How does one “look” Hispanic? One should not conflate race with ethnicity. One can be white and Hispanic, black and Hispanic, Asian and Hispanic, or mixed and Hispanic.
“Looking Hispanic” is commonly (and not literally correctly) used to to refer to someone who looks mestizo (multiracial European and NA), even though, as you noted, Hispanic or Latino people can be of any racial origin.
@keiekei, the thread you’re posting in is the only thread on CC in which race and college admissions may be discussed.
@ucbalumnus I know. I was trying to subtly point out that it was not the best choice of phrase. Perhaps I was too subtle. 
@skieurope haha I’ve noticed you take things VERY literally. But yes, I did use that phrase incorrectly. Regardless I think I got my point across
Anyone see 60 minutes tonight? Big segment on college admissions, Bill Gates foundation and first gen/lower socioeconomic/URM admissions. Princeton admissions head is interviewed…very interesting and very relevant to this thread!
I’m very curious. Considering extreme biases in the work place, in very liberal parts of the US as well. In many studies having a ‘white’ sounding first name increased call backs in the work place by multiple times.
What would happen if an applicant either used a pseudonym during their initial application or omitted their name from their application. Grad or undergrad? Could it realistically be grounds for rescinding a decision?
I did and I was underwhelmed. Also, parts of it turned me off. (Aside from the Gates, who always turn me off.)
I was watching it thinking, “Boy, if these people only read through this thread…” I think we have gotten a lot more in depth…but I think it was a good thing to have on TV because most people aren’t as interested as we are in the topic and I think having it on 60 minutes was good in that it increased some awareness and understanding. Just my opinion.
Vietnamese Americans vs white Latinos. Lowering the bar
An old article from the NY Times (1996) said that: “In a study of the acceptance rates of 519 U.C. Irvine students who applied to the University of California’s five medical schools in 1993, the Pacific Research Institute found that black and some Hispanic applicants were admitted at more than twice the rate of Vietnamese-American applicants whose grades were higher. The Vietnamese-Americans were excluded from the race-based affirmative action policies, even though 49 out of the 107 Vietnamese-American applicants were considered economically disadvantaged.”
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/31/education/affirmative-action-choosing-sides.html
No longer relevant, due to the passage of proposition 209 in 1996.
I agree we need to leave politics out of this, but I think some of the race comments @ELopez1275 has made are completely relevant.
I think there is probably enough evidence out there (but I’m not sure) that there are some real socio-economically disadvantaged URM’s out there that are hurt by the current policies because maybe they on paper fall into the ORM category. I wish I had a solution because I agree it can be unfair. Creating more awareness might be a step in the right direction and help the situation.
I do wonder if some of the admissions offices can tell the difference. And maybe this is why the boxes that one can choose from to check are more detailed than they used to be (Pacific South Islander, etc.).
I think being first generation can help, but I do think there is improvement to be made on this front.
I wonder if they ever use the FAFSA. I guess if they are need blind they technically cannot use the FAFSA in the admissions process. But that would be a way to get a feel for how advantaged or disadvantaged someone truly is.
There are some other common app questions that get at community programs and then there is the whole fee waiver thing. I think if a school really wanted to figure out who has been disadvantaged and who hasn’t, regardless of race, there are plenty of clues out there. And I wonder if some of them dig a little deeper if they feel they need to qualify someone’s socio-economic status.
The issue over race on College Applications nearly ruined a friendship, as a friend thought he wrongfully took my spot at a college. Hopefully no one goes through that.
Personally I think its the media doing a disservice to URM’s for are admitted to elite colleges. Every Spring I see URM’s constantly being interviewed/written about whenever they get into an elite college (or several). After a while, it seems like URM’s are the only ones getting in to these colleges, which is far from the truth.
@CU123 I suppose that’s a danger, but it’s still often newsworthy when URMs get into elite colleges (perhaps especially in small media markets).
When it’s a ho-hum thing, that will be great. Not sure I’d blame the messenger there.
Unfortunately it’s something that has a real and insidious affect on the population at large.
Everything plays in college admissions, race, finances, geography, academics, extracuriculars, social influence etc. Top colleges are not a meritocracy, they are looking out for themselves not for students. Your hard work and intelligence is a good currency for second tier privates and state schools but its just can’t buy a ticket for top colleges. Even if you get in one, you’ll not be able to afford unless you are wealthy or poor.
^^^ this is literally what top colleges like Harvard and Princeton told Jews back in the 20’s and 30’s and look how that turned out…
https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICMINSAT.pdf
Characteristics of Minority Students who excel on the SAT and in the class rooms.
Why don’t they see how hard the Asian American kids study? These kids are the best contributors to the US, it is definitely unfair to raise the bar so high for them, such as scoring SAT 450 higher even than white kids.