<p>Well, race , at its most basic level, refers to biological apperance. Ethinicity refers to sociological deliniations. Someone from North Africa, racially would most likely be Arab. Ethinically, they could be anything. </p>
<p>What that all means is that you define your ethnicity. Do you consider yourself an African-American, even though racially you are not one. If so, that indicate that. However, you don't get to be African-American one day, and Arab the next.</p>
<p>Be honest though...you don't want to get to campus after winning a huge merit scholarship marked for african-american students, only for the school to find that you are not african-american in either a racial way or an ethnic way.</p>
<p>If you have a copy of their e-mail saying your should call yourself "African-American," make sure you keep it. If not, e-mail them again, and keep the answer if it is again in the affirmative. My guess is that whomever responded did not know what they were talking about, but if you follow their advice-- and keep the documentation showing their advice -- you'll be OK.</p>
<p>i used to check "african american" on act and sat crap, but for college apps, i chose "other" AND "caucasian." my father is from egypt, my mother from america, and i am a citizen of both countries...i dont know if that helps or not. lol</p>
<p>african american doesnt mean an african who lives in america, its a euphemism for black, just a more pc term. so, while someone from algeria is certainly african, they are white africans, and definitely not african americans. be proud of who you are, and dont exploit a system made to try to right past justices for your own personal gain. thats called unethical.</p>
<p>Mozambique-born Teresa Heinz-Kerry called herself an African-American, didn't she? That looked pretty ridiculous, but heck, if it worked for her.....</p>
<p>Sure, you should be able to put it in. I only suggested that you keep the e-mail because I am fairly sure that whomever responded to your e-mail was wrong. I can't imagine that the college doesn't use the US census guidelines when deciding who's African American. I would bet that those are the standards that the college must use when reporting to the federal government the race of its students. </p>
<p>I would bet that whomever responded to you did not read carefully what you wrote and therefore gave you the wrong answer. Your keeping a copy of the e-mail would prevent the college from taking action against you for falsifying your data if it later dawns on the college officials that you actually do not meet the US standards for being African American. An example would be if they award you a scholarship designated for African American students, and then later see you and realize that you aren't African American.</p>
<p>African-American means you're from Africa. It doesn't mean your skin is black. You are certainly African-American, so put it on your applications. It doesn't matter if you're involved in the culture or not, it's about your race.</p>
<p>I don't see what is so "immoral" about this.</p>
<p>that's why I do not respect and am willing to cheat it. what kind of cave men think a certain group is at a academic disadvantage because of their skin color... it is because of their income! and not all Spanish and black people are at a lower income, we are not in the 1960's anymore.</p>
<p>did you know on such tests as hspa's they consider Asians have to get a higher grade, than whites, than Hispanic, and than black. I think from now on we should all put "African/black" and see what the school system does... it is ridiculous that we are in 2005 and race still matters to your academics.</p>
<p>number12,
I did an Internet search on the person from UGA who responded to your e-mail about your race. As I had guessed, the person is not an adcom. The person is simply an undergraduate working on a journalism degree. It's clear to me that he may be well meaning, but he really doesn't understand your question, and the advice that he gave is wrong.</p>
<p>My strong suggestion is to call or e-mail the director of admissions and ask that person whether an Egyptian is considered "African American" by UGA's policies.</p>
<p>I think a good rule of thumb is that if you have to ask then you probably shouldn't. It is amazing how many people post questions similar to this every year, and usually you can tell that they know what they should put but they want people to tell them that they are "right" to do the wrong thing.</p>
<p>Caucasian refers to people whose ethnicity originates from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Asian refers to those whose ethnicity originates from Asia
African American refers to those whose ethnicity originates from Africa(usually Sub-Saharan Africa, though that's debatable).</p>
<p>Usually these categories mean that you have those physical features that characterize these groups. Usually there are other groups, such as Pacific Islander, Afro- Carribbean, South Asian, etc. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, certain people have various problems choosing a group. Your best bet is to contact the school directly. Also, remember that you don't only have to choose one category.</p>
<p>I really agree with demingy. Another good thing is when taking state tests (profiencies, etc), or when you identified yourself for standarized tests, or anything where you identified your race, what did you say?</p>
<p>I really hate to come down on people, but I have to agree with the majority here. In fact, I think you might have even answered your own question in this thread. Don't do it...</p>
<p>I agree email or call the adcoms if you think you might be able to put it down. You don't want to win some minority scholarship, or be recruited for a minority weekend, or something along similar lines, and have them thinking you're something that you're not</p>