URGENT! Regarding Race/Ethnicity!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
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<p>Hey all!</p>

<p>First of all, I just discovered this site, and it’s AWESOME! Perfect way for me to feed my unhealthy obsession with college. And sorry if this is not in the right place to be posting this, but anyways…</p>

<p>For all of my AP’s, SAT’s, ACT’s, State Tests, School Transcripts, etc., I am listed as Asian (I’m Chinese). However, I am also Mongolian, Hawaiian and Samoan by blood (my mom’s family is…ridiculous, and my dad is also a little Mongolian). Despite that, my entire extended family is based in China and are a part of the Chinese culture (in other words, my mom was born and raised in China, but is Hawaiian, Samoan and Mongolian). </p>

<p>That being said, although my mom and I have identified ourselves as “Chinese” (hence checking off “Asian” in my forms, tests etc.), I am wondering if I can say on my CommonApp that I’m Samoan, Mongolian and Hawaiian as well. It’s very confusing and ambiguous.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, my “culture” is China, but I do identify with my other cultures to a certain extent (like my grandma telling me stories about Mongolian culture).</p>

<p>So some background: 75% Chinese, 25% Mongolian + Samoan (I’m more mongolian than samoan, but nobody has any idea of the proportion). I’ve also not written about any other culture than my Chinese culture, since…that’s the culture I MOST identify with.</p>

<p>So out of all of this. Do I check “Samoan” and so on, on the CommonApp? I feel like if I do, colleges might check my tests and transcripts and be like “well you never put Pacific Islander here…”, but I didn’t realize that it was a big deal. Also, out of curiosity, am I a “URM”?</p>

<p>Thanks so much!
That’s quite a post, looking back on it. So if you could give me your two cents and how you know/your source of reference, that would be AMAZING.</p>

<p>you ROCK!</p>

<p>(this was also posted in Harvard, if you’re curious as to what people said over there…)</p>

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<p>I would say maybe post this in a different area, but I would absolutely say you can put that on your application. If you are Samoan and whatnot by blood, no reason you can use for a boost. If you identify with pacific islander I think that’s definitely a URM boost. I wouldn’t bank too much on the Chinese thing, because that’s a bit of an ORM.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Check off whatever box you want, as long as you are being honest.</p>

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<p>The adcoms can usually tell by your name what your race is usually. If your name is Chinese, then don’t put Samoan. Also no one cares what you “identify” as. I like rap music, does that mean I’m African-American? I like to eat coconuts, does that mean I identify with the culture of Fiji? </p>

<p>It seems to me that you’re trying to game the system. Now, if you’re actually FROM Samoa, that’s a different story. If you were born in Samoa, and then moved to the United States and achieved a green card and citizenship (which basically makes you a domestic and NOT international candidate) then I think you would get a boost.</p>

<p>I am very sorry to say…but you’re Chinese. BTW I discovered two years ago while doing my common app for freshmen admissions that my grandfather was born in Sudan before moving back to Karachi. (His father was a big time Mullah, and Karachi before the partition was still considered India.) So technically, you could say that makes me part African-American? Yeah right…</p>

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<p>If huatut feels that he identifies with Samoan culture, then he should indicate that. Liking rap music is very different than having ancestors who are from Samoa. As I said, he should check whatever box he feels comfortable checking – you can check more than one, can’t you?</p>