<p>Since I was the one who suggested that entomom post this, I’ll add a short FAQ to give people some idea of how this information applies to their common questions.</p>
<p>The “Do I count” questions: Do you count as Hispanic/Latino if:</p>
<p>“My family has origins in a Hispanic country, but I have light skin [or blond hair, blue eyes, etc].”</p>
<p>Yes. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race, including White. And some Hispanic countries have lighter-skinned populations than others. Colleges are not going to look at you and assume that you lied.</p>
<p>“My family has origins in a Hispanic country, but I don’t have a Spanish surname.”</p>
<p>Yes. There are a number of reasons that a Hispanic person would not have a Spanish surname, including mixed heritage, not actually having any Spanish ancestry, and the family having Anglicized the name in the past in order to avoid prejudice or make it easier for Anglos to pronounce. Colleges see Hispanic people with non-Spanish surnames all the time, and are not going to suspect you of lying because of it.</p>
<p>“My family has origins in a Hispanic country, but I don’t speak Spanish.”</p>
<p>Yes. There is no language requirement for Hispanic/Latino status.</p>
<p>“I’m mixed - part Hispanic, part non-Hispanic.”</p>
<p>Yes, in general, if you as a mixed-heritage person wish to identify as Hispanic, you can. However, you should check to see if the institution (university, scholarship fund, etc) to which you are providing this information, has a “blood quantum” requirement - for instance, the NHRP requires awardees to be at least 1/4 Hispanic. It is possible that you will be able to identify as Hispanic in some cases and not others.</p>
<p>“My grandparents were vacationing in a Hispanic country when my father was born.”</p>
<p>No, one of your parents having been born during a temporary stay in a Hispanic country doesn’t count has having family origins there.</p>
<p>And another question:</p>
<p>“My family has origins in a Hispanic country, but I am Black/Asian/Amerindian/Pacific Islander/Multiracial. Do I identify with my race or as Hispanic?”</p>
<p>On a well-designed form, that asks about Hispanicity separately from race, you should be able to identify with both if you wish. If the application that you are working on has a poorly-designed form that only allows you to pick one (and those are certainly out there), you can pick whichever one you wish.</p>