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<p>AfricanAmerican- GermanAmerican- IrishAmerican, etc, is also a matter of nationality.<<</p>
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<p>African American is a nationality? When did Africa become a nation? I know that Berlin is the capital of Germany, and Dublin is the capital of Ireland, but I can't recall the capital of Africa.</p>
<p>Look, for college admissions and Afirmative Action purposes, the term "African American" is not a question of geography. It's a question of race. It means black. Any white guy who calls himself an African American on a college or scholarship application based on some technicality of geography or citizenship is an impostor. Plain and simple.</p>
<p>Until colleges explicitly start using the term "black," I would check African American. You are African American, and to entangle yourself into connotations would lead to ideas such as:</p>
<p>A Black African American, who has not culturally associated with our image of black culture should not put down African American.</p>
<p>A caucasian American who has interacted with the African American culture his whole life should be allowed to put down African American.</p>
<p>I would say you should go explicitly by the rules and not worry about what others say. Colleges cannot justifiably take legal action against you for checking off African American (they have not indicated that African Americans must be black--and the census does not define race in terms of college admissions), and morally, you have no reason to be ashamed.</p>
<p>I think you would be foolish not to put African American. Unless you have put caucasian your whole life. Then you would be being decietful because you're doing it ONLY for money. Technically you are both African American and Caucasian (maybe not white though.)</p>
<p>Look, I'm from Ghana, I'm not African American but guess what? I get all the benefits african americans do even though me and them have very little in common culturally. Do I like the fact that it helps me financially? Yes. Do I care what other people think about my using a program designed for people of my race but of different cultural backgrounds? Not at all.</p>
<p>Coureur has demonstrated what I mean about confusion of definitions. An Irish American, or an African American is an American(nationality) whose ancestors were from Ireland or Africa. The nationality is American, regardless of how many world capitals Coureur knows.
He is also right that African American is a politically correct term, and that it is often used when referring to the black(race). They are interchanged so often, it's easy to get them confused. Let us remember what politically correct really means- it basically means choosing to use the right word or phrase in accord with the current mood of society at this time in order not to hurt feelings. Silly examples come to mind to show the point- like vertically challenged for short, and follically challenged for bald. While some may choose to use AA when they mean black, that doesn't change the real meaning.
If your ancestors are from Africa, you could call yourself an AA, but as with any info on an app, be prepared to document it!.</p>
<p>The U.S. Census and many college applications define "white" as "people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people... who wrote in entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish."</p>
<p>There was a two year lapse in this thread! But it makes me think again of how unfair admission and scholarship awards are. I know it has been covered many times, but nothing ever changes. If you look a certain way or if you are from the right place, you get a leg up. If not, you have a long row to hoe. It's no wonder that so many students wonder if they can check the helpful minority box!</p>
<p>I look at it this way, ThoughtProvoking. Nobody helped my grandparents out when they came to this country. Nobody cut my parents any breaks as first generation college students. My own generation got no help. And we fully expected our kids to get no assistance. I can't tell you how many merit scholarships have the requirement of gpa PLUS minority, or gpa PLUS poverty. I think you sould just figure that you are on your own and do the best you can. You can't change who you are, no matter what box you check!</p>
<p>PS - I can tell you that there is a certain amount of pride in accomplishing things without any breaks to make it easier for you. Nobody can ever diminish what you have achieved.</p>