Should I list myself as Black only or also Asian for College?

So my dad is Egyptian(so black) and my mom is from Japan. Would I get a better chance for college if I only say that I am black, or will I get a better chance if I said I was Japanese and African American? Thanks!

If it doesn’t matter to you either way, I would go with just black. Unless it’s a really meaningful part of your story, I would make sure not to mention that you’re part Asian anywhere in your application.

I agree I would list yourself as African American.

Egyptian is considered white not black. I think the people of the North African region are all considered Caucasian.

I would just put mixed race if you feel like both cultures have influenced you in a significant way.

Thanks guys! I am considered African American. And that is black. So yeah! There are blacks in Egypt too ya know?

There may be blacks in Egypt but if you are actually from Egypt you are not A-American.

Most Egyptian people are white, not black, for college admissions demographic purposes.

As a general rule, the only Egyptian applicants who would be black for college admissions purposes are Nubians. Arabs are considered white.

*This ignores the possibility of an applicant whose family lives in Egypt but is from Tanzania/Mozambique/etc. If this is the case for OP, he/she may in fact be black.

It seems as if you are trying to convince yourself that you are black when you are in fact white. It says on the common app that Egyptians are considered white.

The country that he/she is from isn’t relevant to his/her race any more than being American means, automatically, that you are white. There are many black Egyptian though most are so seriously discriminated against that the subject of their applicant status to US schools never comes up. On the other hand, the fact that Egypt sits on the northern part of the African continent, and OP is from Egypt, doesn’t make OP ‘African-American.’ Whites from Zimbabwe, Namibia or South Africa are not African American either.

OP, just a reminder that your records will be accessible to administrators and anyone else who wants to dredge up your history for the rest of your life. If you are black, then you are entitled to what little extra consideration being African-American gives you. If you aren’t, just remember that this could come back and bite you in ways you don’t foresee for many years to come.

@“N’s Mom” is totally right. Just because you are of a certain nationality doesn’t mean you are not different ethnically. I am white, but was born in mexico and have basque and spanish bloodlines which make me white with green eyes and a hispanic ethnicity.

Black means black. If you are then you should write it down, if you are no then you should not. Don’t write asian if you don’t need to as this may hurt your chances.

Goodluck!

As others have mentioned, being from Egyptian usually means white unless your dad is actually ethnically African.

Also, you probably already have your race in previous records such as test scores and high school transcripts. So any possible inconsistencies will be pretty obvious.

I think you should put both. That’s what you are.

It sounds like the OP’s father is a black man from Egypt, and his mother is from Japan, and the OP was born in the US and/or is a US citizen(?). If that is the case it would make him African American and Asian American. From what I have seen on these boards, it is much better to list yourself as African American, and that is what I would do.

yup I am labeled as African American everywhere.