I was talking to one of my friends of mixed descent (half white half African), on his college app put she down AA instead of black and white. I from Middle eastern (middle eastern is considered white) and African american descent check both boxes (AA and white). I was wondering what would the benefits of putting down AA only instead of putting down both, and would putting down White and African still grant you Affirmative action. Not that I’m going to change what I put, it just something I was thinking about.
Perhaps your friend put down African-American only - not to leverage any chances of advantage in admissions, but because as he walks through life, that is the identity which feels closest to home.
When you ask, “…would putting down White and African,” are you speaking of what may be possible for you, or for your friend? (You state your friend is part African, and you are part African-American.)
If you are a citizen of the States, particularly if you were born here, then I see no reason that any and all considerations made for the African-American student would not be made for you.
That perhaps may be the case, but she considers herself to be mixed either way it doesn’t matter. I speaking in reference to me. So would putting down AA and White put me at a disadvantage in admissions (if so, what significance) in comparison to my friend who only put African American, not that it necessarily matters I’m just wondering. Thanks for any replies.
No, it doesn’t. They will view race in context of your parental education status, your SES, etc, more that they will judge your racial mixture.
Short answer? No.
Keep in mind that not all colleges consider race in admissions.
@skueurope Yes, that is something I am aware of the only reason I was wondering was because I read in this Princeton study from 2005 that AAs gained immense bonuses in their application “Being African American instead of white is worth an average of 230 additional SAT points on a 1600-point scale, but recruited athletes reap an advantage equivalent to 200 SAT points. Other things equal, Hispanic applicants gain the equivalent of 185 points, which is only slightly more than the legacy advantage, which is worth 160 points. Coming from an Asian background, however, is comparable to the loss of 50 SAT points.” Thoughts?
Ticking the box at all with have the same impact whether you tick any others or not. That is the answer. You don’t have to be “only AA” to be AA.
@HRSMom Thank you for the clarification. But if that is the case why do college have separate categories for AA and people from “Two or more races”. Thanks again.
Nobody other than an AO at the particular college can say for certain (and they will not), but IMO, for a college that does give a bump to URM, AA has the same advantage as mixed-AA. @Jimbobjim
So I agree with @HRSMom above.
Those categories are US census categories. No other reason.
Thanks for the responses guys, you’ve answered my question. Hope you have a good day!
In my opinion it would help to put AA rather than white and AA. I know someone who is half Cuban and half white. She made sure admissions viewed her as a Latina. She is currently attending a top school that I don’t think she would have gotten into otherwise, based on her stats. Her sister got a Hispanic Scholars award and full-tuition at another school. Both girls would be described at white if you saw them. It was a smart move focusing on their URM status and it paid off for them.
If you’ve seen “this Princeton study from 2005,” why not also read what the author had to say about it? They didn’t look at apps. He says not to assume based on it.
I also agree with HRSMom.
Someone half Cuban can still check mixed. We don’t know how adcoms saw her actual app. Even the Hispanic Scholars qualifier is: at least one quarter Hispanic/Latino.Not 100%.
Getting a bit off topic, but Cuban is not a race, but an ethnicity. Many Caribbean Latin@s are mixed race.
The girl mentioned above has an Hispanic last name, as her dad is Cuban. Her parents are close friends of ours and shared that she marked down Hispanic on the apps, not mixed. I guess people have the right to identify themselves however they want.