Why on Earth would stating a true fact hurt them?
@concernedrabbit, OP is both Asian and white. He can check both if he wants. What kind of trouble do you think telling the truth will cause?
Because I don’t think that he has ever check the white box off until now. I’m pretty sure for the majority of his life, he was considered Asian the same way I was considered white. To say something different now would be trying to play the game to his advantage. And OP is only 1/16 white. I have a friend who’s 1/8 alaskan native and she’s not putting that down because when people look at her, the first thing they see is not an alaskan native, but a white girl, the same as me. People usually guess I’m italian (still white), since I am a bit darker, but I’m willing to bet that no person has looked at OP and stated that they thought he was dutch.
OP’s great grandfather being white should be considered a fun fact, not a reason to identify as a race. OP even stated that he looks just like any other Sri Lankan. Ultimately, OP was treated like an Indian his whole life, and he never experienced certain things that white people experience (AKA, all the white shaming that occurs at my school during the slavery unit in history).
To put down white is to take a risk that has high chances of hurting you (as admissions counselors will think you are trying to playing the system) with very little actual benefit (white vs Asian isn’t crazy different).
However, if she actively identifies as such through cultural practices and the like and/or is tribally enrolled, it would be honest for her to indicate that. Some people do have significant cultural identification related to ancestry that may not be immediately apparent. For example: http://theundefeated.com/features/isaiah-hartenstein-nba-draft-2017/ .
On the other hand, if someone has no other connection to a small part of his/her ancestry, and such ancestry is not apparent, then it would not be that honest to indicate that in this context. After all, many men with origins in Eurasia have a Y chromosome thought to be that of Genghis Khan, but very few of them would say that they have any other connection to Mongolia. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0214_030214_genghis.html
Hahaha. What a hardship.
You’re wrong here. End of story. OP is both white and Asian and NOBODY is going to make a big deal of them checking both boxes.
The OP said above that the last Caucasian relative was her grandfather’s grandfather. That is awfully distant, and while the OP has some white heritage 4 generations ago, it does not sound like the OP identified in any cultural way as white, and is exploring this only for the purpose of a perceived advantage in the admissions process. So I tend to to agree with those who say it is disengenuous. Many people are finding out about some genetic lineage in their family tree from areas they had not considered when they do DNA tests on sites like ancestry.com. While this is an imperfect analogy, the point is many of us have some lineage in our grandfathers grandfather that might differ but it doesn’t mean we honestly consider ourselves that heritage or nationality.
Your objective as a college applicant to selective schools is to avoid sounding like every other “cookie cutter” candidate. Being Sri Lankan is interesting if it matters to you, your family, the way you were raised, the things you care about and believe. If being Sri Lankan isn’t important to your identity, but you have defined yourself as Asian your entire life, why would you declare that you are white at this point in your life? The application is a way for you to figure out who you are, what is important to you, and to show and tell admission folks those things. That might include an essay about the challenges of growing up in the US as the child of Sri Lankan immigrants. Your application will be evaluated on the basis of your GPA, course rigor, ECs, community service, test scores, etc., not your race, unless it played an important part in your adolescent experiences and social experiences, IMHO.
I love how everyone apparently thinks they’re a different race once college apps roll around
@International95 It’s a sad, sad world of college admissions. lol
Since the reigning ideology at most American universities holds that “race” is a social construct rather than some sort of genetic reality, the OP would be perfectly within the spirit of that ideology by identifying as whatever race he or she prefers.
There is no “science” of race, no sub-committee of neo-Aryan adcoms waiting to do genetic testing on applicants in order to enforce some postmodern version of the old Jim Crow “one-drop rule” (i.e., the notion that one drop of “black blood” made someone “black”).
Of course, OP has more solid ground to stand on than simply those provided by [the aporias of] postmodern theory: OP has European ancestors. Therefore, whatever this person’s last name or physical appearance, he or she is part European and fully justified in choosing to acknowledge this familial background.
Oh please. The op does not identify as Caucasian. Going back multiple generations to identify one Caucasian relative is disengenuous. My 23andme profile says I am 0.3% Sardinian and 0.2% Scandinavian. It’s a big “thats interesting, but so what”.
Legally there is a percentage threshold. I forgot what. But tbh white and Asian won’t help you it won’t make any difference in reality. If you were checking an URM like Hispanic or black then maybe this would be a topic to discuss. Do whatever makes you comfortable.
The threshold is for Indian tribe registry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Degree_of_Indian_Blood. THere is not a “legal threshold” for other affiliations, thought some top law schools indicate that one isn’t to be 1/4 minority to claim it. Being 1/16 something and having no cultural or social association with that claimed affiliation is just disingenuous.
Grrr autocorrect. One is to be 1/4 minority to claim for some law schools. That may not be current. IIRC I read that a while back.
Thank you! For some reason, it seemed like I was the only one who thought that way.
Yeah, it means the Asians got it bad. What a world - I agree.
There’s no cast system in America - just ways admissions are being racist towards certain types of people and Asians go to the top of the list. Not fair to the Asians.
I agree. We have both White and American Indian ancestry - -same amount as original poster. Considering checking both boxes. My son has Indian features and traits and is proud of his Indian ancestry. Any reason not to check it?
^^ American Indian is different than other races. Be ready to prove it either through tribal registration or through some other records.
Where are the other boxes he is supposed to have check? Third grade paperwork? A doctor’s form? Colleges don’t have access to any of that nor do they care.
I have an Asian daughter. Sometimes when I get going filling in forms I check ‘white’ for her. It’s an accident but no one has EVER questioned it. When filling in some forms for the school district they ask my relationship but all the choices weren’t accurate: ‘natural’ mother (loved that, as if I could be an unnatural one), stepmother, foster mother, etc. Since none applied, I left it blank. No one cared.
For some (not necessarily all) situations, tribal enrollment may be asked for.