hello, i am half white + half asian and i was wondering if I should pick white, asian, or multiracial when applying for colleges. i know it doesn’t really make a difference but if one or the other gives me a little more privilege then i’ll do it lol
If your last name is “white”, pick white, else pick multi-racial.
Some schools have fewer Asians. That part of your ethnicity may be more favored at those schools.
@T26E4 I thought ethnicity and other demographic factors really only mattered at top schools. Which of those schools would an Asian actually be favored? I have heard that it is true for LACs but many of the top ones are getting into the teens or higher %age of Asians now.
Go with your heart because parlor tricks may backfire. It won’t matter anyway so stop over thinking the situation.
I would pick what you identify as - so long as it is white, asian, or mixed.
If you can tell us you’re half White and half Asian, you are free to use both. Presumably, both parents have influenced you. Imo, it’s a shame to spend too many brain cells analyzing whether or one the other gives more privilege. You’ll have enough challenge with the rest of the application.
White & Asian might actually be best. If you were Black & Asian, then you could justify putting down Black. But in your case, neither of those groups are underrepresented on college campuses. Multi-racial people are pretty uncommon (I think 4% of Americans are multi-racial), so there’s that.
Four percent? Wow, you would never know that living in California!
Look at the 2010 US Census map http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/27/census-more-people-identify-as-mixed-race/ I didn’t know Oklahoma was so diverse.
OP - I would put down mixed and hope that in the future they will allow you to choose as many as apply.
^ In the present, they allow you to choose as many as apply.
^^That’s great! If that is the case, I’m not sure why OP is questioning what to do. If s/he is 50:50, write down both. Multiracial is vague so choose what you are. 