The REAL REASON there is an African American and Hispanic forum. URM.

Applying to College
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In the ‘Specialty College Admissions Topics’ section there is a thread for Athletic forum, a Veterans forum, and then…
an African-American students forum, and a Hispanic Students forum.

I am not trying to cause hate in the CC community or get anybody angry, but why is there even an African-American students section and a Hispanic Students section thingy? Wouldn’t it be fair to have a section for Native American Students and Asian American students too?

Okay now to get to what I was kind of alluding to… all of the time people will say something like “race doesnt affect admissions” or something like, “that dude probably got in because hes black”

I havent been part of CC for that long, but I have seen enough threads lean towards the side that race does affect admissions. Why else would people say “Hispanic female” or “African American applying to…” or state that they have a hook of being a URM.

The fact that College Confidential has sections for African American students and Hispanic Students also leads me to believe that URM is a very veryyy big deal.

Being African American or hispanic is really one (not the best) of the best hooks in the college admissions process, so they have their respective threads for them. The best racial hooks are either being Native American or Pacific Islander. Some would probably say that CC doesnt believe in the URM benefit (I’ve seen very respected members of the CC community defend this position so many times), and they might say, “well there isnt a Native American section or a Pacific Islander section, statistically the least represented minorities in college admissions, so your inquiry is flawed.” Well that may be true, there are BARELY ANY Native American or Pacific Islander CC members.

The CDC.gov reports that the African American population in America is 14.2%, Hispanic Americans make up 17%, and well, Asians make up 4.8% of the entire US population - wow.

URM? Economic disparity and social differences? I am Asian and know other Asians that have grown up poor with barely any rent money. I have also seen poor hispanic and black people (and very very rich ones too of course cause this is America!) — the difference really? The hispanic and black person would be treated with URM benefits while the Asian, the smaller minority in America is treated without those same benefits.

I understand people may believe that African Americans have gone through a lot over history (slavery and discrimination), but are they alone on this? Native Americans were nearly wiped out by the US yes, and Pacific Islanders have also barely any footing in the US population pool. Hispanics AND Asians had an equal share of discrimination in American history.

CC doesnt have an Asian American forum, for the same reason that there is not a Native American or Pacific Islander thread- because it wouldnt be worth having in on CC.

Asians dont benefit from URM status, so why not just throw them in with the rest of the pack?

In the end, College Confidential has the African American and Hispanic student thread because it knows how much those “minorities” benefit from their positions in college applications.

College Confidential should at least try to make it not as obvious by also creating an Asian-American thread. Share the love yo.

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I think the reason why their is a section for hispanics, is because many have asked for it. Since Latinos have become a larger population that wants a voice, they felt the need to want their own section.

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It does annoy me a bit that Asians aren’t considered a URM. They are even considered an ORM in some cases, which I think is awful. There are a few schools (I think CalTech is one of them?) that don’t have a racial quota to meet, so they take students that fit the criteria. The whole URM status applies to prep schools as well, but I’ve noticed that prep schools are taking in a lot of Asians now, just because they have the highest stats. I’m half Asian and half Caucasian so I don’t know how much it will affect me later on…

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@SamuelMedrano‌ haha i should ask for an asian thread lol
@goldenfygg‌ good luck friend…

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I feel like this topic has basically been done to death, hasn’t it? There’s a Race in Admissions thread for a reason. You can ask for an Asian sub-category without bringing in how oh-so-lucky African Americans and Hispanics are for their ‘hook’ - which I think you’re probably overestimating, anyway.

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@irlandaise‌ LOL I DIDNT EVEN SEE THAT THREAD

omg wow now i feel weird

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I think your premise is off. There are African American and Hispanic forums because there are enough African American/Hispanic-specific threads that admins/users thought they needed a forum specifically for them. The forums are structured out of practicality, not to reflect some kind of ultimate truth about college admissions.

You could ask in the website feedback forum for Asian-American/Native-American/Pacific-Islanders forums. It’s entirely possible your request could be granted.

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It’s not any secret that race does affect admissions. The majority of colleges practice “affirmative action,” where race is taken into account and people that are considered underrepresented are admitted at higher rates. From what I understand, hispanic and African American are considered URM because they tend to apply and graduate from college at disproportionately low rates while Asians are considered an ORM at some schools because they tend to apply to and graduate from college at disproportionately high rates. So in other words, it’s not the percentage of the total US population but the percentage going to college that makes hispanic and African Americans URMs.

Not saying this is right or wrong- just trying to clarify. I agree with you, there should be forums for other minorities as well.

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Much I could say about this. But yes, black people are alone on this.The only ones to be enslaved and the only ones excluded under Jim Crow.

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Okay so my best friend is half Hispanic and half African American and has done fairly well in school, is that like the jackpot?

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Actually, a significant number of schools no longer consider race or ethnicity in admissions (e.g. Florida and California public schools). For those that do, the impact now is probably smaller than what most people (i.e. including both the URM applicants and those who resent such preferences in admissions) believe they are.

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@turnuptuesday‌ oh snap that sounds good lol

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Race used to be a big deal in college admissions when barely and black or Hispanic people applied to or graduated from college; now, it’s not as big a deal as people on this site make it to be.

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URMs have to overcome discrimination and negative stereotypes. Also, universities want diversity. That is why URM is a hook.

Asians are not a URM because being Asian is usually not a disadvantage.

There are certainly Asians who live in poverty. These poor Asians have a higher chance for top schools than richer students (even richer URM students) with similar stats. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/poor-california-teen-harvard_n_3397471.html

There is no forum for Native Americans because there are too few Native Americans, and such a forum would probably have close to zero activity.

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“In the end, College Confidential has the African American and Hispanic student thread because it knows how much those “minorities” benefit from their positions in college applications.”

This is silly. Forums exist because certain posts or posters have questions or experiences in common. Does the existence of a transfer student forum mean that those students are somehow overly advantaged in the admissions process as well? What about the community college forum, the international students forum, or the learning differences forum? These forums were created by CC to highlight admission advantages?

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“I am not trying to cause hate in the CC community or get anybody angry, but why is there even an African-American students section and a Hispanic Students section thingy? Wouldn’t it be fair to have a section for Native American Students and Asian American students too?”

It’s not about fair it’s about necessity, a high portion of the posters are White or Asian American (Because both races have a high percentage of kids going on to college, and being high achievers). So they don’t require specialty answers to their question, or a need to talk to someone of a specific race. As you know, cultural issues/differences make a huge difference in picking a college. Hey! There are tons of threads with people talking about having “Typical Asian Parents”. African Americans have their own collegiate concerns. For example: Do I attend a HBCU or PWI.

"Okay now to get to what I was kind of alluding to… all of the time people will say something like “race doesnt affect admissions” or something like, “that dude probably got in because hes black”

I havent been part of CC for that long, but I have seen enough threads lean towards the side that race does affect admissions. Why else would people say “Hispanic female” or “African American applying to…” or state that they have a hook of being a URM.

The fact that College Confidential has sections for African American students and Hispanic Students also leads me to believe that URM is a very veryyy big deal."

It’s not a “veryyy” big deal. Nobody is denying that it is a benefit, but it is not so significant to where a black with an 1800 SAT has an equal shot as an ORM with a 2200. There’s no way to measure how important it is, but posters like you seem to overestimate its importance with no factual basis that helps what you’re saying. It’s better to err on the side of caution then act like being black is a golden ticket that gets me or anyone else into Harvard. And honestly, it’s a little annoying when posters like you act like it is when you have no idea what degree of effect it has.

“I understand people may believe that African Americans have gone through a lot over history (slavery and discrimination), but are they alone on this? Native Americans were nearly wiped out by the US yes, and Pacific Islanders have also barely any footing in the US population pool. Hispanics AND Asians had an equal share of discrimination in American history.”

**
First of Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans are all considered URMs, and papered NA’s get their own benefits so almost the entirety of that point is moot.

No. Blacks suffer from institutionalized racism and societal perceptions that exist to this day, this includes getting 20% higher jail times for the same crimes that whites commit, racial profiling, and a multitude of issues that I’m not going to go into because that’s not really the purpose of this thread. Racism is not something that ended 100 years ago, and the reason blacks get affirmative action today is not based on “slavery”. If you don’t understand this, you’re already misinterpreting why colleges like diversity or allow Affirmative Action. Honestly, that doesn’t even make logical sense. This is about the status quo. And there’s no such thing as zero-sum racism…races don’t get equal levels discrimination, they get undefinable levels of discrimination.**

“CC doesnt have an Asian American forum, for the same reason that there is not a Native American or Pacific Islander thread- because it wouldnt be worth having in on CC.”

**Once again, most of the people on College Confidential are either White or Asian Americans because they make up the majority of high achieving students. There’s no point in creating a college forum for the majority, because they can simply use the entire forum and have no concerns about college that are specific about race (except making these threads once in a while to complain about race). **

“In the end, College Confidential has the African American and Hispanic student thread because it knows how much those “minorities” benefit from their positions in college applications.”

** Do tell me, exactly how much that is? These subforums exist because different societal experiences mean black people may be looking for specific things in colleges (level of diversity, HBCUs, African American Greek System, Scholarship Assistance, racial acceptance, etc.). It’s not existent so they can talk about Affirmative Action and pat each other on the back. If you look at the Black subforum, they aren’t talking about how much affirmative action they’ll get…**

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The OP has complained about preferential treatment for URMs on other threads. He is indeed trying to stir the pot on this issue.

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LOL: this reminds me of the old trope “Why do they need the ‘Black Entertainment Television’ network? What makes them so special?”

HInt for you: anytime anyone sees “THE REAL REASON” it’s akin to someone saying to you: “I’m only being honest” as a pre-cursor to say something rude or insulting…

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Any further discussion can take place in the Race in Admissions thread. Closing this one.