ggarcia2012

Does writing about your experiences as a Hispanic really help out or will the Admissions officer simply think your trying to play on the whole AA thing?

I'm beginning to think on possible topics and as a 100% Mexican (both parents from Monterrey) born in the US and having learned Spanish as a first language (as well as only speaking this language at home) and traveling to Mexico quite often (5-8 times a year) I feel I'm pretty in touch as a Hispanic and I'm not simply trying to use it as an advantage

What do yall think?

entomom

I think that it really depends on HOW you write your essay. They don't want to be pandered to, but I think that they do want to know that you are in touch with your Hispanic background.

As an example, in one of her essays, my D discussed how works by a South American poet helped her to relate to her relatives in Argentina.

I think the main thing is that the essay is about you, how you think and how you view the world. Your heritage is part of what has influenced you, so it's fine to include, but make sure you're the main focus.

Hope that makes sense.

ggarcia2012

ok I think I see what you mean and will keep that in mind

on another note have you seen the new common app
the demographics part has this thing now where first you check if you're hispanic and then you choose among the following ethnicities

I dont really consider myself any of those so do you recommend I simply don't answer that second question?

thanks in advance

entomom

Thanks for the tip, I hadn't see their new format.

After asking if you are Hispanic, they ask you to select one or more racial categories. They've been pretty careful this time to delineate all of the possibilities for the categories, whereas before some groups were ambiguous or overlapping.

I'm not sure why you don't feel that any of the racial categories fit you, can you elaborate??

ggarcia2012

Well I've always thought of Hispanic as sort of on its own. I think its because I don't identify with any of these. A country like Mexico is made up mainly of mestizos, with a few percent all white of European ancestry and slightly larger percentage full native american/indian. Now I identify myself as probably mestizo though I might be able to pass as a more "white" mexican. So when this question asks me if I am Indian/Native American, Asian, Black/African American, Hawaiian, or White I just don't know what to say as none of these categories seem to fit me. I think I will check off Hispanic and where it says describe your background I will write Mexican-American (As I am a dual citizen of both countries and was born in the US) and leave the second question unanswered.

entomom

The question asks you to mark one or MORE. I agree with you assessment of the racial mix of most people from Mexico, so checking the American Indian or Alaska Native (Including all original peoples of the Americas) AND White very accurately describes your racial background. It isn't asking what you "look like" or even who you identify with, but rather what is your genetic racial make-up.

ggarcia2012

I definitely missed that 1 or more and yes I do agree that marking both of those would together accurately describe me and that is what I'll do, though it may seem strange to think of it as being a combination of the two.

entomom

Not strange at all, most adcoms recognize that the majority of people from Mexico are a mix of indigenous and white backgrounds. I think more and more adcoms are getting used to lots of different combinations of ethnic and racial identities in applicants.

pollocampero6060

hmm, this is an interesting modification to the common application.

I'll probably do what you suggested, entomom---check hispanic for the first question (peruvian heritage) and check american indian (incan) AND white (spanish european) for the second question. It most accurately describes me as well.

i suppose the only thing that's troublesome is that colleges may regard me as being multiracial rather than hispanic, due to my identification with the various ethnicities i mentioned above..or is that something to not even worry about?

entomom

No need to worry, adcoms know that Hispanics can be any race(s), you will still be recognized as Hispanic.

My D was Hispanic (white) & Asian, and was still considered a URM for college admissions, summer programs, NHRP, etc.