<p>So for the common app i am checking hispanic and caucasian. For hispanic it then wants you to select a country. I live in the USA, as well as was born here.. but i am checking hispanic bc my father/gpa/gma and far back are from Spain...</p>
<p>so do i select USA or Spain.. I am just confused as to what they want?</p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>i am guessing now that i think about it i select Spain.. bc they want to know the where my family is from as to why i am hispanic not where i live right bc they know that from otehr info on the app.. someone confirm though?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>anyone know.. i would love some confirmation..</p>
<p>PLEASE</p>
<p>I put "Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander" even though I was born in the United States. My mother, on the other hand, immigrated here in the '80s from a small island nation, so I checked it for pretty much the same reason you did. Good thing I did, too, because my Stanford sent me something in the mail about information regarding my background because they have some special program or something for Native Americans/Pacific Islanders. </p>
<p>Long story short, you're fine: it asks for your background, so you answered truthfully. Hope that puts you at ease :)</p>
<p>yeah i am for sure checking hispanic and caucasian, but i was just wondering if on the common app i select "spain" with it... i believe i do correct? bc i select the country which i identify with not where i am from (USA), that seems to make sense (but usa is an option so i am just a little confused)</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>canes12: Did you read the responses to the first time you posted this question?</p>
<p>the section of ethnicity states check all that apply... so i have no idea</p>
<p>i guess you guys are just saying check caucasian</p>
<p>yes -- that is what we are saying. so making multiple threads asking the same question hasn't changed our opinion. up until college application time, you always considered yourself caucasian. According to you, you had to ask your dad where your grandparents were from to find out that they were from Spain. I find your claim of hispanic ethnicity to be inappropriate -- and I think universities will too.</p>
<p>I researched this and found the following:
"Hispanic" has traditionally applied to Spain, Latin America, and to the countries that were part of the Spanish Empire... The Hispanics in the United States or Hispanic Americans are an ethnic group in the United States with Hispanic heritage. A Hispanic person may be of any race (Amerindian, Mixed-race, white, black, and Asian). Also, a Hispanic person's status is independent from whether one speaks the Spanish language, as not all Hispanic Americans do." Based on this you are clearly one-half Hispanic, one-half Caucasian. Just be honest.</p>
<p>I should really just give up commenting -- and let you blunder your way in a rejection letter. But I feel generous this morning.</p>
<p>Since you consider yourself hispanic, I can assume that you indicated that on the PSAT? So that you would be eligible for the National Achievement Scholarship program? If not -- why? Don't you think the college is going to wonder? do you plan to apply for the hundreds of scholarships out there meant specifically for hispanics and other minority groups, like the Gates Millennium Scholarship? Did you attend any of the summer programs meant specifically for minority students? Are you going to respond to the invitations of the minority student groups that will contact you once the college passes your name on to them?</p>
<p>Will you feel comfortable doing these things? If you are invited to a minority weekend at the campus of your top choice school -- do you plan to attend? </p>
<p>Did you parents indicate hispanic on the last federal census? Do you school records indicate that you are hispanic? </p>
<p>If your answer is no, I stand by my original contention that you should not mark hispanic. The box for ethnicity isn't a question about what your geneology is -- but rather what ethnic group you have identified with your whole life. If the college application is the first time in your life that you have considered marking hispanic -- it is the wrong choice to do that.</p>
<p>A lot of people from Spain are ultimately of European descent. You might want to look into your ancestry more.</p>
<p>Listen, if your dad is from Spain, and his grandparents are from spain, you are half spanish. </p>
<p>Everyone else is trying to scare you, they dont have time to go, "Hmmm I wonder if canes 12 marked hispanic on his PSAT app. <em>Ring ring</em> Hello? Yes Collegeboard, I need you to stop what you are doing, go through 3.2million high schoolers scores, and see if canes 12 marked hispanic. Oh he didnt? Alright we're sending the FBI now".</p>
<p>Really man, they are going to believe you, because you ARE. There are no ethical problems with this, would you let someone tell you you weren't half white if it was going to benefit you?</p>
<p>Furthermore, I'm black, but I don't plan to go to ANY minority meetings or anything that hsmom suggests, not because I'm not black but because I didn't want to. I actually find it kind of sad that there needs to be "minority" meetings and all on a college campus. That seems to ENCOURAGE segregation. As such, I'll be going to school totally cold, and if any one of my schools even attempts to put me on an all black or all minority floor because they think I would feel more "comfortable" that way watch how fast they fall off my radar.</p>
<p>hyakku: canes first asked if his parents, who were born in Greece, qualified him for being an URM. When he found out that Greece isn't brown enough, he cited the fact that his paternal grandfather was born in Spain. He cites that he is essentially 10% Spanish (wouldn't it be 25%?)</p>
<p>Canes is groping for some advantage which in my opinion would push out a more "certified" hispanic. I highly doubt that an experienced adcom would fall for that kind of ploy (and I cited one who clearly recognized that exact scenario (read an applicant who cited her grandmother born in Spain -- listed Hispanic -- was rejected due to ethical lapses (determined to be lying)) and canes will do whatever he wants.</p>
<p>hyakku: while you feel no need for special "minority" meetings, surely despite your sadness, you recognize the fact that for many individuals of color, walking into a majority institution with some means of transition support is generally a good thing, right? It's not as cut & dry as: we should all be color blind, right?</p>
<p>I'm not aware of any schools that have all minority housing -- can you enlighten us? That would be nuts.</p>
<p>LOL Hsmomstef. Yes, this is a tiresome question bordering on terminal boredom. But I'll throw a wrench into the gears; Philipinos are Hispanic, based on the thinking demonstrated in this and other dubious threads.</p>
<p>hyakku -- I certainly didn't intend to indicate that a person has to belong to minority groups or attend minority functions to be a minority.</p>
<p>I think what it comes down to is that if the college application is the FIRST TIME you and your family have ever considered marking "hispanic" or "african-american" or "native american" than you shouldn't. </p>
<p>If you have identified with your ethnic group before (school records, birth certificate, activities, testing records, US census, etc) -- then you should feel comfortable marking that ethnicity on the college application. Of course, those kids don't come on here and ask if it is ok -- they know it is.</p>
<p>You put Spain, they want the country of origin of your Hispanic roots. This is because some are more preferred (Mexico & Puerto Rico) because they tend to be lower SES that are underrepresented in US colleges. </p>
<p>In your case, you should put both Hispanic (Spain) & Caucasian if you can mark more than one box. If you have to select one, you should mark Mixed (Hispanic/Spain & Caucasian). For instance, though we are all US citizens, my D put Argentina as that is where her dad and his family are from. They already know that you are living in the US as you have had to tell your citizenship. </p>
<p>As hsmomstef says, the degree to which you identify with your Hispanic culture will be evident through your school records, EC's, essays, etc.</p>
<p>While I agree with most of what hsmomstef says, I have a couple of corrections for the record. Nat Ach. is for AA, the Nat. Hisp. Recognition Program is for Hispanics. And the Gates and most other minority based scholarships are also need based, so many URMs are not eligible on that basis. As a matter of fact, the only one I found for my D that didn't have a need component was one based on her Asian heritage :)!</p>
<p>Let's say you show up for an alumni or admission officer interview and they happen to be hispanic. If you would then feel comfortable with your marking of hispanic, go for it.</p>
<p>I'm offended by this. My children are half hispanic, my husband is white and I'm hispanic. My side of the family speaks only spanish and we eat all the traditional foods and do all the traditional cultural things for the holidays etc. We are very much hispanic. My side of the family also lives in a predominantly spanish neighborhood. I get offended when people want to use the status of hispanic just to gain admittance into college. We actually live the culture. My children know about their heritage.</p>
<p>i have somewhat of the same roots as Canes and I feel as though he should be checking Hispanic as well as Caucasian on the ones that ask for all that apply. Why, because that is being honest don't you think. Why should it matter if the person checking it on PSAT or whatever? If it says to check all that apply, i would say check them both. For the apps that have you just list one i would say check or select White/Caucasian.. however I am not sure about this one because you could select other and list Hispanic/Caucasian.</p>
<p>Huskies -- my question would be "why are you only hispanic for college applications?"</p>
<p>entomom -- sorry for the errors, I was trying to post quickly as I was heading out for work.</p>