<p>I am white/Asian, dad being white and mom being Asian/Spanish. </p>
<p>Dad: Italian, German, Polish
Mom: Filipino, Spanish, Chinese </p>
<p>Would my mom be considered Spanish? My mom did grow up in a (wealthy) Spanish/Filipino/Chinese household. Even though she is predominantly Filipino/Chinese, she also has a heavy Spanish ancestry(unlike most Filipino). </p>
<p>Another Question??: Would I also be considered pacific-islander? My mom's parents moved to Guam after they had her(which is considered pacific islander according to common app), so that would be 3 generations (including mine), (70+ years in Guam).
Also I was born in Hawaii, but i don't typically consider that as being pacific islander. </p>
<p>I currently check and use Hispanic, White (European), and Asian as my race, but occasionally I check/fill-in pacific islander.. </p>
<p>Anyways, does race even matter in college applications- Would Spanish, possibly pacific islander help my college admissions anyways?
And what races should I put in my common app?</p>
<p>Barrk123 is right-the Spanish (as in Spain not South America) would be considered white b/c it would be European (but maybe you didn’t mean SPanish as in Spain-if not than you might be Hispanic)</p>
<p>I’m not sure if your g-parents moving to Guam would make them pacific-Islander. (Just think if your grandparents were from Germany and moved to Senegal-you would not be considered African American) but I would ask your guidance counselor about what you should mark for this (I’m not an expert)
Good Luck!</p>
<p>So you would check white, Asian, and Hispanic, but not Pacific islander if you follow the US census definitions (unless you actually have a Chamorro or Hawaiian or other Pacific islander ancestor).</p>
<p>For the most part, self-reporting race or ethnicity is basically on the honor system, except for native Americans in some cases (sometimes verification by tribal enrollment is required).</p>
<p>siliconvalleymom, that assumes that dad on the birth certificate is dad in the genes. No one is confused about their family identity at birth because 1-day-old babies are only confused about being in the world.</p>
<p>Is your Spanish background direct or through being Filipino?</p>
<p>If it is direct from Spain, then both the CA and the major Hispanic scholarship, NHRP, consider you Hispanic. Other Hispanic scholarships may not.</p>
<p>If it is via the Philippines, then you are not considered Hispanic either by the CA or any Hispanic scholarships. Take a look at the CA categories, Filipino is not listed under Hispanic; it is listed as Asian for race (Filipino is specifically excluded under the Native Hawaiian/PI category).</p>
<p>Race is a biological concept that is permanent (ie. passed through the blood), while ethnicity is a social construct that is situational. Hispanics can be of any race(s).</p>
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<p>While Portuguese origin is not considered Hispanic by any definition used by college admissions and scholarships, Brazilian is considered Hispanic for NHRP but not on the CA.</p>
<p>To anyone who wants to understand the facts about Hispanic identification for college admissions and/or scholarships, please go directly to the Hispanic Students forum (under Admissions, Speciality Topics). Input there comes from primary sources and is relatively free of misinformation or personal POVs.</p>
<p>Race, as it is commonly defined and used in the US, is more of a social construct with a veneer of biological basis. Lots of people normally considered white in the US have some native American or black ancestry (whether or not they know about it), for example. So the presence of some race in one’s bloodline is not necessarily permanent over the generations.</p>