<p>"The concept of race as used by the Census Bureau reflects self-identification by people according to the race or races with which they most closely identify. These categories are sociopolitical constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature." </p>
<p>So what you put down on a college application would be expected to have some relationship to your self-identification. Lots of people have self-identification with more than one group defined by the federal categories, so they can mark one or more of the ethnic categories on a college application form. It is, of course, possible to mark no category at all.</p>
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[quote]
So what you put down on a college application would be expected to have some relationship to your self-identification. Lots of people have self-identification with more than one group defined by the federal categories, so they can mark one or more of the ethnic categories on a college application form. It is, of course, possible to mark no category at all.
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<p>So a mixed african-chinese would be applicable to affirmative action? wouldnt a mixed race be considered URM because it is even more rare to have someone of such descent.</p>
<p>I've always been under the impression that statistically I'm disadvantaged when it comes to college admissions b/c I'm Asian and asians are so freakin smart and motivated to go to college that there are walways way too many of them proportionately.</p>
<p>And okay, yeah, so both my parents are Chinese. But by "chinese" I mean they were born in China. My mom is actually of chinese heritage. But my paternal grandfather was North Korean, he escaped into Japan when he was a teenager and then moved to China ultimately where he met my grandmother and then they got married and had my dad.</p>
<p>So does that make me part north korean? Doesn't that kind of boost my "minority" status since there are like practically no North Koreans in the US, or anywhere else in the world for that matter besides for actually in north korea?</p>
<p>North Korean is not an ethnicity distinct from Korean generally. I mean, if you were actually a current North Korean citizen who by some quirk of fate was applying to an American college with the ability to actually attend... now that would be a hook! ...but because of the national citizenship, not the ethnicity.</p>
<ul>
<li>Is there a separate form that i need to fill out to be considered a urm? also, what proof should i send to the colleges so that they can check my mixed race?
thanks once again</li>
</ul>
<p>I am just going to put it straight out there:</p>
<p>What part of Africa are your ancestors from? Are they black (because in this context, african does not pertain to Caucasians/Whites who are from africa).</p>
<p>Do you really identify with being a black person?</p>
<p>Would you be comfortable standing up in front of your senior class telling them you are applying to college as an african american (black) student.</p>
<p>Would your parents be happy to tell the relatives, their friends and co-workers that you are applying to college as an african american (black) student?</p>
<p>If you were invited to join the black student association, would you join?</p>
<p>If you were invited to the student of color open house to help "assimilate you" to the school would you attend?</p>
<p>If you were placed in multi-cultural housing, because the school thinks that you are black and you may feel comfortable being around other black students, would you live there?</p>
<p>What impact does it have on you that your grandfather was North Korean? If there is some impact, and it is significant, or just interesting, it may have a place in your application. It is not going to make you an underrepresented minority, though.</p>
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So does that make me part north korean? Doesn't that kind of boost my "minority" status since there are like practically no North Koreans in the US, or anywhere else in the world for that matter besides for actually in north korea?
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<p>Colleges do not recognize "minorities", they recognize URMs, "under represented minorities". The under represented refers to the fact that there are proportionally lower numbers in higher ed than in the general population. So, North Koreans are rare in the US population, thus no interest in boosting their numbers in college.</p>
<p>To clarify this point even further, the URMs colleges are looking for are specific ethnic groups that have been underrepresented in the past due to discrimination. Typically, these are African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. Even if you are from some other ethnic group that is arguably underrepresented (i.e., Swedes, North Koreans, Greeks), you are not a URM. Your ethnic heritage may still help you get admitted, if you have something interesting to say about it.</p>
<p>It is true that you are not a URM but there are colleges that don't have a lot of Asians of any kind and they may give you some diversity points.</p>
<p>When your friends start railing that Jim, Bob, Sue, Jill., etc. only got admitted through AA, will you stand and tell your friends that you applied in hopes of being an AA admit or were accepted as a result of AA (although you may have lived your life in front of them otherwise)?</p>
<p>Blacks should have a better chance of going Ivy. I looked at the percentile charts for the SAT and the percentiles for African-Americans were higher than those of other races. A 650 on each of the sections is in the 98 percentile for African-Americans. This same score is merely in the 87 percentile for white students. With my next SAT score (I want a 2060), I should be in the 99 percentile.</p>
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Is there a separate form that i need to fill out to be considered a urm?
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<p>Ordinarily, the college's question about student ethnicity is built into the college's application form, and asks questions about categories that are specified by federal law, and in some cases also by state law or state university system regulations. I'm not aware of any colleges that have a separate form about ethnic identification, but I would glad to hear from other participants about any examples of that they have heard of. </p>
<p>As sybbie points out above, the community identification that helps suggest a way to answer college ethnicity questions doesn't end with the college application process. Many colleges have student organizations for students of various ethnicities, and may have college-organized advising or other programs for students of particular ethnicities. Does your self-identification extend to your planned college life?</p>
<p>MODERATOR'S NOTE TO "yet another "am i a minority" question...well kind of." THREAD: </p>
<p>Read the FAQ posts at the beginning of this FAQ thread (into which the newly posted thread has been merged) for definitions and sources of information. To answer the question in the original post of the newly merged thread, </p>
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So does that make me part north korean? Doesn't that kind of boost my "minority" status since there are like practically no North Koreans in the US, or anywhere else in the world for that matter besides for actually in north korea?
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<p>Plenty of refugees have left North Korea over the years, both those of ethnic Korean heritage and those of ethnic Chinese heritage, and I have met both in various parts of the world. Colleges don't publish any information that would allow a confident inference of whether a student self-reporting your situation would have any admission advantage over a student self-reporting some other situation. You may as well give complete information about what aspects of your family background will contribute to your ability to make your college community a more interesting place, and leave it at that.</p>
<p>Hi Sybbie,
Those are some really good points, but I don't think I can identify with the traditional conception of african american struggle. As I am an asian/african mix with an ancestral history in Uganda, my perspective is radically different. Thus, I'm not sure I'd fit in with those who JUST check the african american box, but I still carry a very rare perspective that others don't have as a mixed individual.
Thanks</p>
<p>For what it's worth, I've seen comments by college admission officers that someone who himself lived in an east African country as an ethnic-Asian resident of that country (which appears to NOT be your situation) would add more diversity to the college's entering class than any one many-generations African-American applicant. Ideally, both applicants would be admitted, along with lots of other applicants. If most of your life experience is in the United States, perhaps coming from a different region of the United States from where the college is located will be your biggest diversity factor for admission. Or perhaps your career aspirations or extracurricular activities will be.</p>
<p>^thanks tokenadult
Yeah, I actually reside in california, so its not that much of a geographical disparity. I plan to include a small paragraph of my perspective as being a mixed historically mixed asian/african in one of my essays, but still I'm only 1/8th african - would this still count as being a URM, or would it not matter even if i checked that box in addition to the "asian american" box?</p>