<p>(I posted this in the College Admissions forum but I realize it will probably not get a read there in the slightest, lol)</p>
<p>I was just discussing this with my family, and they seem to be under the impression that putting down Arab as my ethnicity would have helped my application somewhat. I didn't see it, as I felt that traditional minorities-- African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans-- would be considered the prime candidates for affirmative action.</p>
<p>Does anyone think Arab might be considered one? Or maybe other less likely ethnicities as well?</p>
<p>BB, I think you're correct for the most part. Being Arab might get you "diversity points" when they're rounding out a class but I'm almost certain that it's not a substantial hook. Certainly, you're not on the radar screen as "under represented", which is the big deal.</p>
<p>It may matter where you applied. In parts of Michigan, for example, Arabs have been included in diversity programs. </p>
<p>If any of your essay or ECs reflected your heritage, that also could have helped you because colleges want students with diverse backgrounds of all kinds.</p>
<p>I feel stupid now because on all of my applications, instead of putting down "Arab", I chose not to put anything at all, which equals "white"....</p>
<p>I'm really kicking myself for not having done it. However, I did write about it in a new essay (which none of my schools will be able to read, as they've all received my apps already :() but I'm thinking of sending the essay to Georgetown as I was deferred from there. would anybody here please read it?</p>
<p>For some reason, I think Arabs do fall under the white category. I have an Iranian friend at Georgetown, and she said she didn't count as a URM when applying. I think the box on some apps actually says "white/middle-eastern" or something like that. Maybe it was "white/Indo-European." I'll have to check.</p>
<p>Babybird, do not feel bad or stupid. You have not lost a thing. The possible bonus points for diversity are rather meaningless when compared to the benefits of Affirmative Action. </p>
<p>Arabs do not qualify as URM -the list of ethnicities and races that are considered URM is well-established, except for the inclusion of immigrants from Portugal and Spain.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think Arabs do fall under the white category.<<</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>I'm not sure how colleges regard Arabs, but in general, "Arab" like Latino/Hispanic is an ethnicity rather than a race. I lived in Libya for 4 years as a kid (and spoke Arabic that I have since forgotten). and one thing I learned is that, in North Africa at least, there are white Arabs and black Arabs just as there are white and black Americans (and for the same reason, the black Arabs mostly being descended from captives long ago brought up from the south and enslaved). So Arab should not automatically mean "white".</p>
<p>My guess is that being an Arab would be good for diversity points at most colleges.</p>
<p>No, I agree that it shoudn't automatically mean that. But these apps often don't do justice to the intricacies of different ethnicities, and there are applications that lump the two ethnicities together. Again, I think the box was "white/Indo-European," not "white/arab" and I think Indo-European applies more to Iranians than other Arabs. So a black Arab Muslim from Somalia would certainly be able to specify her race in the "other" box. (Which one of my friends, a black Arab Somalian Muslim, did.)</p>
<p>My children are 1/8 Arabic via my husband, and neither put it down because they considered themselves "White"...as in, they had no roots in Arabic culture. Also, there was no "arabic" box on their applications and I'm not even sure where you would place it.</p>
<p>Answering your question more generally, there are minorities and there are underrepresented minorities. It will vary, from school to school, whether identifying yourself as one will make a difference.</p>
<p>Your Arab heritage makes you a potentially interesting addition to a college campus' spectrum of students, but it probably wouldn't make you a "minority."</p>
<p>We have some friends who are publicly admitting what I think is a fraudulent<br>
urm claim. Father claims he looked up "Hispanic" in the dictionary and Spain qualifies as "Hispanic". Father is pretty much a foe of affirmative action exccept for slave descendants. </p>
<p>Kid's mother was born in Spain of an American mother and Spanish father. The mother moved to the US as an infant, has barely any Spanish and I believe has never been back to Spain or any other Spanish speaking country.. She was taking a beginner's Spanish course at a cc. Her son, the applicant, took Spanish for one year in highschool with no interest. </p>
<p>The kid is a good student and is applying to almost all the Ivies. Harvard deferred ed, and did send an additional questionaire asking for details of parents 's background.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Father claims he looked up "Hispanic" in the dictionary and Spain qualifies as "Hispanic".<<</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>On that point the father is right. Whether they should also qualify as a URM is debatable. From Dictionary.com:</p>
<p>His·pan·ic </p>
<p>adj.</p>
<ol>
<li>Of or relating to Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America.</li>
<li>Of or relating to a Spanish-speaking people or culture.</li>
</ol>
<p>n.</p>
<ol>
<li>A Spanish-speaking person.</li>
<li>A U.S. citizen or resident of Latin-American or Spanish descent.</li>
</ol>
<p>[Latin Hispnicus, from Hispnia Spain.]
Usage Note: Though often used interchangeably in American English, Hispanic and Latino are not identical terms, and in certain contexts the choice between them can be significant. Hispanic, from the Latin word for Spain, has the broader reference, potentially encompassing all Spanish-speaking peoples in both hemispheres and emphasizing the common denominator of language among communities that sometimes have little else in common. Latinowhich in Spanish means "Latin" but which as an English word is probably a shortening of the Spanish word latinoamericanorefers more exclusively to persons or communities of Latin American origin. Of the two, only Hispanic can be used in referring to Spain and its history and culture; a native of Spain residing in the United States is a Hispanic, not a Latino, and one cannot substitute Latino in the phrase the Hispanic influence on native Mexican cultures without garbling the meaning. In practice, however, this distinction is of little significance when referring to residents of the United States, most of whom are of Latin American origin and can theoretically be called by either word. ·A more important distinction concerns the sociopolitical rift that has opened between Latino and Hispanic in American usage. For a certain segment of the Spanish-speaking population, Latino is a term of ethnic pride and Hispanic a label that borders on the offensive. According to this view, Hispanic lacks the authenticity and cultural resonance of Latino, with its Spanish sound and its ability to show the feminine form Latina when used of women. Furthermore, Hispanicthe term used by the U.S. Census Bureau and other government agenciesis said to bear the stamp of an Anglo establishment far removed from the concerns of the Spanish-speaking community. While these views are strongly held by some, they are by no means universal, and the division in usage seems as related to geography as it is to politics, with Latino widely preferred in California and Hispanic the more usual term in Florida and Texas. Even in these regions, however, usage is often mixed, and it is not uncommon to find both terms used by the same writer or speaker. See Usage Note at Chicano.</p>
<p>Texdad,
Yes, since the kid's father is Spanish, the kid is Hispanic. The kid, however, doesn't fall into the category of URM Hispanics that get tip factors. The URM Hispanics include people of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent as proportionately few students from such backgrounds are college-bound. Of those few, few have the stats and academic backgrounds to qualify for places like Ivies. </p>
<p>From what I have seen of nonURM Hispanics getting into top colleges, there was no evidence that the students were benefiting from any kind of tip factors for admission. The ones whom I have seen get in were also highly recruited -- with merit aid -- from top 10 universities or from top 25 colleges that offer amazing packages to recruits whom they are trying to attract from places like Ivies. These were students of the kind who make the USA Today All American High School Teams, had won national awards, and in college, get prestigious, nonrace-related national fellowships for grad school. </p>
<p>In addition, these tended to be students who were Hispanic by background, but who, in general, were not known to be Hispanic because they didn't "look" Hispanic (Even though Hispanics can be any race, these tended to be white), had nonHispanic names and had highly educated parents who spoke English as well as natives because, for instance, they had moved to the US at a very young age. </p>
<p>The students weren't pretending to be Hispanic -- they really were. They were, however, from privileged backgrounds.</p>
<p>"How do they know if you are hispanic of Mexican, or Peurto Rican descent , versus other hispanics?"</p>
<p>They make it clear that you must be specific. For example on the Common App if you wish to be identified with a particular ethnic group you are given choices.</p>
<p>"Mexican American, Chicano" as well as "Puerto Rican" are individual categories. However if you select "Hispanic, Latino" you must identify the country of origin.</p>
<p>Despite dozens of threads on AA and URM, it amazes me how factually incorrect the information posted in this thread is </p>
<p>While the schools might use different criteria to assign "bonus" points, the definition of URM in college admissions is rather clear. It is absolutely incorrect that the the class of URM of hispanic heritage comprises solely Puerto Ricans and offspring of qualified Mexicans. The definition is much broader than that. </p>
<p>It is rather easy to find the correct information from official sources.</p>