<p>Btw, as extreme as this scenario is...checking hispanic could even be seen as negative. Not only does the COMMON APP have a selection availible for other...on top of Hispanic, Latino, Mexican American, and Chicano, they even request that you mention which country is your Hispanic and Latino origin derived from. </p>
<p>Does this make sense if you were filling out the common app?</p>
<p>Hispanic, Latino: Countries: Portugal</p>
<p>No, Maize and Blue, I am not kidding.</p>
<p>If the OP is thinking about colleges like HPYS, there are plenty of Hispanics applying. I have seen Hispanics with SATs as high as 1450 and national mainstream awards get rejected by such schools. Of course, there are some students of all races/ethnicities with lower stats who are accepted, but my point is that being Hispanic or any URM doesn't make anyone a shoo-in for top colleges.</p>
<p>If he's thinking of places like Grinnell, Macalester, possibly even Vanderbilt, all colleges which have had more difficulty attracting a diverse student body, yes, being Hispanic would be more of an asset. But, frankly, his being a white American who lives in Indonesia would be an asset at virtually any college -- if he really has as a result developed a strong interest and sophisticated insights into Indonesia.</p>
<p>If his essay is basically a travelogue or is filled with cliches like, "By living in Indonesia, I learned that people are people" or "I learned how comfortably off I am compared with most of the world," it will not do much to gain him entrance to top colleges.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If the OP is thinking about colleges like HPYS, there are plenty of Hispanics applying. I have seen Hispanics with SATs as high as 1450 and national mainstream awards get rejected by such schools. Of course, there are some students of all races/ethnicities with lower stats who are accepted, but my point is that being Hispanic or any URM doesn't make anyone a shoo-in for top colleges
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You can dance around the fact all day, but the people getting in with the lower stats are by-and-large URM. It's a huge advantage at even the best of colleges whether or not you'll admit seeing the white elephant in the room.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But, frankly, his being a white American who lives in Indonesia would be an asset at virtually any college -- if he really has as a result developed a strong interest and sophisticated insights into Indonesia
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think you confuse "would" with "should". It's actually quite sad that skin color is judged to be more important than unique life experiences like that.</p>
<p>
[quote]
but my point is that being Hispanic or any URM doesn't make anyone a shoo-in for top colleges.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Shoo-in? Nope, but the fact remains that he will be as close as they come to a shoo-in with URM status and perfect everything else. Also, if his gpa/tests/etc aren't perfect he will still be considered with far lower numbers due to his choice to mark the urm box (he'll be considered and possibly accepted with numbers that would be auto-rejects if he marked white).</p>
<p>Great points...</p>
<p>however, I still don't see why he should not make use of the self-inputed ethnicity selection. He can avoid all the technicalities whatsoever and still come across as a unique individiual....Spanish speaking portuguese studying in Indonesia.</p>
<p>I called Reed College, they told me it is however I would like to identify myself. Portuguese can be considered hispanic.</p>
<p>Flips are not pacific islanders, read government/college categorizations</p>
<p>philippines is considered part of asia, pacific islander is like federation of micronesia.</p>
<p>Hispania was the term used by the Romans to describe the Iberian Peninsula about 2000 years ago. The following is from Wikipedia:</p>
<p>"Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the Iberian Peninsula, and to two of the three provinces they created there: Hispania Baetica and Hispania Tarraconensis (the third being Lusitania)."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispania</p>
<p>Well depending on what state you are a resident of is really the issue because you should consider yourself on applications whatever the law of that state considers you to be. For example, under Florida Law in relation to minority issues, each minority is a defined term as is in any state to clearly explain the meaning of each statute. I use Florida because that is where I live. In this case Florida defines "hispanic" as a person of Spanish or Portuguese descent with roots from Spain, Portugal, Central America, South America, or the Caribbean regardless of race. Therefore, in Florida (I cannot say for other states) a Portuguese person IS "hispanic." Since "hispanic" is a term that is highly debated and often means different things to different people, in regards to applications, I would say to follow what your state law defines you as.</p>
<p>The definitions are federal. See the FAQ thread </p>
<p>for many more details. </p>
<p>This thread here is a very old thread, so it's closing now.</p>