<p>As we all know, the US/common app does not consider "hispanic" a race. I myself am 100% Peruvian, "mestizo" according to my mom. After several days of searching the boards/Google I decided to mark myself as hispanic and then "American Indian or Alaska Native (including all Original Peoples of the Americas)" as my race. I specified mestizo under "other." Obviously I don't have tribal affiliations or anything so I don't know what to do with this survey Yale sent out. It's optional, so I think I'll just let it slide, but did I make a mistake in identifying my race/ethnicity? Should I notify Yale and the other schools I applied to?</p>
<p>I believe you made a mistake. If a can remember correctly, the CommonApp asked if you considered yourself Hispanic/ Latino, and if you marked yes, then a separate section was added where you were able to specify what you were. In your case, Peruvian. There was no need to mark yourself as American Indian in the section that followed since you were supposed to complete the section I mentioned. It is obvious that the majority of Hispanics are mestizos. Anyway, at least that is what I think. Good luck.</p>
<p>Yes, what you said is true. But the following section also said “Regardless of your answer to the prior question, please indicate how you identify yourself.”</p>
<p>I marked it on my CommonApp as well, but I do belong to a tribe (Muisca) in Colombia. You should have marked Other (Mestizo) only. I’d send them a message to clarify.</p>
<p>Yes, but that was not my point. I agree with paquenuque, just email them to clarify. </p>
<p>Paquenuque, since you are an American Indian (I am Purepecha from Mexico) did you have the opportunity to “enroll” in your tribe? Before I was asked this in the CommonApp, I wasn’t even aware that other indigenous people of the Americas could enroll other than Native Americas (of the US). Or is it just me? :)</p>
<p>Paquenuque, yes, that’s what I did. Unless you mean that I should’ve marked "other (Mestizo) in the first set of questions?</p>
<p>Anyways, I will definitely send an email to clarify. Can this going to hurt me in any way? It was an honest mistake, I wouldn’t have marked it had I known.</p>
<p>The CA states:</p>
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<p>Please go to the Hispanic Students subforum (under College Admissions) and do a search for ‘native’, you will find several threads that discuss this question.</p>
<p>Thanks entomom, those threads are really informational but I’m afraid I’m still a little confused. Was I wrong in marking American Indian/Other (Mestizo)? I see that people have different views on the matter. I don’t really have a way to check what specific “tribe” I’d be considered part of in Peru. And I don’t know what to tell Yale, who’s asking for additional verification. Aaah this is all so confusing!</p>
<p>Not all colleges require a formal tribal affiliation. This trend is growing, but not universal. A few years ago, it was primarily colleges in midwestern or western areas with larger American Indian populations- and the ID box wasn’t on the CA. Many areas of the US don’t have much tribal organization and last I checked (a month or two ago?) there wasn’t even agreement among US tribes on what % NA was required, in order to enroll. There is even controversy about the DNA tests.</p>
<p>Add to that, in the absence of an enrollment ID, the common baseline was (and still is at many LACs) do you identify yourself as X, do you maintain connections to that culture/cultural identity? If Mestizo means mixed European and American Indian ancestry (and we agree American Indian includes all the Americas; this is also the Census definition) then, IMO, one can defend labelling onesself part NA. If all you know is what Mom said, and you can describe connections to your culture, that may be your starting point.</p>
<p>I realize this is still vague. But, if you have the cultural identity, I wouldn’t be so quick to erase it. Colleges deal with lots of grey areas. Present your best case to Yale and see what they accept. Good luck.</p>
<p>You did nothing wrong, you described your ethnicity and race accurately. Sure people are saying lots of different things, so you have to figure out the logical, rational answer by looking at the primary sources.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The CA defines NA as: “including all Original Peoples of the Americas”. This means that OP from places other than US tribal affiliations are included, otherwise they wouldn’t have worded it that way.</p></li>
<li><p>Your mother says that you are racially at least part OP, this is consistent with the fact that 82% of Peruvians are either Amerindian or mestizo:</p></li>
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<p><a href=“https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html[/url]”>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html</a></p>
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<li>When Y sends you their form, you explain your background, just as you have here. The form is aimed towards people that claim they are members of US tribes, not OP from other countries. The adcoms at Y recognize that someone with Hispanic roots from Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, etc. are highly likely to be some part OP and they realize that many countries don’t have the system of tribal affiliation that we do here in the US.<br></li>
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<p>Truthfully, being a OP from a country outside the US may not give you the admissions bump that being a US NA would because it is US NAs that are underrepresented (similar to the fact that MA and PR are the most underrepresented Hispanic groups).</p>
<p>I didn’t have anything to put for the “Additional comments” section, is that bad? I was unsure of what to put there but I filled out the rest of the form.</p>
<p>The America’s are continents, not countries. You are not native to the America’s so don’t mark yourself as Native Americans. You guys are a completely different race. If your race is not on the list, contact who you need to, but don’t defraud the system by claiming to be someone that you are not.</p>
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<p>Exactly right. When the CA states in their definition of NA:</p>
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<p>They are referring to the North and South American continents. Is Peru not part of the continent of South America?</p>
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<p>No one is defrauding the system when they answer questions accurately and to the best of their knowledge. As long as a person states clearly that they are a descendant of OP of Peru (or another country), they are answering the question as defined by the CA. It is then up to each individual college to determine the level of importance, if any, to put on their racial designation. </p>
<p>If colleges were solely interested in members of NA tribes from North America, they should have put that in their definition, rather than including the OP of the AmericaS.</p>