Yet another Race Question

Hello fellow college confidentialiers!

So I have a question for you:

I have a strange situation. My last name qualifies me to be Middle Eastern or “white” as seen on college application. My parents are both from India though, but I have fair skin.

What do I put on the college app as my ethnicity? Should i just leave it blank looking into top colleges dont want to hurt my chances. White doesnt help on application >>>> but Asian hurts/ Possible mixed idk. But i dont want to go to the extent that they deny me because i “lied” about my ethnicity.

Leave your comments.

It’s not about skin color or last name. It’s how you self-identify. It would be a mistake to have grown up one thing and then put something else on a college application because you thought it would confer some kind of advantage.

So if I put mixed do you think thats relevant to my situation? I dont want them to deny me because of it @justonedad

Don’t lie and put mixed if you aren’t mixed. If you can do that, then anyone can do that.
Indian is Asian.

Colleges seek students with unique perspectives. Since when did ‘Asian’ become ONE perspective, and an unwelcome one at that? You are so much more than Asian in their, and your own eyes. Just make sure you sound like you and not some ‘flattened’ image of an applicant (good grades, good test scores, a few clubs one with leadership, one sport or musical instrument, the obligatory volunteer work, same dull essays…) Too many people think applying to college is a ‘check the boxes exercise’ and then blame their ethnic status as the reason they didn’t get in when the real problem was that they simply didn’t stand out. (My kids are ‘Asian’ by the way.)

Thanks for the output thats very helpful. I stick with Asian but Ill show myself as unique not the stereotype that colleges see us as @N’s Mom

Good for you, @nevergiveupp. I like when students show who they really are and let themselves shine. You want to make adcoms see you as a whole person, not just a piece of paper. Good luck.

General consensus is that you should be as truthful as possible on college applications. It can be tempting to think of ways to improve your chances of getting accepted, but at the end of the day you’ll feel much better knowing that you didn’t need any tricks to get accepted.

Thanks you guys. I think it is right for me to apply as Asian but present my personal outlook that identifies me as an individual rather than a ethnic stereotype @austinmshauri @futuredoc96

Many colleges allow you to pick multiple I noticed. Do that or pick the one you most associate with and have been marking on previous school records. Why change it now?

I suppose if you really felt strongly about it and had grown up with your parents completely turning their back on their heritage, you could put “other” or something like that.

@skieurope Hi, can you please delete or close down this thread as it contains personal background info I don’t want shared.

White doesn’t help on my application???

Just because you put white on the race box means you won’t get in?

I deleted your surname, but threads are not deleted.