<p>African American" does not apply to Caucasian or Semitic people who happen to live in Africa (just as "Hispanic" does not apply to people of German ancestry who happen to live in South America). "African American" is a subset of black; if you are not black, you are not African American.</p>
<p>If your ancestors were ethnic Asians living in Africa, they are still categorized as Asians.</p>
<p>^^I don't think that's true. How are you going to tell a South African that they are not really African when they have never been out of the country in their entire life? How can some great great great grandpa who moved there from England demolish the entire impact of their progeny upon their new residence? Theoretically, we're all from Africa. But that's not the point. The point is where your people base their history, their culture, their pride.</p>
<p>The term "black" is there to describe black people-people with relatively dark skin and some sort of African background, and is a highly arbitrary and decidely undefinitive term. The term African American is different. It's for people who can trace their ancestry back to Africa. I say a white person who actually lived in Africa is way more "African American" than some of the black people I know.</p>
<p>If we go back to the federal definitions </p>
<p>Black</a> or African American persons, percent, 2000 </p>
<p>it's quite plain that the definitions are set up so that an Afrikaner (descendant of Boers) from South Africa would check the ethnic category "white," while someone whose ancestors arrived in Maryland as Negro slaves before American independence and lived as freemen for centuries afterward would check the ethnic category "black." Yes, the first person would have much more recent acquaintance with the continent of Africa, and the second person would be more deeply American than any person whose ancestors passed through the Ellis Island immigration station, but that's how the definitions are set up. (And that acknowledges a certain degree of social reality that I hope is transitory.) It would be fine for either applicant, or both, not to mark any ethnic category at all, and it would also be fine for either to write about what makes them different from most other applicants to the college in application essays, but it would be just plain lying for the first person to check the "African American, African, Black" category on the Common Application form, for example.</p>
<p>^^^about that point, which of the following options make sense to do...</p>
<p>1) mark 2 boxes AND the other box (asian american and black and for the other, write asian-african)</p>
<p>2) mark only the 2 boxes</p>
<p>3) mark only other</p>
<p>4) leave all the boxes blank and only explain in essay</p>
<p>For any of these, which one would provide the most benefit or make the most sense for admission officers? Thus, my main question is do i still fit into the URM category?</p>
<p>((princessbell - i basically look asian american, save for some physical features inherited from my grandmother))</p>
<p>After many attempts to try to clarify this for you (please re-read Tokenadult;'s comments in post # 58) </p>
<p>
[quote]
**it's quite plain that the definitions are set up so that an Afrikaner (descendant of Boers) from South Africa would check the ethnic category "white," **while someone whose ancestors arrived in Maryland as Negro slaves before American independence and lived as freemen for centuries afterward would check the ethnic category "black." Yes, the first person would have much more recent acquaintance with the continent of Africa...</p>
<p>it would be just plain lying for the first person to check the "African American, African, Black" category on the Common Application form, for example.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I will come straight out and say no. Unless you can say that your relatives are black, thenI doubt that in your sitiation you would be considered African American ( black and an URM) as defined by the U.S. census and the definition used on the common application.</p>
<p>^^sybbie - what i'm saying is that i didn't just have ancestors that lived there, but INTERMARRIED there (thus not like an Afrikaneer who is relegated to only ONE race, but rather a mixed race), but, b/c i'm not 100% or 50% african i was unsure whether i still counted as a URM.</p>
<p>Is it lying for people who are 1/8th hispanic and look white to check hispanic? Is it lying for people who are 1/8th black and look black to check black?</p>
<p>Just wondering...because this happens a lot.</p>
<p>Well, I wasn't sure from the earlier posts whether you were talking about intermarriage or just foreign residence. Yes, it is possible in principle (and in practice, in my own family) for someone to have a claim of ancestry to more than one ethnic or racial category on a college application form. The thing that an applicant can do in that situation is </p>
<p>a) mark more than one checkbox, </p>
<p>b) mark no checkbox, </p>
<p>or </p>
<p>c) mark the "main" checkbox, in that applicant's view. </p>
<p>Whether you mark the checkboxes or not, you can always describe your background in detail--this thread illustrates how much care needs to be taken in doing that, because readers may be confused by statements that are not sufficiently clear--and then let the college admission office decide how significant your unique personal background is in building a diverse, interesting class. </p>
<p>But please take to heart sybbie's point that usually colleges read their own forms with some expectations of what students will do after enrollment if the applicants identify with particular ethnic groups. You could contact the college ahead of time and ask what IT thinks the proper thing to do is in your case.</p>
<p>On the common App, it has a spot to put parents birthplace. My dad was born in Africa and my mom was born in china. do i get AA privileges? I mean, I look black and many people cannot sense my Asian side. I also identify with my black side more. Please respond if you know the answer.</p>
<p>
[quote]
do i get AA privileges?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Colleges are not always very forthright about whom they give affirmative action privileges, so the usual advice applies: tell the truth on your applications, apply to a variety of suitable colleges, and compare offers if you are admitted to more than one college.</p>
<p>I was born in South Africa and lived there for 15years before moving to the US(I am now a resident alien). My mom is Dutch and my fathers family has lived in South Africa as long as 5 generations. This make me ethnically half South African and Half Dutch.
For the ethnicity question should I check off African American? Surely this would help my chances of acceptance and I am technically African American although my race is white.</p>
<p>P.S. I have South African and Dutch citizenship.</p>
<p>Any admissions officer will tell you not to put African American, which speaks to black african descendants and not europeans. Every year, posts like this come up that will rile folks up. Many heated replies may come. My advice is to not do so because you'd be gaming the reasons that schools may prefer black African Americans and they would surely look poorly to your attempt.</p>
<p>I recall one thread where an actual admissions officer was clearly incensed at students magically finding their "blackness" in order to gain advantage. Read the fourth post by adofficer down on this long thread:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/292731-am-i-minority-3.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/292731-am-i-minority-3.html</a></p>
<p>Your nationality is S African with Dutch and Afrikaans heritage. Your ethnicity is European I think you'd say.</p>
<p>I don't think you should. </p>
<p>1) you're not actually of african descent(europeans came to south africa not too long ago)
2) you're not really african american because you're not american</p>
<p>Just another example of why the term 'African American' is ridiculous and should be discarded. There's nothing wrong with "black" and "white." </p>
<p>But yes, don't put it. You'll just upset an adcom.</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>10char</p>
<p>Nope.</p>
<p>10char.</p>
<p>Technically speaking, you are African American.
But realistically speaking, that's not what schools mean when they put African American...usually.</p>
<p>Use your best judgement, I wouldn't.
Have you always considered yourself African American? Does your Dad?
If not, definitely do not put it on your application.</p>
<p>you could mark other and write in "white south african"</p>
<p>It would be hilarious if you got accepted and they asked you to attend the school's annual meeting of the NAACP charter... </p>
<p>The looks on their faces... lol</p>
<p>you are technically an "African-American" so you could probably get away with it. Its BS that being black is a way to "score points" on an application anyways.</p>