"Race" in College Applications FAQ & Discussion

[tokenadult]

<p>[Thread edit note: There is a newer version of this thread </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/858679-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-7-a.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/858679-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-7-a.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>you are welcome to visit for updated FAQ posts and current discussion.] </p>

<p>Self-reporting ethnicity is OPTIONAL on the Common Application, which is what many colleges (for example Harvard and Carleton) use as their main or sole application form. Self-reporting ethnicity is also optional on the Universal Application, which various colleges, including Harvard, also accept. Every college in the United States is required by federal law to track voluntarily self-reported ethnic data on students. The colleges ask for this information, and have to report it to the federal government, but students don't have to respond to college questions on this issue. Harvard's Common Data Set reporting to College Board </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Harvard College - At a Glance </p>

<p>shows, based on that federally mandated data tracking, that 13 percent of its students are "race unknown," so evidently quite a few applicants to Harvard decline to self-report their ethnicity and yet are still admitted. MIT still has its own application form, and asks its own brand of the ethnicity question. Ethnicity questions are optional on the MIT application also, but the application notes that MIT has an "Affirmative Action Plan" plan, with the comment that MIT "guarantees equal opportunity in education to students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds." About 6 percent of MIT's enrolled class is counted as "race unknown." </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT - At a Glance </p>

<p>Columbia University has its own application form, which also makes clear that ethnic self-identification information is optional. Approximately 11 percent of enrolled students at Columbia are reported as "race unknown." </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Columbia University - Columbia - At a Glance </p>

<p>The University of North Carolina is another college with its own application form, which says </p>

<p>"Ethnicity How would you describe yourself? Please check one. </p>

<p>(this information is optional and will not be used in a discriminatory manner.)" </p>

<p>Don't worry about it. You are very welcome to report no ethnicity at all, to make the point that what you have in common with other human beings is most important to you. (Many colleges admit many students for whom the colleges are unaware of any ethnic categorization. Those students are reported to the federal government as "race/ethnicity unknown," which is strong evidence showing that self-reporting ethnicity is OPTIONAL.) Recognize that students from a variety of ethnic groups--including whatever one you would claim for yourself--are admitted to each of your favorite colleges each year. On the other hand, admission to some colleges (e.g., Harvard) is just plain competitive, so lots of outstanding students of each ethnic group you can imagine 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&gt;&lt;/p>

[tokenadult]

<p>College admissions offices refer to the U.S. Census bureau definitions for ethnic categories, because they required to report by federal regulations, and you can look the definitions up on the Web.</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>Black</a> or African American persons, percent, 2000 </p>

<p>The link shown above includes definitions for all "race" categories used in federal government reporting. Note that the Census Bureau says, </p>

<p>

@Census Bureau]<br> The concept of race as used by the Census Bureau reflects self-identification by people according to the race or races with which they most closely identify. These categories are sociopolitical constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature.</p> <p>[/quote]<br> </p></p> <p><p>There is a definition for the Hispanic ethnicity category. </p></p> <p><p><br> [quote=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>Persons</a> of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2000 </p>

<p>The federal Department of Education 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 </p>

<p>You'll see that footnote 2 at the bottom of the 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>The Department of Education has more recently updated its guidance to colleges on how to ask ethnicity and race questions </p>

<p><a href="http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-20613.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-20613.pdf&lt;/a> </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. </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>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>

<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.</p>

<p>To sum up, the categories are defined by federal law. But the categories are vague and not scientific. You can decline to indicate any race or ethnic category for yourself, and that is perfectly all right.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>It would be dishonest, and possibly grounds for revoking an offer of admission, to self-report race or ethnicity according to a category that doesn't fit you at all. All college application forms include a student's affirmation that the application responses are honest. 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-reporting. The category definitions are not scientific. Contrary to popular belief, there isn't even a federal registration requirement for identification in the "American Indian and Alaska Native" category, which can be based on community attachment. </p>

<p>Black</a> or African American persons, percent, 2000 </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>None</a> of the Above :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs </p>

<p>which is everyone's right under law and something that someone of any ethnic categorization 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="http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=CAREE&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=23716%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=CAREE&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=23716&lt;/a> </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>It's not a problem to the applicant to decline to self-identify a "race" or ethnicity category on a college application. Colleges have to ask, but applicants do NOT have to tell, and colleges are permitted by the federal government to report enrolled students as "race/ethnicity unknown," as many colleges do for many students. </p>

<p>Here are some selective colleges with high percentages of students reported as "race unknown." </p>

<p>(22 percent at Case Western) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Case Western Reserve University - Case - At a Glance </p>

<p>(21 percent at Cornell) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Cornell University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(21 percent at William and Mary) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - College of William and Mary - CWM - At a Glance </p>

<p>(21 percent at Brandeis) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Brandeis University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(20 percent at Amherst College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Amherst College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(18 percent at Princeton) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Princeton University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(18 percent at Reed College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Reed College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(16 percent at Chicago) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of Chicago - Chicago - At a Glance </p>

<p>(15 percent at Penn) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of Pennsylvania - Penn - At a Glance </p>

<p>(14 percent at Pomona) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Pomona College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(13 percent at Harvard) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Harvard College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(13 percent at Brown) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Brown University - Brown - At a Glance </p>

<p>(13 percent at Vanderbilt) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Vanderbilt University - Vandy - At a Glance </p>

<p>(12 percent at Carnegie Mellon) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Carnegie Mellon University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(11 percent at Yale) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Yale University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(11 percent at Columbia) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Columbia University - Columbia - At a Glance </p>

<p>(10 percent at NYU) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - New York University - NYU - At a Glance </p>

<p>(10 percent at Agnes Scott) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Agnes Scott College - ASC - At a Glance </p>

<p>(9 percent at Whitman) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Whitman College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(8 percent at Washington U in St. Louis) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Washington University in St. Louis - Washington U. - At a Glance </p>

<p>(7 percent at Berkeley) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of California: Berkeley - Cal - At a Glance </p>

<p>(6 percent at MIT) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT - At a Glance </p>

<p>(6 percent at Virginia) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - University of Virginia - UVA - At a Glance </p>

<p>And here are some other colleges: </p>

<p>(59 percent at Savannah College of Art and Design) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Savannah College of Art and Design - SCAD - At a Glance </p>

<p>(35 percent at Metropolitan Community College: Penn Valley) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Metropolitan Community College: Penn Valley - At a Glance </p>

<p>(28 percent at Rhode Island School of Design) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Rhode Island School of Design - RISD - At a Glance </p>

<p>(27 percent at Champlain College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Champlain College - CC - At a Glance </p>

<p>(26 percent at George Mason) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - George Mason University - Mason - At a Glance </p>

<p>(24 percent at Lansing Community College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Lansing Community College - LCC - At a Glance </p>

<p>(23 percent at Hartwick College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Hartwick College - The Wick - At a Glance </p>

<p>(21 percent at Lynn University) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Lynn University - LU - At a Glance </p>

<p>(20 percent at SUNY Stony Brook) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - State University of New York at Stony Brook - Stony Brook University - At a Glance </p>

<p>(20 percent at New York School of Interior Design) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - New York School of Interior Design - NYSID - At a Glance </p>

<p>(19 percent at Eugene Lang College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts - Lang - At a Glance </p>

<p>(18 percent at SUNY Albany) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - State University of New York at Albany - UAlbany - At a Glance </p>

<p>(18 percent at Fashion Institute of Technology) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Fashion Institute of Technology - FIT - At a Glance </p>

<p>(17 percent at Northeastern) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Northeastern University - NU - At a Glance </p>

<p>(17 percent at Whittier College) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Whittier College - At a Glance </p>

<p>(13 percent at Tuskegee) </p>

<p>College</a> Search - Tuskegee University - TU - At a Glance </p>

<p>Based on the facts above, you need not worry about what to put on a college form that asks for your "race" or ethnicity. You can leave the question blank, as that question is fully optional.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>ACT </p>

<p><a href="http://www.act.org/news/data/08/pdf/three.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.act.org/news/data/08/pdf/three.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>the College Board, and other organizations study course-taking patterns and levels of academic preparedness before college among students with varying self-reported ethnicities. Sometimes the figures are gathered but not published in as convenient a format as that chosen by ACT. More research needs to be done on what kind of K-12 educational experiences maximize readiness for college among all young people who aspire to college.</p>

[pbr]

<p>My older son, who is attending an elite liberal arts college, self-reported his race/ethnicity on the Common Application as "Human."</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>
[quote]
My older son, who is attending an elite liberal arts college, self-reported his race/ethnicity on the Common Application as "Human."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That was my favorite answer to that question until I found out that I could go without answering the question at all. Congratulations to your son.</p>

[Zester]

<p>^
OMG, I want to do that too.
But would elite schools, or like the Ivys, frown at you for that?
Like you're not serious or something?</p>

<p>I would think, though, that it'd look better for you as a character if you said you wanted to study humanities or if your essay was about helping people o.o</p>

[pbr]

<p>Honest to God, my son attends a <em>truly</em> elite LAC, so his response obviously did not hurt him. Of course, he was raised as a Unitarian...</p>

[woohoo_2]

<p>I reported my race because it is a huge part of my identity, and I felt that by not reporting it I would be hiding a large part of myself. </p>

<p>I'm more then just human...I'm white. I'm Jewish. I'm female. I'm also passionate, loud, and enthusiastic. </p>

<p>In the few pages that I had to show who I was to adcoms, I wanted to squeeze in as much information as possible. My race, sex, and religion, in part, define me. They help define everyone, and I think anyone who says otherwise doesn't really know themselves.</p>

<p>I think people should be encouraged to put their race on applications, it's an important piece of information that EVERYONE should be proud of. </p>

<p>Just my two cents. : )</p>

[Zester]

<p>I think every time people say they are "proud of their race", they just qualify Race as being more than a social structure, but a biological one, which isn't true.
I'm more happy to be alive and interacting with people, than caring that I'm white or whatever somebody else's skin color is.</p>

[rabblerouser]

<p>In my view we should all be honest and say we don't really know our Racial identity. </p>

<p>No human being knows his or her lineage for 5,000 or 10,000 generations. </p>

<p>At best we are guessing our ethnicity based on family folklore which might go back hundreds of years, but certainly not 1,000 or 5,000 or 50,000 or 200,000 years. </p>

<p>The only thing any human being can be certain about is our common origin in East Africa. All humans beings have common roots in East Africa 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. We are ALL decended from those people. </p>

<p>So I say we should admit the truth. We don't really know our full family trees so we dont' know how many of our ancestors were members of each race. </p>

<p>We only know that we are decended from Africa roots thousands of years ago.</p>

<p>So admit that on your application. </p>

<p>If you don't report a race, colleges could easily assume that you are white or Asian. But if you admit your African heritage, you totally undercut racial bias in admissions.</p>

[2e4L]

<p>^^Lol 10char</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>To answer the question in post</a> #8, it is always just fine to leave the question blank on any college form that asks for your ethnicity or race. That's the law. No college will think less of you if you show that you know the law. Colleges have to ask, and they have to report what they find out to the federal government, but many</a> colleges report a lot of students as "race/ethnicity unknown" because the law also says that students are not required to answer questions on this issue.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>Links to United States Supreme Court cases directly on point on the issue of "race" as a factor in college admission, illustrating what some colleges and professional schools have done over the years. </p>

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

<p>Oyez:</a> Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument </p>

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

<p>Oyez:</a> Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244 (2003), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument </p>

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

<p>Oyez:</a> Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument </p>

<p>Two more recent cases, decided last year, refined the Supreme Court's statements on the more general issue of considering "race" in school placement at the K-12 level. </p>

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

<p>Oyez:</a> Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, 551 U.S. ___ (2007), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument </p>

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

<p>Oyez:</a> Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, 551 U.S. ___ (2007), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument</p>

[StitchInTime]

<p>The</a> Invention of the One-Drop Rule in the 1830s North by Frank W Sweet</p>

[Bay]

<p>In a couple of ways, it would be unfortunate if all students refused to identify their race. Without statistics, there would be no way to determine whether certain colleges might be discriminating against certain races in admissions (yes, they could still do it by guessing at names and neighborhoods), or how each race is faring in American higher education. It might be helpful for each student to at least self-identify their race once they matriculate.</p>

[tocollege]

<p>I left the race question blank on all of my college applications and my scholarship applications. I also wanted to leave the male/female question blank, but the online applications insisted that I check that one off. (I have a gender-neutral name and am female - admissions currently seem to favor males, so I was hoping to eliminate that bias.)</p>

[coolweather]

<h1>10
[quote]
My race, sex, and religion, in part, define me. They help define everyone, and I think anyone who says otherwise doesn't really know themselves.

[/quote]
</h1>

<p>This is true but reality may works against what define you. Reporting your race and sex on your job application resume may deny your chance for an interview although discrimination is illegal.</p>

[StitchInTime]

<p><a href="%5Burl=http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1060815066-post17.html%5D#17%5B/url%5D"&gt;quote&lt;/a> In a couple of ways, it would be unfortunate if all students refused to identify their race...

[/quote]
</p>

<p>In many ways, it starts to lay down the foundation of the meritocracy and 'race'-blind society many desire.</p>