<p>Here is my story, on my dad's side of the family my grandfather was Filipino, his wife my grandmother is African American. On my mom's side my grandfather is Irish and my grandmother is half Thai/Chinese. My surname is a Filipino one. Which box would I check? I would like to check the African American box to increase my odds but no one can tell unless they see my Dad etc. What are my options? I live in an upper middle class neighborhood with excellent schools etc. I am not disadvantaged. Please advise. Thank you.</p>
<p>Check all of them. You can also check other and explain.</p>
<p>haha my friend has the same problem. We told him to check them all +other. but yeah check what they got plus other.</p>
<p>Just follow the instructions on the form and check all that apply. If you apply to a school that is interested in increasing their Filipino enrollment, you should get a small boost. Same for Irish, AA, Chinese or Thai. I don't think any school looking for more AA candidates will disqualify you for not being "black enough" if you mark too many bubbles.</p>
<p>On the other hand, make sure your heritage is reflected elsewhere in your app. You don't want an admissions officer to think you just marked a bunch of random boxes or that you are reaching by including every drop of diverse blood you could come up with from your family tree.</p>