<p>I was just wondering, what counted as an under-represented minority and whether they distinguish between different ethnic groups. I am an Asian-American, but I am also specifically Thai. Like many other South-east Asians, they are not well represented in universities and other academic institutions like other Asians, such as Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Indians, etc.</p>
<p>I am interested in going for an engineering major, and I was wondering if they distinguished between different Asian Americans, because I'm afraid of being lumped in as "an Asian good at math".</p>
<p>Yes, they can differentiate among Asian cultures. But, it still depends on how many other Thai-American kids apply and what makes you unique. That can be your particular ties to your culture, your parents’ education and successes, the academic challenges you have taken on and your XC’s, etc. Btw, for STEM, “Asian good at math” is pretty simplistic. You distiguish yourself by the level of your activities and challenges- projects, research, etc. And, other non-STEM activities with purpose.</p>
<p>It will also depend on the school. The highly selective colleges will get lots of high achieving students of all ethnicities and races. Some of the rural LACs tend to have a more difficult time recruiting and retaining minorities and so tend to broaden their definition of URM.</p>