Hello everyone,
To set the scene, I am of Asian ethnicity; however I have a last name that could blatantly pass as of White ethnicity if I do not release my ethnicity. Given the situation, to what extent will not releasing my ethnicity increase my chance for acceptance?
Thanks,
timnorton
Are you of mixed ethnicity? You might try that route. Also most schools let you choose “decline to state.”
No I am not of mixed ethnicity if you are thinking of me being both white and asian.
Here is an article that fostered my concern: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/opinion/white-students-unfair-advantage-in-admissions.html?_r=0
I would be open about this – it might even make a good college essay. I would not lie about your ethnicity under any circumstances though. Talk to your college counsellor, email the author of this article. It definitely is a concern and you are right to ask about it!
You have no obligation to specify your race. I would not provide it.
So will it or will it not increase my chances for acceptance?
I think it depends on what school you are applying to. I’m a parent, not in admissions, but I’m sure you’ve read some of the same articles I have that it is harder for Asians to get into some schools that seek to maintain a certain level of diversity. Assuming this is correct, then self-reporting that you are Asian would hurt you at these schools. Since there is nothing wrong with not reporting your race, I don’t see any benefit of reporting it. Others may disagree with me, stating that you should be proud of whatever race you are, regardless of whether that helps or hurts you in the admissions process.
This is actually wonderful reasoning. Thank you!
For the elite holistic schools which require or strongly encourage interviews, I don’t think it’s possible to “hide” your race. For most schools, which base admissions decisions mostly on course rigor, test scores, and GPA, I doubt it will make one bit of difference whether you check Asian or not release. I would check Asian, although I doubt it will make any difference either way.
You are not going to have an advantage by not stating your race. You think they aren’t wise to that? I will even go so far as to guess that they scrutinize apps even more closely if a student doesn’t indicate a race. If you don’t have the stats, your race is really a marginal consideration anyway. You are worrying about something which frankly isn’t that important and which you can’t do anything about,
I would rather take all factors into consideration than forget any that may have little to no factor in the application.
You declining to list or not list your race is going to have little to no significance in your outcomes.
It is optional to report your race. That means you have the rights not to report it. When you exercise your rights, universities have to respect your choice; otherwise, they should make it mandatory.
My S is an Asian American and he did not check the box. Among his Asian American friends at Yale, quite a few of them did not check that box. On the official Yale student profile report, they fall into the category of “race unreported,” and not in the category of “Asian American.” 19.1% of 2020 class were “self-reported” as Asian American. Go figure!