whats better? black, hispanic, or both?

<p>my dad is black, my mom is hispanic. which should i check off? or should i put both? is either one an advantage or is more of a URM than the other? should i just put whatever has the least amount of people. If i put both will it look better or worse?</p>

<p>There is a "mixed" box you know. But if you want, you can always look at percentages of blacks at a certain college compared to percentage of hispanics. If one race is less represented at a college, you may do better to affiliate yourself with that race. But I think just checking "mixed" is more honest. Integrity is important.</p>

<p>Black is probably more advantageous. Not 100% sure, but it seems to be so. It's still better to check and see which is less represented though.</p>

<p>i just read this article <a href="http://www.ceousa.org/docs/virginia2.doc%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ceousa.org/docs/virginia2.doc&lt;/a> and it said that according to the 1999 applicant pool at UVA (my state flagship and 1st choice) blacks had 111 times the chance of a white kid where hispanics had only 5 times the chance even though the school is 8% black and 4% hispanic. </p>

<p>so hispanics are more twice as underrespresented but have 21 times less of a chance to get in the blacks... ***?</p>

<p>are all schools like this?</p>

<p>It also hopes if you can get a racial breakdown of standardized test scores and GPA's for students at a particular school. Remember, one school does not represent all schools.</p>

<p>Edit: I don't know where they got those numbers for in that study. Plus, 1999 is a little long ago. I suggest you just check the percentages of each race at UVA.</p>

<p>quote:so hispanics are more twice as underrespresented but have 21 times less of a chance to get in the blacks... ***?</p>

<p>Remember the founder of UVA had children by an african american.</p>

<p>Seriously, AA are more heavily represented in that region census wise which could have political implications and on standardized tests score slightly below hispanics. I couldn't tell you how or if that factors into admission considerations.</p>

<p>well they had studies from 96' and 99' the chances for blacks went from 33x more likely than a white person to 111x in 99, threefold. and for hispanics from 1.7x to 4.8x, also 3fold but a much much much smaller advantage</p>

<p>the 8% black, 4% hispanic i posted i pulled from the 2006 entering class</p>

<p>in the 96' entering class it was 13% black (56% of black applicants) and 3% hispanic (29% of hispanic applicants)</p>

<p>in the 99' entering class it was 10% black (48% of black applicants) and 3% hispanic (34% of hispanic applicants) </p>

<p>and now the 06' entering class its 8% black and 4% hispanic</p>

<p>...im sure u see the trend. (black enrollment going down slightly over the years, and hispanic going up, although both by a very small margin). </p>

<p>It is still interesting to note though that even though the black enrollment pool went down 3%, they still had 15 times better the chance of getting in over a hispanic, and 22 times better the chance than a hispanic in 1999.</p>

<p>however studies show that that average SAT score and gpa of African Americans are the lowest out of all races (except maybe native american?) so would i still be better off putting black?</p>

<p>edit: this study was from the center for equal opportunity so im pretty sure its legit. </p>

<p>and madville, studies from all over the US have shown thats blacks do worse on standardized testing, despite the region.</p>

<p>Quote:so would i still be better off putting black?</p>

<p>It certainly wont hurt you.</p>

<p>^ well i mean as opposed to either hispanic or both</p>

<p>Just put both. It maintains honesty, and either way you're a URM. It's really not going to come down to being black or hispanic.</p>

<p>according to that study it could</p>

<p>No, that study shows correlation, not causation. There could be many factors contributing to why there are less hispanics than blacks. For example, does it consider how many of each ethnicity applied? Does it demonstrate average GPA, and other quantifiable scales?</p>

<p>"The score (verbal SAT) for black admittees in 1996 at the 75th percentile is lower than those at the 50th percentile for Hispanics, Asians, and whites." </p>

<p>"...at least 75 percent of blacks were admitted with lower verbal scores compared to 50 percent or more of Hispanic, Asian, and white admittees in 1996."</p>

<p>"The gap (for the verbal SAT) between the Hispanic and black median is 70 points; it is 80 points between Asians and blacks, and 90 points between whites and blacks. In 1999, as in 1996, the score for black admittees at the 75th percentile is lower than those at the median for Hispanics, Asians, and whites"</p>

<p>"(Math SAT) The Asian median exceeded the white median by 20 points, the Hispanic median by 40 points, and the black median by 120 points (in 1996)."</p>

<p>"The median score of black admittees is substantially lower compared to Hispanics (60 points), whites (90 points), and Asians (110 points). The score of black admittees at the 75th percentile is lower than the Hispanic median by 10 points. It is 10 points higher than white scores at the 25th percentile, and is 10 points lower than the Asian score at the 25th percentile (Math SAT-1999)"</p>

<p>"1996 Asian admittees had the highest average class rank (97.50), followed by whites (96.80), Hispanics (95.70), and blacks (92.60). "</p>

<p>"1999, Asian and white median high-school ranks were roughly the same (97.50 and 97.30, respectively). The Hispanic median high-school rank was only slightly lower (96.20), followed by the median high-school rank of black admittees (91.85). "</p>

<p>"1996- 470 Asian, 118 Hispanic, and 4,923 white rejectees had higher math and verbal scores compared to the median verbal and math SAT scores of black admittees"</p>

<p>COMPARE WITH</p>

<h2>"1996-UVA rejected 9 blacks, 154 Asians, and 1,652 whites with math and verbal scores greater than the median scores of Hispanic admittees"</h2>

<p>"1996- UVA rejected 108 Asians, 16 Hispanics, and 1,257 whites despite their higher test scores and high-school ranks compared to the average black admittee. "</p>

<p>..and thats not even all of it</p>

<p>Well based on that data, based PURELY on a data based standpoint, it would be more to your advantage to check off black. </p>

<p>However, I still feel like it's a little disingenuous to pick an ethnicity based on numbers, and I think it's a little more principled and honest to just identify your race as accurately as you can.</p>

<p>thank you for your insights derrick. does anyone else have anything to say?</p>

<p>My mother is dominican and my father is jamaican. I put hispanic because i have a hispanic last name (my parents are not married). But if you don't have that problem, then put mixed. Its honest and you should represent both.</p>

<p>now if i did put mixed or other, does it have you specify because they might think im partially white. (and i've also heard of whites putting this down to boost their chances)</p>

<p>I dont think it specifies. But im not sure. You can always ask a guidance counselor or a teacher if your not positive.
"(and i've also heard of whites putting this down to boost their chances)"
Thats why you should be honest. They're wrong.</p>

<p>i get that but i just dont want me being honest to hurt my chances</p>

<p>bumpitybump?</p>