<p>When people look at me they cannot tell for the life of them what ethnicity I am. I am dark skinned and dark haired, so I obviously come off as some type of minority - so that isn't the issue. </p>
<p>I'm mixed. I have a lot of things in me, so I'm not just "hispanic" or "asian". Most of my coloring is influenced by east Indian, but I don't know if that counts as a URM. </p>
<p>Should I lie and say I'm Hispanic? My grandmother was born and raised in Venezuela, so I was raised with a lot of South American culture. But at the same time, could I also say I'm Asian? Does South East Asian count? </p>
<p>Which race is most appealing to getting into top law schools? Can I spin it so I can be whatever race I want?</p>
<p>You cannot honestly put down Hispanic. You flirt with danger when falsifying information or knowingly deceiving adcoms and I would say just put Indian.</p>
<p>Is any school going to make you prove your ethnicity? No. But remember that the world is a small place. If someone blows you up, and tells that you have lied, then you will be screwed. Willful misrepresentation is and will be grounds for dismissal.</p>
<p>The URM issue will only give a slight boost anyway, right? Plus it’s not even going to be a “game-changer” if your gpa isn’t high enough, or if your lsat is high, but not gpa, still, it’s only considered a soft factor that won’t make your numbers or supplement them significantly with this added status, is that right?</p>
<p>If you choose to lie and say you are hispanic, based on the information you have supplied, you would still not be an underrepresented minority, Underrepresented Hispanics are Puerto Ricans and Mexicans.</p>
<p>@ #5
It can be significant. It can mean a 5-10 point “bonus” on the LSAT, and a 5-10 “bonus” is a big game changer. Stating that you are Asian (any, especially East Asian) on your law school application can only get points “subtracted” from your LSAT. If you are 100% Asian, it’s best not to state your race at all. Leave them to guess from your name.</p>
<p>So what races get bonus points when you put it down? Hispanic? If we put it down and lie how are they going to know anyway? Let’s help each other here. Is it safer to put Indian?</p>
<p>Some versions of the URM boost can be astronomical, typically estimated at something approximating 13 LSAT points.</p>
<p>Native American is the one race where objective evidence – typically tribal membership – is demanded. “Hispanic,” as a group, theoretically does not receive URM preference, which is reserved specifically for people with Mexican or Puerto Rican heritage. African Americans do receive preference as well.</p>
<p>If you wish to claim URM status, you will typically be expected to write a “diversity statement.” If you are not actually an underrepresented minority, writing a truthful diversity statement which qualifies you as a URM will be nearly impossible.</p>
<p>Bottom line: there’s a reason that almost nobody manufactures this.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do it…remember that they review your law school applications when you’re about to take the bar…if you’re not caught right away, you will be caught eventually.</p>
<p>So if you claim native-american you have to specify what tribe you’re from? Can you just put it without a tribe and that would be fine?
If that’s not going to work, then what would be the next best race to jot down? I mean, does putting Hispanic not garner points? Let’s help each other.</p>
<p>If your grandmother was born and raised in Venezuela, you can definitely say that you’re Hispanic. (Keep in mind that “Hispanic” describes an ethnic group, not a race.)</p>
<p>Simply putting checking the Hispanic box may provide a boost, but it won’t provide one nearly as large as that received by other URM groups.</p>
<p>So it’s okay to just put Hispanic and then you’re good to go - no other additional requirements or verifications, they (the adcoms) will just take your word for it?</p>
<p>Cheating to get into Law school…an inauspicious beginning to say the least…at some point you’ll be caught…is it worth blowing up everything you’ve worked for?</p>
<p>Firstly, how much of a boost do you get if you put down Hispanic on the admission form to law school?</p>
<p>Secondly, if at all that status provides a substantial boost (by how many lsat points up?), are you saying that come bar time, if they realized you wrote Hispanic for your URM, are they going to prevent you from taking the bar forever? In other words, everything went down the drain for one little harmless lie? Surely U.S. Politicians and Congressional members, litigators, and all sorts of other crazy people out there have done much worse things (and in their PRACTICE which should merit their dismissal, yet many times it doesn’t - for example, Watergate. What an embarrassing move for the president; are we to equate a harmless URM lie with the nature of this offense?) versus a stupid little supplemental boost that you put down on paper to increase your chances.</p>
<p>I could be wrong, but the fact that all these suspect politicians who initiate conniving movements for their own ill-gotten gains goes unheeded is what people should be concerned about. And yet many of them are still allowed to practice their professions. But when the dilemma about applying comes, the URM issue is equal in severity to actual offenses?</p>
<p>You have to take the bar exam first. If you pass it, you then apply for admission. As part of this, you will have some sort of background check and an interview with the character & fitness committee. That committee will decide if you have any ethical issues which will preclude your admission to the bar and /or which should delay it. </p>
<p>Any “blip” will delay the process. Many small and even some medium size firms as well as some other organizations only hire attorneys who have been admitted. So, a delay in getting admitted may cause you some problems getting hired. </p>
<p>What the committee does is up to the committee. Nobody can tell you about 4 years in advance what a C& F committee will do to someone who lies about being a URM. IMO, though, it’s silly to take the chance. The boost in admissions just isn’t worth the risk.</p>
<p>At the very least, the fact that you lied about being a URM is going to cause the C&F folks to go over everything else on your application with a fine tooth comb. If you lied about URM status, you might have lied about something else.</p>