"Race" in College Admissions FAQ & Discussion 4

[tokenadult]

<p>Ethnic Self-Identification Is Optional </p>

<p>MODERATOR'S NOTE: This thread about this perennially discussed issue is now replaced by a newer thread </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1366406-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-10-a.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1366406-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-10-a.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>with more up-to-date information. </p>

<p>Students are often puzzled about how to respond to questions on college applications about race or ethnicity. The questions are required by a federal regulation, and a new version of that regulation just came into effect for the 2009-2010 application season. The regulation </p>

<p>U.S</a>. Department of Education; Office of the Secretary; Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education [OS] </p>

<p>makes clear that self-identifying ethnicity is optional for students in higher education. That self-identifying by ethnicity is optional has long been clear on the Common Application, </p>

<p><a href="https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/downloadforms/CombinedFirstYearForms2010.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Docs/downloadforms/CombinedFirstYearForms2010.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>which almost 400 colleges (for example Harvard, Carleton, and the University of Virginia) use as their main or sole application form. The latest version of the Common Application includes a section titled Demographics with a subsection printed on a gray background with the heading "Optional The items with a gray background are optional. No information you provide will be used in a discriminatory manner." That Common Application optional section includes the federally specified questions about ethnicity: </p>

<p>

@Common Application 2009-2010

1. Are you Hispanic/Latino? O Yes, Hispanic or Latino (including Spain) O No Please describe your background ________________________________________________
2. Regardless of your answer to the prior question, please select one or more of the following ethnicities that best describe you: O American Indian or Alaska Native (including all Original Peoples of the Americas) Are you Enrolled? O Yes O No If yes, please enter Tribal Enrollment Number ________________ Please describe your background ________________________________________________ O Asian (including Indian subcontinent and Philippines) Please describe your background ________________________________________________ O Black or African American (including Africa and Caribbean) Please describe your background ________________________________________________ O Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (Original Peoples) Please describe your background ________________________________________________ O White (including Middle Eastern) Please describe your background ________________________________________________

</p>

<p>Self-identifying ethnicity has also always clearly been optional on the Universal College Application, </p>

<p><a href="https://www.universalcollegeapp.com/Library/PrintPreview/Universal_College_Application.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.universalcollegeapp.com/Library/PrintPreview/Universal_College_Application.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>which 77 colleges, including Harvard, accept. Other colleges use their own application forms, but all must ask an ethnicity question as specified by the new federal regulation. But that question is optional in any case. </p>

<p>The colleges have to ask for ethnicity data, and have to report them to the federal government, but students don't have to self-identify with any ethnic or racial category. Colleges are not required to use self-identified race or ethnicity as an admission factor. Some colleges do and some do not. (Some state colleges and universities are prohibited by state law in their states from considering race as an admission factor.) The questions are asked for federal reporting requirements but may or may not be a significant admission factor at some college you like. At all United States colleges, with a sole exception*, it is permissible to decline to answer the questions during the admission process. </p>

<p>Don't worry about it. Self-identify or not as you wish. You are always free to self-identify with humankind as a whole by not self-identifying with any narrower subset of humankind. Recognize that students from a variety of ethnic groups--including whatever group or groups you would identify with, if any--are admitted to each of your favorite colleges each year. On the other hand, admission to some colleges (e.g., Yale or Amherst) is just plain competitive, so lots of outstanding students self-identified with each ethnic group you can imagine (or not self-identified with any group) are not admitted each year. Do your best on your application, apply to a safety, and relax. </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/493318-don-t-forget-apply-safety-college.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/493318-don-t-forget-apply-safety-college.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>*The sole exception to the general statement that self-identifying ethnicity is optional in the college admission process is a federally administered college for American Indians (Native Americans), </p>

<p>SIPI</a> - Admissions and Records </p>

<p>which is a unique example, even among tribal colleges, </p>

<p>Tribal</a> College List -- White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities </p>

<p>of a college that is truly for students of one ethnic group, as it is a college operated by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). But even other BIA colleges appear to accept students from a variety of ethnicities, and that is definitely true of and reported by other tribal colleges. </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Leech Lake Tribal College - LLTC - At a Glance </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Little Priest Tribal College - LPTC - At a Glance </p>

<p>(scroll down for federal reported ethnicity of students)</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>Ethnic Categories Reported by Colleges Are Defined–Vaguely–by Federal Law </p>

<p>College reporting to the federal government is based on the U.S. Census bureau definitions for ethnic categories, which in turn are based on regulations from the Office of Management and Budget, because colleges are required to report by federal regulations, </p>

<p>[Revisions</a> to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity](<a href=“http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/ombdir15.html]Revisions”>http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/ombdir15.html) </p>

<p>and you can look the definitions up on the Web. As the Census Bureau itself notes, </p>

<p>

@Census Bureau

These categories are sociopolitical constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature.

</p>

<p>[Black</a> or African American persons, percent, 2000](<a href=“http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68176.htm]Black”>http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68176.htm) </p>

<p>

@Census Bureau

White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as ‘White’ or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.</p>

<p>Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as “Black, African Am., or Negro,” or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.

</p>

<p>[Persons</a> of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2000](<a href=“http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68188.htm]Persons”>http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68188.htm) </p>

<p>

@Census Bureau

Hispanics or Latinos are those people who classified themselves in one of the specific Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino categories listed on the Census 2000 questionnaire–‘Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano,’ ‘Puerto Rican’, or ‘Cuban’–as well as those who indicate that they are ‘other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino.’ Persons who indicated that they are ‘other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino’ include those whose origins are from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Dominican Republic or people identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, Hispanic, Hispano, Latino, and so on.</p>

<p>Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States.</p>

<p>People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race.

</p>

<p>The federal Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has posted guidance to colleges about how they are to ask about student ethnicity and race according to the federally defined categories. </p>

<p>[Standard</a> 1-5 - NCES Statistical Standards](<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/2002/std1_5.asp]Standard”>Standard 1-5 - NCES Statistical Standards) </p>

<p>You’ll see that footnote 2 at the bottom of the NCES webpage says, </p>

<p>

@Department of Education

The categories are presented in order of numerical frequency in the population, rather than alphabetically. Previous research studies have found that following alphabetical order in the question categories creates difficulties. That is, having “American Indian or Alaska Native” as the first category results in substantial over reporting of this category.

</p>

<p>So the preferred order for listing racial categories to gather data for federal reporting is to first ask about Hispanic ethnicity, as defined by federal law and self-identified by the student, and then to ask about “race,” again as defined by federal law and self-identified by the student, with the preferred order of listing race categories being </p>

<p>White</p>

<p>Black or African American</p>

<p>Asian</p>

<p>American Indian or Alaska Native</p>

<p>Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander</p>

<p>in that order. But in actual practice most colleges do not list the categories in that preferred order on their application forms, but rather in alphabetical order. </p>

<p>The Department of Education has more recently updated its guidance to colleges on how to ask ethnicity and race questions </p>

<p>[U.S</a>. Department of Education; Office of the Secretary; Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education [OS]](<a href=“http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-4/101907c.html]U.S”>http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-4/101907c.html) </p>

<p>or </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-4/101907c.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-4/101907c.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>and has requested colleges change their forms by the high school class of 2010 application year to ask a two-part question, first inquiring about Hispanic ethnicity and then about race, for each student. The student will still be free to decline to answer either part of the question. </p>

<p>

@Department of Education

Unlike elementary and secondary institutions, generally, postsecondary institutions and Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) grantees use self-identification only and do not use observer identification. As discussed elsewhere in this notice, postsecondary institutions and RSA grantees will also be permitted to continue to include a ‘race and ethnicity unknown’ category when reporting data to the Department. This category is being continued in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) because the National Center for Education Statistics’ experience has shown that (1) a substantial number of college students have refused to identify a race and (2) there is often not a convenient mechanism for college administrators to use observer identification.

</p>

<p>See the National Center for Education Statistics Race/Ethnicity FAQ </p>

<p>[IPEDS</a> Survey Material: View F.A.Qs Race/Athnicity](<a href=“IPEDS Data Collection System”>IPEDS Data Collection System) </p>

<p>and the Association for Institutional Research Race/Ethnicity Information webpage </p>

<p>[Race/Ethnicity</a> Information](<a href=“http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=1500]Race/Ethnicity”>http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=1500) </p>

<p>and its subpages for more information about the current and planned practices of colleges as they prepare to implement the new federal regulations for high school class of 2010 applicants to college. </p>

<p>Students of higher education (and applicants to schools of postsecondary education) are treated as adults, and are explicitly permitted to decline to identify their ethnic or racial category.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>You Can Decline to Self-Identify with Any “Race” or Ethnic Group </p>

<p>It would be dishonest, and possibly grounds for revoking an offer of admission, to self-report according to a category that doesn’t fit you at all. On the other hand, all of the categories named in federal law are based on self-identification and colleges have no means to double-check every student’s self-identifying. </p>

<p>I find it interesting, and full of good hope for this country’s future, that more and more college applicants are declining to self-report their ethnicity to colleges, </p>

<p>[News:</a> None of the Above - Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/02/15/race2_15]News:”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/02/15/race2_15) </p>

<p>which is everyone’s right under law and something that someone of any ethnic self-identification might choose to do. People can decide this issue for themselves, but I like to emphasize in my own life, as a member of a “biracial” family, the common humanity my children, my wife, and I share with all our neighbors and compatriots. </p>

<p>The latest version of the Minorities in Higher Education Report </p>

<p><a href=“American Council on Education”>American Council on Education; </p>

<p>has a lot of detailed numbers (all based on reports colleges make to the federal government) about the growth in college enrollment in all the reported ethnic groups, and the growth of the group “race unknown.”</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>Many Colleges Admit Many Students Who Don’t Self-Report Ethnicity </p>

<p>Here are some selective colleges with high percentages of students reported as “race unknown.” These figures are based on Item B2, enrollment by racial/ethnic category, reported in the Common Data Set reports for each college (which in turn is based on IPEDS reporting to the federal government). </p>

<p>FALL 2008 ENTERING CLASS </p>

<p>32 percent 1st-year, 26 percent undergrad at Bryn Mawr </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/institutionalresearch/documents/CDS2008_2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www.brynmawr.edu/institutionalresearch/documents/CDS2008_2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>29 percent 1st-year, 24 percent undergrad at Scripps College </p>

<p>[Scripps</a> College : Common Data Set](<a href=“http://www.scrippscollege.edu/about/common-data-set.php]Scripps”>http://www.scrippscollege.edu/about/common-data-set.php) </p>

<p>24 percent 1st-year at Colby College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Colby College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>23 percent 1st-year, 16 percent undergrad at William and Mary </p>

<p><a href=“http://web.wm.edu/ir/CDS/cds0809.xls[/url]”>http://web.wm.edu/ir/CDS/cds0809.xls&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>22 percent 1st-year, 14 percent undergrad at Yale </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.yale.edu/oir/cds.pdf[/url]”>http://www.yale.edu/oir/cds.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>22 percent 1st-year, 18 percent undergrad at Reed College </p>

<p>[Reed</a> College 2008-09 Common Data Set SecB](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/ir/cds/cds0809/cdssecb200809.html]Reed”>Reed College 2008-09 Common Data Set SecB - Institutional Research - Reed College) </p>

<p>22 percent 1st-year, 21 percent undergrad at Amherst College </p>

<p><a href=“https://www.amherst.edu/media/view/98052/original/2008%20Enrollment%20and%20Persistence.pdf[/url]”>https://www.amherst.edu/media/view/98052/original/2008%20Enrollment%20and%20Persistence.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>20 percent 1st-year, 15 percent undergrad at Vanderbilt </p>

<p>[CDS</a> B](<a href=“http://virg.vanderbilt.edu/virgweb/CDSB.aspx?year=2008]CDS”>http://virg.vanderbilt.edu/virgweb/CDSB.aspx?year=2008) </p>

<p>20 percent 1st-year at University of Rochester </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - University of Rochester - U of R - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>18 percent 1st-year at Penn </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - University of Pennsylvania - Penn - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>18 percent 1st-year, 15 percent undergrad at Case Western Reserve </p>

<p><a href=“Institutional Research | Case Western Reserve University”>Institutional Research | Case Western Reserve University; </p>

<p>17 percent 1st-year, 14 percent undergrad at Brown </p>

<p><a href=“Office of Institutional Research | Brown University”>Office of Institutional Research | Brown University; </p>

<p>16 percent 1st-year at Carnegie Mellon </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Carnegie Mellon University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>16 percent 1st-year, 15 percent undergrad at Cornell </p>

<p><a href=“http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000420.pdf#pagemode=bookmarks[/url]”>http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000420.pdf#pagemode=bookmarks&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>16 percent 1st-year at Tufts University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Tufts University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>16 percent 1st-year, 11 percent undergrad at University of Richmond </p>

<p><a href=“Institutional Effectiveness - University of Richmond”>Institutional Effectiveness - University of Richmond; </p>

<p>15 percent 1st-year at Harvard </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Harvard College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>15 percent 1st-year at Chicago </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - University of Chicago - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>14 percent 1st-year at Pomona </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Pomona College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>14 percent 1st-year, 8 percent undergrad at Wesleyan University </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/ir/cds/cds2008-09.pdf[/url]”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/ir/cds/cds2008-09.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>13 percent 1st-year, 7 percent undergrad at Stanford </p>

<p>[Stanford</a> University: Common Data Set 2008-2009](<a href=“http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/index.html#enrollment]Stanford”>http://ucomm.stanford.edu/cds/index.html#enrollment) </p>

<p>13 percent 1st-year at Cooper Union </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art - Cooper - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>Here are some other selective colleges with moderately high percentages of students reported as “race unknown.” These figures are based on Item B2, enrollment by racial/ethnic category, reported in the Common Data Set reports for each college (which in turn is based on IPEDS reporting to the federal government). </p>

<p>FALL 2008 ENTERING CLASS </p>

<p>12 percent 1st-year at University of Miami </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - University of Miami - UM - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>11 percent 1st-year at Washington U in St. Louis </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Washington University in St. Louis - Washington U. - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>11 percent 1st-year at NYU </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - New York University - NYU - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>11 percent 1st-year at Lehigh </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Lehigh University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>11 percent 1st-year at Whitman </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Whitman College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>11 percent 1st-year, 8 percent undergrad at Hamilton College </p>

<p><a href=“https://my.hamilton.edu/college/institutional_research/CDS2008_2009.pdf[/url]”>https://my.hamilton.edu/college/institutional_research/CDS2008_2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>10 percent 1st-year, 11 percent undergrad at Swarthmore College </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/ir/cds2008.pdf[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/administration/ir/cds2008.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>10 percent undergrad at Johns Hopkins University </p>

<p>[U-CAN:</a> Johns Hopkins University](<a href=“http://members.ucan-network.org/jhu]U-CAN:”>http://members.ucan-network.org/jhu) </p>

<p>9 percent 1st-year, 8 percent undergrad at Columbia </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Columbia University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.columbia.edu/cu/opir/abstract/2008-enrollment_ethnicity.htm[/url]”>http://www.columbia.edu/cu/opir/abstract/2008-enrollment_ethnicity.htm&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>9 percent 1st-year, 7 percent undergrad at Virginia </p>

<p>[UVa</a> CDS: B. Enrollment](<a href=“http://www.web.virginia.edu/IAAS/data_catalog/institutional/cds/current/enrollment.htm]UVa”>http://www.web.virginia.edu/IAAS/data_catalog/institutional/cds/current/enrollment.htm) </p>

<p>9 percent 1st-year at Tulane University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Tulane University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>9 percent 1st-year at Davidson College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Davidson College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>8 percent 1st-year, 7 percent undergrad at Princeton </p>

<p><a href=“http://registrar.princeton.edu/university_enrollment_sta/common_cds2008.pdf[/url]”>http://registrar.princeton.edu/university_enrollment_sta/common_cds2008.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>8 percent 1st-year at United States Naval Academy </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - United States Naval Academy - Navy - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>7 percent 1st-year at Rice University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Rice University - Rice - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>7 percent 1st-year at Boston College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Boston College - BC - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>7 percent 1st-year at Berkeley </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - University of California: Berkeley - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>7 percent 1st-year at Northwestern University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Northwestern University - NU - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>7 percent 1st-year, 16 percent undergrad at Claremont McKenna College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Claremont McKenna College - CMC - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>[U-CAN:</a> Claremont McKenna College](<a href=“http://members.ucan-network.org/claremont_mckenna_college]U-CAN:”>http://members.ucan-network.org/claremont_mckenna_college) </p>

<p>7 percent 1st-year, 7 percent undergrad at Emory University </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.emory.edu/PROVOST/IPR/documents/factbookprofile/CDS_2008_2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www.emory.edu/PROVOST/IPR/documents/factbookprofile/CDS_2008_2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>6 percent 1st-year at MIT </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>6 percent 1st-year, 5 percent undergrad at Middlebury </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.middlebury.edu/NR/rdonlyres/1DE1CC19-8DF2-4557-90DE-01B37B456F6E/0/CDS2008_2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www.middlebury.edu/NR/rdonlyres/1DE1CC19-8DF2-4557-90DE-01B37B456F6E/0/CDS2008_2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>5 percent 1st-year, 5 percent undergrad at Dartmouth </p>

<p><a href=“This Page Has Moved”>This Page Has Moved; </p>

<p>5 percent 1st-year, 5 percent undergrad at Duke </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Duke University - Duke - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>[U-CAN:</a> Duke University](<a href=“http://members.ucan-network.org/duke]U-CAN:”>ucan-network.org)</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>Here are some other colleges that admit quite a few students reported to the Common Data Set Initiative as “race/ethnicity unknown”: </p>

<p>FALL 2008 ENTERING CLASS </p>

<p>99 percent 1st-year at Hillsdale College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Hillsdale College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>95 percent 1st-year at Howard University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Howard University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>86 percent 1st-year at Keystone College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Keystone College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>82 percent 1st-year at McGill University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - McGill University - McGill - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>80 percent 1st-year at Savannah College of Art and Design </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Savannah College of Art and Design - SCAD - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>54 percent 1st-year at Wilmington University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Wilmington University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>30 percent at Smith College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Smith College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>29 percent 1st-year at Champlain College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Champlain College - CC - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>28 percent 1st-year at Rhode Island School of Design </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Rhode Island School of Design - RISD - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>26 percent 1st-year at George Mason </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - George Mason University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>23 percent 1st-year at Boston University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Boston University - BU - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>23 percent 1st-year at Hartwick College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Hartwick College - The Wick - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>22 percent 1st-year at SUNY Stony Brook </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - State University of New York at Stony Brook - Stony Brook University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>21 percent 1st-year at Lynn University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Lynn University - LU - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>20 percent 1st-year at SUNY Binghamton </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - State University of New York at Binghamton - Binghamton University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>19 percent 1st-year at Adelphi </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Adelphi University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>19 percent 1st-year at Fashion Institute of Technology </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Fashion Institute of Technology - FIT - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>18 percent 1st-year at Eugene Lang College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts - Lang - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>17 percent 1st-year, 16 percent undergrad at American University </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.american.edu/academic.depts/provost/oir/CommonDataSet_2008.pdf[/url]”>http://www.american.edu/academic.depts/provost/oir/CommonDataSet_2008.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>17 percent 1st-year at Syracuse University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Syracuse University - SU - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>16 percent 1st-year at Marist College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Marist College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>16 percent at Fisk University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Fisk University - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>14 percent 1st-year at McDaniel College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - McDaniel College - The Hill - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>14 percent 1st-year at University of Scranton </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - University of Scranton - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>14 percent 1st-year at Franklin College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Franklin College - FC - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>14 percent at Embry/Riddle Worldwide Campus </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Marist College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>13 percent 1st-year at Tuskegee University </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Tuskegee University - TU - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>11 percent 1st-year at Gettysburg College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Gettysburg College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>9 percent 1st-year, 13 percent undergrad at Agnes Scott </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.agnesscott.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/pdf/ir/cdsb.pdf[/url]”>http://www.agnesscott.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/pdf/ir/cdsb.pdf&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>9 percent 1st-year at Grinnell College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Grinnell College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>9 percent 1st-year at Albion College </p>

<p>[College</a> Search - Albion College - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>Colleges Really, Truly Aren’t Expected to Guess Student Ethnicity </p>

<p>From the Association for Institutional Research FAQ: </p>

<p>[FAQ</a> Race/Ethnicity Topics](<a href=“http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=1502]FAQ”>http://www.airweb.org/page.asp?page=1502) </p>

<p>

@Association for Institutional Research

Q: Can I require students/employees to complete the race/ethnicity questions?
A: No. You may only ask.</p>

<p>Q: How do I know if a student or employee refused to answer the questions or just overlooked them?
A: You don’t.</p>

<p>Q: What is the level of effort needed to collect the new information?
A: Presenting the data collection form to students/employees is sufficient to ensure that individuals have had an opportunity to respond. Postsecondary institutions can report unknown when the respondent doesn’t reply—there is no need to use third-party observation to supply race/ethnicity.

</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>United States Supreme Court cases on race as a factor in admission to state universities illustrate what some colleges have done over the years. </p>

<p>Regents of the University of California v. Bakke 438 U.S. 265 (1978) </p>

<p>[Regents</a> of the University of California v. Bakke, U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument](<a href=“{{meta.fullTitle}}”>{{meta.fullTitle}}) </p>

<p>ruled on the practice of the University of California Davis medical school in the 1970s. </p>

<p>Gratz v. Bollinger 539 U.S. 244 (2003) </p>

<p>[Gratz</a> v. Bollinger, U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument](<a href=“{{meta.fullTitle}}”>{{meta.fullTitle}}) </p>

<p>Grutter v. Bollinger 539 U.S. 306 (2003)</p>

<p>[Grutter</a> v. Bollinger, U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument](<a href=“{{meta.fullTitle}}”>{{meta.fullTitle}}) </p>

<p>Some recent cases related to K-12 schools also illustrate some of the principles involved. </p>

<p>Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 551 U.S. ___ (2007) </p>

<p>[Parents</a> Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument](<a href=“{{meta.fullTitle}}”>{{meta.fullTitle}}) </p>

<p>Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education 551 U.S. ___ (2007) </p>

<p>[Meredith</a> v. Jefferson County Board of Education, U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument](<a href=“{{meta.fullTitle}}”>{{meta.fullTitle}})</p>

[StitchInTime]

<p>Via [The</a> National Center for Education Statistics, FAQ Race/Ethnicity](<a href=“IPEDS Data Collection System”>IPEDS Data Collection System):</p>

<p>

27) If a student or staff does not self-identify their race and ethnicity, can we identify their race and ethnicity on their behalf (third-party identification)?</p>

<p>There is nothing in the guidance that would prevent an institution from employing third-party identification of race and ethnicity, but only as a last resort. The use of third-party identification is intended mostly for the use of race and ethnicity reporting at the primary and secondary levels where access to children may be limited. For postsecondary institutions, self-reporting of race and ethnicity by students and staff is considered to be the desired method.<br>

</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>^ It looks like [the</a> colleges are pretty good about not guessing](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062865329-post4.html]the”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1062865329-post4.html).</p>

[optimisticgirl92]

<p>If Black = URM
and Asian = ORM</p>

<p>What does that make me?</p>

<p>I’m asking this because I’d rather not get accepted to colleges by affirmative action alone and was wondering if my racial mixture would sort of…“balance out”? Anyways, I’d like to know your thoughts!</p>

[ansar]

<p>I believe there’s an option for biracial students…</p>

[monstor344]

<p>For your own sake, go with African-American.</p>

[optimisticgirl92]

<p>Yeah but I was born in Korea and so was my mom and she went to college there so I think it’s sort of obvious that I’m Asian too…</p>

[monstor344]

<p>If you can list yourself as an underrepresented minority without problem, you really should seize that opportunity. It doesn’t really matter what you look like; if you have that minority box checked off, you will have a significant admissions boost.</p>

[optimisticgirl92]

<p>I don’t know if that will really help me that much since my first choice school by far is Stanford and I wanna go pre-med/English major, which will be very competitive. </p>

<p>That doesn’t really answer my question though…does being blasian make me a minority or majority? Or neither? (If that’s possible).</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses!</p>

[lockn]

<p>If you want to gain from affirmative action, put black. If you want to be hurt, put Asian. If you don’t want either, don’t list your race. Yes, it would help a ton to put black, precisely becuase the school is so competitive. Stanford gets a huge number of Asian pre-med applicants.</p>

<p>This test of whether schools are concerned with numbers or actual diversity. You don’t see a lot of asian/black people, but you don’t help their numbers any.</p>

[optimisticgirl92]

<p>Well what happens if I check off both Black and Asian?</p>

<p>Thanks for the response!</p>

[NWdivisionCHAMPS]

<p>It would be interesting if you checked off both. It would be the “safe” route. Well, what is your last name? If it is Kim or Lee, I would put black and asian, maybe. Either way, I would probably just check off black because of the admission boost.</p>

[u_ername]

<p>i say you can just count yourself as “black” in this situation.</p>