<p>So we are both applying to this ivy league school and have WHITE south african parents
She put that she was "african american or black" on the commonapp. I did not. Its obviously bullS**t to do that if you are not black, and its making me go CRAZY know that she has a much better chance of getting in than me because she did that...Even though my scores are better for everything. Should I report her to the admissions office for lying??</p>
<p>How do you know this classmate did this?</p>
<p>Did they tell you? Did you see their application?</p>
<p>The word OR separates African American and black. Although it is an unfair stigma for people with origins in different African countries to be categorized as just African American, that’s how it works. Besides, a silly mistake like that won’t even make a difference in rejection/acceptance. Don’t be so vindictive.</p>
<p>She absolutely knows that she is not African American or Black but rather Afrikaans ethnicity. I hope she gets discovered – 100%.</p>
<p>It’s not silly mistake. It’s a lie</p>
<p>In normal cases, I would say that exposing her would be useless but honestly that is infuriating. Did she already submit her application?</p>
<p>I read this the was ZooeyKing does. The question is are you african american or black. You can answer “yes” if you are african american. You can answer this “yes” if you are black.</p>
<p>If this question appears on the common app then it is well thought out. I really don’t see any other way of interpreting it. I think your friend is in the clear.</p>
<p>If your friend is White and did not check the White or caucasian box, then I agree that by checking only the African American or Black box she is being coy at best, and lying at worst. If I were you, I would notify your high school counselor about it.</p>
<p>Are you kidding me? Her family is from South Africa. Hence, she is African American. Although South African’s aren’t indigenous to Africa, if there were a South African American box, she would mark it, but because there isn’t, she marks the next best thing.</p>
<p>Did you apply as domestic or international?</p>
<p>Next best thing is “white”.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/719965-am-i-african-american-everyone-has-different-opinion.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/719965-am-i-african-american-everyone-has-different-opinion.html</a>
Or
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/927219-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-8-a.html?highlight=Race+FAQ+south+African[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/927219-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-8-a.html?highlight=Race+FAQ+south+African</a></p>
<p>From post #9, and MANY like it…</p>
<p>"FAQ section on “Race”: Part 1, Persons from Africa
“I’m white but my ancestors are from South Africa. Can I put down that I am African American?”
"The answer to this question is always the same, by the United States federal definitions.</p>
<p><a href=“http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68176.htm[/url]”>http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68176.htm</a></p>
<p>"White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as ‘White’ or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.</p>
<p>“Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as ‘Black, African Am., or Negro,’ or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.”</p>
<p>Here’s a simple rule of thumb: if no one in South Africa would have called you “black” or “coloured,” especially during the days of apartheid,</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/apartheid/apartheid.html[/url]”>http://www.africanaencyclopedia.com/apartheid/apartheid.html</a></p>
<p>“you have no basis in America for calling yourself “African American,” the official synonym of which is “black.” A person who checks “Black or African American” is asserting that he or she has “origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.” Not all people who live on the continent of Africa have origins in a black racial group, and that is the official definition–you are only “African American” if you are black. If you call yourself white, and your friends do too, it doesn’t matter where your parents were born, or what countries they lived in. You also have the choice of not indicating any ethnicity or race at all. What a college does with what it sees on your form varies from college to college.”</p>
<p>I agree with ZooeyKing. Not this girl’s fault the question is poorly worded.</p>
<p>derfred specifically stated that the friend is a white South African, not a white person who lived in South Africa. White’s in South Africa have been there for centuries and by now they have assimilated into the culture so profoundly that they could and do consider themselves as South Africans, not Europeans. White South Africans (not whites who lived in South Africa) are part of that racial taboo. There’s no box that differentiates Somalian’s from Ethiopian, every country in Africa is just jumbled into this one category/quote called “African American”. Maybe if college apps gave as much distinction to African countries as they do to Asian ones (they list nearly EVERY single one), this wouldn’t be a problem. Although I do agree that a person who clearly is black and is African American should be given racial priority, ESPECIALLY when it comes to racially specific scholarships.</p>
<p>"every country in Africa is just jumbled into this one category/quote called “African American”. "</p>
<p>Not in the US. I think North Africa is considered the middle east.</p>
<p>“White’s in South Africa have been there for centuries and by now they have assimilated into the culture so profoundly that they could and do consider themselves as South Africans, not Europeans.”</p>
<p>Which culture? A “taboo one”? Clearly you are not saying south african culture is homogeneous.</p>
<p>“Maybe if college apps gave as much distinction to African countries as they do to Asian ones (they list nearly EVERY single one)”</p>
<p>Is that so? On the common app? I thought that was primarily California publics.</p>
<p>I remember on the SAT/ACT test, in the bubbling under Asian, there are specifics. However, none for African so it is certainly not just a California thing. But, on the common app, they don’t list such nationalities. Under African American on the common app it also says in parentheses that by checking African American or black it includes countries in Africa and the caribbean.</p>
<p>“Under African American on the common app it also says in parentheses that by checking African American or black it includes countries in Africa and the caribbean.”</p>
<p>The one I am looking at distinguishes black/African American (including Africa and Caribbean) from African.</p>
<p>“Which best describes your background?”
U.S. / African American
Africa
Caribbe</p>
<p>So that African American “best describes” South African in the US is a stretch for me. But whatever. </p>
<p>Moving on…</p>
<p>The girl who checked off the african american box is white. Shes just trying to cheat the system. Even if shes caught, she’ll just play the innocence card that she thought it was ok and all that bs. There’s not much you can do. If she gets into the school her acceptance might be because she checked that box. Point is, maybe you should talk to your counselor and ask which box you should check, and if your counselor says your constituted as white, then casually slip in there that this girl checked the “african american box,”, so is it alright for you to? Or you could just forget about it? Watever, this just goes to show that race shouldn’t be much of a factor in college admissions. Income and family situations should though.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is not true at all. There is a big difference between being considered a URM and not being considered one.</p>
<p>derfred, your classmate is probably aiming for law school, isn’t she?</p>
<p>Read the posts on this thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1037025-do-i-qualify-african-american.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1037025-do-i-qualify-african-american.html</a></p>
<p>Caucasian South Africans are not considered AA/Black.</p>
<p>UPDATE!
I decided to check the african american box and put other: White African American. I also put White: European, and white: other:African American</p>
<p>I fee that this is the best way to NOT CHEAT THE SYSTEM yet state who I am</p>