<p>So I'm especially nervous about applying to colleges because I'm the typical "unhooked white girl." However, I am half-Italian and an Italian citizen. Should I mention anything about my Italian heritage in my essays? It has definitely impacted my life/values/etc, so I don't think it would be difficult to write about it and make it meaningful. I'm just wondering if it will help me seem like less of an over-represented majority applicant.</p>
<p>As a white girl with strong Italian/Sicilian roots, I find this really funny. </p>
<p>I don’t know that discussing your heritage will be a hook, but if you write well, it can be a really good talking point (esp. if you have dual citizenship). Everyone has different things that affect their lives, from cultural backgrounds to minor hobbies, and any of these things can help distinguish an otherwise bland applicant as unique. </p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>
<p>From the research I’ve done and advice I’ve received, the consensus seems to be that the college cares about knowing who you are and how you came to be. Even if your cultural background doesn’t make you a minority, it definitely should have had an effect on your identity - so be proud of it and articulate how! As an Indian male I’m struggling with this too, and it can lead to chances for humor.</p>
<p>I’m an Indian female and I want to write about how I’m considered an “outsider” to my peers and an “outsider” to my relatives in India (even though I was born there).</p>
<p>I was actually considering a similar theme. How I don’t consider myself completely Italian since I speak minimal Italian and haven’t lived there, but I don’t consider myself solely American since I have extra cultural baggage (that’s not the best way to phrase it, but I think you know what mean).</p>
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This should be a clue that a number of other white applicants will also be trying to distinguish themselves by writing about how mixed-white or mixed-culture they are, so it probably will not help you stand out from the crowd or not as much as you had hoped.</p>
<p>FWIW: On the Common Application there are check boxes for . . </p>
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</p>
<p>So while you can check the “white” box and then check “other” and list your heritage, most colleges admit more white students than African American, Asian, Indian, Hispanic, Native American or Hawaiian students. So, I think writing about a meaningful experience is going to be better than writing about your heritage, as many ethnic students will also be writing about their cultural heritage and your essay – rightly or wrongly – is going to be compared to someone with an experience like Lyle Li (essay #4) : <a href=“Visions of College, Colored by Money - NYTimes.com”>Visions of College, Colored by Money - NYTimes.com;
<p>@gibby Actually, when I was saying that I was considering a similar theme, it was in reference to the applicant who wanted to write about being Indian, not a white applicant. And I think I do have a pretty strong cultural link seeing as I am a citizen of Italy. I wasn’t going to write about it as my common app essay, but rather write some of my supplemental essays on it. </p>
<p>^^ Got it. IMHO, it’s more appropriate for an Indian student to write about their cultural heritage than an unhooked white girl. </p>
<p>@gibby Why would that be? I’m an Italian citizen and the majority of my family is still in Italy. I have been raised surrounded by Italian culture. I have very close ties to Italy; I’m not reaching back generations to find a cultural tie. It’s also one of the reasons I’m studying Italian and studying in Italy next year. Why would being white mean that my cultural background is any less meaningful or significant than anyone else’s?</p>
<p>^^ Because living in New York City I know many half-Italian’s with family still in Italy, but none would describe themselves as
When you wrote that you sounded kind of desperate . . . like you were a white girl from Iowa grabbing for straws.</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>@gibby Not grabbing straws. I’m an Italian citizen. I’ve got a pretty strong Italian background. But I’m worried since I’m applying to schools who have plenty of white, female applicants who have stellar test scores and I’m not kidding myself. And I’m from Oklahoma, nice try. I haven’t grown up in a community that has as many Italians as NYC (and Italians in NYC are much different than Italians here, so I don’t think that’s a fair comparison),so I don’t really play it up when I’m not around my family, as it sets me apart. I’m not grabbing at any straws here. Legally, I’m just as Italian as I am American.</p>
<p>And I think on the Common App, I’d check “Europe” rather than “Other” to describe my white background, since Italy is in Europe</p>
<p>I think that could be a pretty good essay. I do think that personal cultural influences are interesting to admissions officers, especially when you develop them as you are. I guess gibby is tired of seeing all the ‘poor me unhooked white girl’ comments popping up lately, as am I.</p>
<p>Would it be better to do it as a Common App essay or a supplemental essay?</p>
<p>I was going to use it for a supplemental essay. I already have an idea for a Common Ap essay that I think shows a lot more about me. I was considering writing about being an Italian in Oklahoma for the Brown essay about where you have lived and for how long.</p>