<p>Hey all. I'm currently a senior applying to these schools:</p>
<p>Northwestern
Duke
Vanderbilt
Wash U St Louis
U Rochester
U Michigan
Ohio State U
Emory
Case Western
U Miami
Purdue
McGill (Canada)
U Toronto (Canada)</p>
<p>I'm half white, half Indian (grandparents emigrated from India). I am planning to indicate my mixed race on my Common App, but do you guys think doing so would hinder my chances of admission at any of those schools? I could simply say that I was white. I've heard a lot about negative bias toward the Asians, but I'm not so sure how pertinent it is to someone who's mixed, or if it really matters at those schools. Appreciate any informed comments! Thanks!</p>
<p>I would say for most of your apps, if there is an option for mixed race, I would go that route. If they ask you to indicate which races of course, honesty in the best policy lol. I know quite a few schools still practice affirmative action (admission based on race) so in those casses, yes, race does matter. Hmm, I’m not quite sure though how race plays into being mixed race, I’d guess that it should help you (very slightly) but then again your stats and essays do weigh a lot into admission decisions as well. I also know that there is a negative bias towards Asian college applicants because they are usually highly qualified and have high stats; therefore there is more competition among them to fill seats.</p>
<p>Only if you were half (American) Indian–dubbed Native American…</p>
<p>But yes, it still somewhat helps to be multi-ethnic on most occasions as TheSonambulist says</p>