<p>Question: I’m Chinese but my name doesn’t make it totally obvious. (My last name is Lee. I don’t want to write my real first name here, but it’s a common American name and similar to “Frank.” ) So my full name, sort of like “Frank Lee,” could really be many ethnicities. I’ve heard that there [...]</p>
<p>If your last name is Lee, and you leave it blank, adcoms will probably assume you are Chinese (especially if you are a math-loving, high-scoring, tennis-playing violinist). Well, I guess if you are from the south and your name is Robert E. Lee, they may not think so.
But why play games?</p>
<p>Aren’t there some people of Caucasian descent who have the last name Lee?</p>
<p>Sure there are, but if you leave ethnicity blank and your name is Lee, the first thing an adcom will think is that you’re probably Asian. They might even be curious about it, and look to see if you’re on the Dragon Boat team, etc.</p>
<p>I would never think that someone with the last name “Lee” is Asian. Li, yes. Lee, no. That’s a very common white name.</p>
<p>Bahaha. Do you think it’d work with a chick with the last name Ren? I’m Chinese too, but Ren is a really uncommon Chinese last name and I only know two or three people that have it. It does sound Japanese though.</p>
<p>People will know Ren is a Chinese last name. They’ll guess.</p>
<p>Lee is a common Asian last name. When Koreans and those who immigrate from Hong Kong (Taiwan and Singapore too maybe but I’m not sure), their last name is romanized as Lee. Those who immigrate from the Chinese mainland have the Chinese last name Li because China follows “pinyin” romanization.</p>
<p>I have a white last name (I’m half white, half Chinese), and was thinking about either declining to identify or marking “White.” (don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of my Asian heritage, but it will probably hurt me in admissions). Plus, my mom changed her first name to a completely American name. But the adcoms will know once they see where my mom went to college (China) and her country of birth. So it’s pretty pointless skip the ethnicity question, because they’ll figure it out anyways?</p>
<p>“other” is helpful, particularly when it encourages the addcom to go back and read your application again, looking for clues. Be sure that the clues that you sprinkle about are interesting, and make you “the person i would want to go an a long sailing trip with”: personable, not boring.</p>
<p>they don’t allow asians in ivy league? wow.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> I guess it will be harder for people like me (last name is dead on: Wang). =/</p>
<p>Yeah I considered this when I applied this year. Just put down asian, honestly, if you leave it blank they won’t care whether you’re white but unfortunately have an asian-sounding last name, they’ll just assume you’re asian. And they might question why you declined to put your race–they might think you’re ashamed of being asian (less likely) or trying to game the application (most likely).</p>
<p>LOL @ hunts first post 
Yeah, if you’re Asian and your parents were born in/went to school in China (which a lot of them did…) its kind of a giveaway to the fact that you’re Chinese. Additionally, “Lee” seems to jump out at me like a Chinese name so… :/</p>
<p>If you leave it blank they assume you are the most competitive race which is usually asain. Fail gg thx</p>
<p>So what’s better to put, white or asian? Does it really matter? This question has be vexing my for long enough.</p>
<p>well, if your neither white nor asian, don’t lie about your race, that’s the worst thing you could do. But I guess things get more complicated if you’re half white and half asian?</p>
<p>If you are half white and half Asian, I would suggest marking “other” or multiethnic, if there is such a choice. In my personal opinion, you are not likely to get much advantage by marking white over Asian, and it might be (slightly) more interesting to adcoms that you are multiethnic. Plus, it has the virtue of being the truth.</p>
<p>My advice is to always answer the question, don’t leave it blank, and to respond honestly, of course. If there is some extenuating situation that requires an explanation (e.g, if you are Asian by birth but raised by adoptive parents of another race) you can always explain this in the application. </p>
<p>I remember one student last year who considered himself “African-American” although he had an Asian Indian name. The explanation: His dad is of Indian descent but born and raised in Africa, where he still lives. The mom is American. The parents are divorced and the mom and son live in the U.S. But the son considers himself half “African,” since that’s where his dad has always lived, and half American due to his mom’s nationality and locale, as well as his own. Thus, he is indeed “African-American,” although that label will surely conjure up something different when admission folks spot it on an application.</p>
<p>Stories like this one may be the exception, but they, nonetheless remind me of how annoying I find the whole Race/Ethnicity question since so much of who we are is NOT defined by heritage or skin color.</p>
<p>Although I do get quite a few people asking me if I’m mixed (some people think I’m white and asian), I’m definitely considered white by most colleges and other people’s standards. I’ve been skipping questions about race/ethnicity for a couple years now whenever I fill out paper work. I don’t know if it gives me an advantage or disadvantage, but I agree with Sally_Rubenstone. Your race doesn’t necessarily make you who you are.</p>
<p>Welcome to the FAQ thread </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/809185-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-6-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/809185-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-6-a.html</a> </p>
<p>that remind everyone that </p>
<p>a) the law says that anyone, absolutely ANYONE, is permitted to decline to answer ethnicity questions on college applications, and </p>
<p>b) many, many successful college applicants (for example, one-seventh of all students at Harvard) decline to answer those questions. </p>
<p>The FAQ thread links to federal regulations, college enrollment data, and other information on the subject. </p>
<p>Good luck to all of you in your applications.</p>