<p>i'm already at my first-choice college, so i'm not looking for admissions tips or anything, fyi...</p>
<p>but, i have a question about something a friend here did. Though he is whiter than a ghost, he checked off african american in the little box provided on the admissions application. Though i couldnt see it, he claims to be 1/8th african american (i believe his great grandpa).</p>
<p>So, this leads me to ask what is the minimum percent one can be to check off that little box? a quarter, and eighth? I'm trying to figure out if he's just full of crap or if it's actually a legal and acceptable thing to do.</p>
<p>"though he is whiter than a ghost, he checked off african american in the little box provided on the admissions application. Though i couldnt see it, he claims to be 1/8th african american (i believe his great grandpa)."</p>
<p>If he considers himself African American and has black African ancestry, he is considered black in this country.</p>
<p>I know plenty of people who look white --even have blond hair, blue eyes, thin noses, etc. -- who consider themselves black because they had black ancestors. Indeed, in many parts of the US, a person with "one drop" of black blood was considered African American no matter how white they looked, and was expected to follow the Jim Crow laws.</p>
<p>Such "white" appearing people considered themselves "black" even in the days when the only thing that being "black" would get you in the US was the back of the bus.</p>
<p>In gerneral, self reporting in honored. I some specific cases you may be queried by the school. In Yale's case, they will ask you to document American Indian claims. I don't know of any others at this time.</p>
<p>I also know a quite a few people who are "whiter than ghost", but the only difference is that they do not hesitate to state that they are african american.</p>
<p>Does he identify with being black at any other time outside of the college admissions process? The process is becoming more than simply checking the box as Bandit stated, some school want to see "how black" are you.</p>
<p>If he has to ask what percentage that it seems apparent that he does not identify himself as being black so he probably should not be checking the box.</p>
<p>Once he uses his tip factor how will he feel about being invited to join the black fraternity, live in the black housing? </p>
<p>Is he will become involved with any number of organizations devoted to issues pertinent to the Afro-American diaspora, including the becomIng a member of the his campus's chapter of the NAACP, black caucus african american, afro carribean, etc.</p>
<p>I agree that it depends really on his attitude. (BTW, 1/8 is pretty low if you ask me, I'd think at least 1/4 would be required.) Anyway, has he joined any Afro-
american clubs? Does he celebrate Kwanzaa? Does he do ANYTHING to show that he celebrates his culture? Finally, does he identify himself as black on other forms (esp. for like the SAT). If the answer is yes to at least a few of these questions, then he's fine. If not, then he's just trying to take advantage of his ancestry.</p>
<p>to all of those who listed african american clubs and so forth .... no, no, no and no. By "whiter than a ghost" i didnt just mean actual skin color, but he's that preppy waspy type from long island. </p>
<p>it appears that although he could technically have checked off that "little box" he was just taking advantage of the situation. Dick.</p>
<p>Most colleges rely on self-reporting and do not publish any particular bottom line above which you will be considered a URM (it is one of those things where if you actually set a line, like one parent must be in the group, you automatically invite lawsuits by those just below the line, so colleges generally avoid it). As a guideline, they begin with the definitions promulgated by the Office of Management & Budget -- <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/directive_15.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/directive_15.html</a> --and work from there to make their own determinations when a question arises.</p>
<p>Hmm...hard to be WHITE-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant when you're...Black. Not all Black people have to live in the ghetto or be thuggish. There are well off, preppy Black people and they're just as "Black" as anyone else.</p>
<p>"Hmm...hard to be WHITE-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant when you're...Black. Not all Black people have to live in the ghetto or be thuggish. There are well off, preppy Black people and they're just as "Black" as anyone else."</p>
<p>Quoted for emphasis...people seem to forget that race (which is genetically meaningless anyways) is a biological, not a cultural phenomenon. I knew a private school student whose father was black and mother was white. He appeared completely white and had a stereotypically "white" cultural identity. I do not believe that he joined the black student group at his school. Was he "not black"? Of course not. You can't make race into an issue of culture. Period.</p>
<p>As far as I know, there is no minimum percentage as this is a self declaration. Can you call yourself black because you believe that our ancestors evolved out of Africa? Hey, why not. I know of a student who checked the American Indian box because there was some distant relative who was a member of a long extinct Indian tribe (now at Duke). If you are accepted as an American Indian you may need to show some support for your Indian heritage (I know Stanford requires this). In the case of a long extinct tribe, I don't know how this would be done.</p>