You’re moral failing is calling me just another rich white kid. I appreciate that you responded to my initial question, but you really just said that?
@“aunt bea” I see your point, but wouldn’t I just be compared to other Latinos applying instead of the whole pool? If that’s the case don’t I have an advantage?
For the record, the universities are getting large numbers of students who claim to be hispanic (as per a friend of mine who is an adcom).
As a person who doesn’t have a “hispanic-sounding” last name, and whose high school transcript and counseling stat sheet won’t show a “hispanic” history (you know those federal survey forms the schools fill out?), claiming to be latina now, will not give you any real advantage in admissions unless you apply to a school that needs diversity (in the middle of nowhere).
How you feel comfortable doing this, really, is sad, and tells me that even you know that you are not capable of getting into a school on your own record. So when you see some latino kid, working at a laborious minimum wage job, as a rich, white kid can you honestly feel equal?
My kids are Mexican-American and Native-American and we don’t have a “chicano” last name, but MY professional last name is very "bilingual’, and it has been on all of their apps; plus my kids do “look” somewhat latino-brown. They intentionally applied to schools that didn’t use affirmative action because they all told me that they wanted to get in because of their work, “not some excuse”.
Mark your hispanic check box; duérmete bien.
Karma
I’m not using Hispanic as being an excuse; I’m 25% which fits the definition. I’m perfectly content going to schools like Maryland and Wisconsin. The reason I posted this thread is I wanted to know if being Latino helps me getting into some reach schools.
Again, the question is not “Do you feel Hispanic”, or “Do you feel like you’ll improve our diversity”, or any question that asks the student about how that person feels.
The question is … about where the student’s family was born.
I would even ask… is it honest to respond ‘no’ in this case?
Would a ‘no’ response be dishonest, knowing how to correctly answer the question?
Would it be… fraudulent?
No, I’m saying that being white and Hispanic or Hispanic with no race probably will not give you any advantage. If you omit your race, colleges may just assume that you are white.
There are really two big takeaways that you need to consider:
1/ Colleges, where allowed by law (e.g. not California public colleges) can make their own determination as to what race/ethnicity may get a boost. One such definition is:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Medicine/diversity/urm_definition.html
2/ While you can certainly check of the Hispanic box, I’d question the wisdom of the first time doing it being on your college application if every other piece of paper that a college could potentially gets its hand on says you are non-Hispanic. AO’s may raise an eyebrow at your claim, or they may not, but do you really want to take that chance?
@skieurope … I’m sure that the OP is not the only person ever to learn about their heritage in a way that motivates them to reconsider ethnicity with respect to college admission.
I am asking not just because your posting suggests that AOs will suspect fraud that does not exist, but because I have no first-hand information… Do you have any first-hand information or knowledge of an AO suspecting fraud? Or is this what your imagination suggests.
I strongly feel that if the raised eyebrow of the AO exists in your imagination, and not in your experience, that the OP should contact the admissions office at any potential school, explain the situation, and ask for advice. Otherwise, the OP might miss an opportunity that is genuine, ethical and valuable.
Also, the definition of underrepresented minority that you posted is one of the most narrow definitions that I have read so far. The OP should be aware of this, and use the definition of ‘Hispanic’ that is used for the context of the application that asks the question … usually much more broad.
P.S. I hope the OP checks ‘Hispanic’ for the PSAT… the NHRP designation is correctly given to the OP if her scores meet the criteria!
@skieurope how does it not help? Colleges everywhere want diversity. If I’m applying to a reach school wouldn’t that be a potential factor to help me?
@ElMimino contacting admissions would be a good idea. I’m a senior so I took the PSAT and I checked off white, I didn’t think it mattered at the time.
It was not my intent to imply that they would. OP can certainly with a clear conscience mark Hispanic, but my opinion, and since none of us works in an admissions office, opinions are all that can be given, is that doing so will have no benefit in the application process.
No. Reach schools can put together a class of 100% Hispanics is they so desired. You need something else (or at least, in addition) to set you apart.
@obligatoryname … you can retroactively change this information on your PSAT… google NHRP on CC.
And…“doing so will have no benefit”? … doing so MAY lead to NHRP… NHRP scholarship is more than ‘no benefit’.
I’m surprised, and a little unsettled by the advice to not answer the question correctly, honestly, and in your best interest. I have great respect for, but a profound difference of opinion with our Super Moderator.
@skieurope I’m sure they could put together a class of 100% Hispanics if they wanted. But, could they put together a class of 100% Hispanics that go to a top 20 High School in the country, and have a competitive GPA according to Naviance? For example, two reaches I might apply to are University of Richmond and Emory. They’re two schools that have affirmative action. Emory is definitely more of a reach than Richmond, but how does it not help at all considering the extremely rigorous school I go to? Also, do you think applying ED would increase the benefit of being Latino since there is a smaller pool of applicants?
@ElMimino I agree with you, but I want to apply to all of my schools within 2-3 weeks, so I don’t know if it would be done in time. However, it’s worth a shot, can you send me the link to that?
Look for ** Self-Nomination Instructions **
** NHRP’s Definition of Hispanic/Latino **
To be eligible, you must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnic category, not a racial category, so you can be of any race.
You must have ancestors from at least one of these countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, or Venezuela.
@“Don Quixote” I would highly advise you not to do this! I was at Dartmouth Bound this past year, and we were told that yes, they do look for consistency in Race on the ACT/SAT, transcripts and self reports and that yes, it could negatively impact your admissions decision! Also, any information found to be fraudulent will be shared with what they called their “peer institutions”.I’m pretty sure that means other Ivies and top schools. Totally not worth it, especially not when you compare it to the number of Hispanic applicants that are denied regularly. If you take a gander through rejection threads you will find that most of them were higher income, which leads me to believe that it is more than just Hispanic URM, it is also related to low income advantage!
@DonQixote, @cowtownbrown has a very valuable perspective.
First and foremost, never lie.
Second, even if you tell the truth, you may be perceived as ‘gaming the system’.
@cowtownbrown Colleges don’t see race on the SAT/ACT, but yes they do look for consistency. And if anyone on this thread would chance me that would be great since I’m the OP.
My 3 favorite schools are 1. Wisconsin 2. Maryland 3. Tulane
I go to an extremely vigorous high school, top 15 in the country.
Ethinicy: Latino
GPA: 3.45/4
SAT: 1890 Math: 650, Writing: 650, CR: 590
14 combined honors and AP classes throughout 4 years
Also important to note that for Wisco and UMD I’m out of state and can pay full tuition while helping diversity, how are my chances?
Just tick the hispanic & white boxes already and quit deluding yourself w the fantasy that u are “adding diversity”. It’s really offensive.
Lol, I am adding diversity I’m latino.
I have had this discussion with administrators, and my take-away is the following:
Developmentally, most students do not start to look at the forces that formed them until they are a bit older- often ethnic clubs in high school are sparsely attended and it is often Juniors and Seniors in college who are attending these clubs, starting to wonder about “nature and nurture”, and what forces came together to form “me”.
A sense of cultural identity often forms later.
For kids who have a certain background, but do not appear to have the background, this can cause conflict. The parents and grandparents are culturally attuned to that brief time in Colombia? Likely the child is also affected. Much of South America consists of European emigrants fleeing something.
Here is what @obligatoryname could do: Reflect on his relationship vis-a-vis his heritage. How does being Latino affect him? Has he felt pressure to hide that aspect of his identity? How does it feel when he is in a group and they make bigoted remarks about hispanics? What if he does not fit into a forced stereotype caricature the WE ALL feel he should fit into? Does that invalidate his own identity?
This reflection will help @obligatoryname decide how to address this in his applications; more importantly, it will start him down the road of knowing himself and becoming comfortable with his identity.
The shortcut is to “check the box”, but taking time to inquire and reflect will increase your maturity and be a step in confronting your own identity, your feelings about it, and may change and deepen your relationship with your relatives.
I encourage you to really reflect on your relationship with your ancestry; and then check the box without hesitation!