to make sense of the whole situation and came up with the following definition</p>

<p>Frequently Asked Questions about NHRP
What is the NHRP’s definition of Hispanic/Latino?
To qualify for this program, you must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category; you may be of any race. For purposes of the NHRP, you must be from a family whose ancestors came from at least one of these countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay or Venezuela.</p>

<p>To go back to the OP: does your daughter speak Spanish? I think I’d be hesitant to self-identify as hispanic in her family situation if she doesn’t speak Spanish and really has no cultural connection to that part of her heritage.</p>

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<p>Yes, this is the definition for NHRP, however it is NOT the definition used for college admissions or for some other Hispanic scholarships. </p>

<p>In addition NHRP includes Brazilians, the CA does not.</p>

<p>Read: it’s not that simple.</p>

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<p>There are reasons why a person might culturally identify as Hispanic but not be a native Spanish speaker, these two things do not always go hand in hand. </p>

<p>The OP and toblin should ask their questions on the Hispanic Students forum to understand:</p>

<ol>
<li>Who is considered Hispanic for college admissions, scholarship, etc. purposes.</li>
<li>What being Hispanic actually MEANS in the college admissions process.</li>
</ol>

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This is true, but the OP’s situation suggest that there is no real cultural connection at all. If the D at least spoke Spanish (even if it was just high school Spanish) it might make a little more sense to self-identify.</p>

<p>Note: the question of whether you “should” self-identify as hispanic and the question of whether it would be strategically beneficial for you to do so, are related, but not quite the same.</p>

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<p>Yes, they are very different questions, that is why I put #1 & #2 in my above post.</p>

<p>I guess there are really three questions:

  1. Whether you can be considered Hispanic for the particular situation.
  2. Whether it would benefit you in any way.
  3. Whether you “should” self-identify.</p>

<p>Just have her check it, and then she can educate the interviewers about all the variations and perspectives.</p>

<p>Hunt,</p>

<p>Yes.</p>

<h1>1 is generally straightforward although Brazilians and ‘%’ Hispanic (which I disagree with as ethnicity is a cultural not a biological concept) can vary.</h1>

<h1>2 is the part that most people want to view as static, but IMO can vary widely based on factors related to the applicant and the school/program.</h1>

<h1>3 is ultimately up to the applicant to determine as only they know how they identify. On the Hispanic Students forum, the goal is to educate members about the various definitions of Hispanic, not to try and assign motivation, we leave that to the Race FAQ thread :rolleyes:.</h1>

<p>Flip side (sort of) of OP’s question–can my sister’s adopted son claim to be Hispanic when his adopted father is 100% Mexican? His last name is clearly Mexican. His birth parents were not Hispanic.</p>

<p>^Please ask your question on the Hispanic Students forum (under College Admissions, Specialty Topics).</p>

<p>Seriously, you can claim whatever you want as long as there isn’t a strict definition of what is what. It’s what you SELF identify with. And again, it won’t make a speck of difference at most colleges.</p>

<p>But the simple truth is no one self-identifies as part of a cultural group when they just found out that they are genetically 1/4 part of that group but weren’t brought up in it. Even if the biodad had been involved in this parent’s life, the child who is 1/4 may or may not identify as Hispanic. And most people whose ancestors made a stopover in a Latin American country don’t consider themselves Hispanic unless their ancestors stayed-- (and many did stay like the Jews in Argentina, Japanese in Peru or so many other situations). I know plenty of people who do not identify with the countries with which they were born and were only born there because of a work assignment, military tour or because their parents happened to be there as they were fleeing their home country. </p>

<p>The definition is meant to be racially-neutral because the Americas are racially diverse.</p>

<p>Moderator Note:</p>

<p>Discussion of the definition of race and ethnicity, and their role in college admissions are permitted. </p>

<p>However, opinions on AA belong on the Race FAQ sticky thread on the College Admissions forum.</p>

<p>To paraphrase Ronald Reagan circa 1980, ‘Here we go again!’</p>

<p>Not to minimize the OP’s quandry, but this topic has no answer and has many answers at the same time, unsurprisingly. Ultimately, as others have said, in the U.S.A. it’s your own decision and few people can dictate how your indentify yourself.</p>

<p>“it’s your own decision and few people can dictate how your identify yourself.” I realize this is what is repeated here on cc but I just want to point out that this is not entirely true. My kid had two top colleges call her school to verify her race/ ethnic background. They checked with the registrar and the guidance counselor. Those boxes were checked when she was 5yo and first enrolled in school. Had she suddenly changed her category because of a long-lost ancestor, the schools would have known.</p>