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Am I considered Hispanic??

gemcatcher33gemcatcher33 Registered User Posts: 246 Junior Member
edited February 2011 in Hispanic Students
My mother is mexican and was born in Mexico. My dad, however, is from Guyana, S. America nd he is a mix of black and Indian (like from India). I've never really classified myself with any race though... Any ideas?
Post edited by gemcatcher33 on
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Replies to: Am I considered Hispanic??

  • entomomentomom Registered User Posts: 23,662 Senior Member
    Yes, you are most definitely Hispanic.

    The sticky thread at the top of this forum would have lead you to this thread:

    http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/641650-hispanic-latino-defined.html

    There you will see that Hispanic is an ethnicity, and people of any race can be Hispanic.
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  • jessiehljessiehl Registered User Posts: 3,328 Senior Member
    I have a friend who is half Indian-Guyanese, oddly enough.

    Yes, you're multiracial Hispanic. A lot of places will have separate questions for your race(s) and for your Hispanic status, so you can identify with both. Others will list "Hispanic" as an option on the race question (thereby implying that all the other options have an invisible "non-Hispanic" modifier on them), and in that case, go with something that is true (in your case, that gives you a lot of options) and with which you feel comfortable.
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  • ilivefreeilivefree Registered User Posts: 630 Member
    i concur with above. heck, my mom is as caucasian as they come (she's a mayflower descendant), but my dad emigrated from chile in the 70's; i consider myself half and half, but on college stuff, i put hispanic because i usually have to choose one or the other. it's a dog eat dog world, if you fit the definition, use it.
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  • monroylobomonroylobo Registered User Posts: 380 Member
    Definitely put Hispanic. You are way more-so than some of the other people that have used the status to gain admissions into college. You'll need whatever boost you can get for admission these days.
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  • YurtleYurtle Registered User Posts: 850 Member
    @ilivefree

    Same with me! My dad's a mayflower line, and my Mom's hispanic. ^^

    My parents registered me hispanic for the whole college thing, waaaay back in elementary school.
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  • GLAWGLAW Registered User Posts: 107 Junior Member
    My dd is a junior at a large midwestern hs. Her great-grandparents were mexican on my side. My parents speak spanglish for privacy. She is also various European ethnicities from father's side. We are very typically suburban with little, to no cultural influences from either side. Should she identify herself as hispanic and/or caucasian?
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  • jessiehljessiehl Registered User Posts: 3,328 Senior Member
    GLAW: So if I understand you right, she's 1/4 Mexican-American? Unless the regulations of the colleges to which she is applying say otherwise, I think it's perfectly reasonable for her to identify as Hispanic. If the college asks for both race and Hispanic status (as opposed to condensing them into one thing, she could identify as White Hispanic, or possibly, depending on background (as many Mexicans are mixed white/Amerindian) Multiracial Hispanic (i.e. check off the boxes for the relevant races plus the one for Hispanic).
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  • entomomentomom Registered User Posts: 23,662 Senior Member
    GLAW,
    See the link that I posted. Next year colleges will have a 2 part question, first on ethnicity (Hispanic/non-Hispanic) and then race. If only her great grandparents on one side were M-A, then it seems to me like your D is 12.5% Hispanic. If that's correct, then she would not qualify for the NHRP which requires 25% Hispanic. However, college admissions is different, they ask if you "identify" with a culture or race, and do not have a specific cut off (except possibly for Native Americans). Some things to consider: Has your D been identified as Hispanic throughout her school years? Does she identify herself as Hispanic in any way?
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  • GLAWGLAW Registered User Posts: 107 Junior Member
    I'm sorry to have been confusing. Both of my sets of grandparents were born in Mexico. My parents were born here and were raised to assimilate. I was raised in the suburbs, went to college without even thinking about identifying myself as an ethnicity. (A different time, I guess.) So, my kids are literally, technically half Hispanic. With today's uber-competitive environment and terms like "URM" & "hook", I'm wondering if our kids would be goofy not to use it at all. I don't know that I haven't identified them as Hispanic on anything before. Our kids like their mix but, don't identify with being Hispanic anymore than they do their other contributing ancestry from their father's side. They don't identify with one ethnicity to the dismissal of any other. I just want to advise my kids properly. Thanks.
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  • ant21291ant21291 Registered User Posts: 1 New Member
    My mother is Puerto Rican but was born in NY her parents are from Puerto Rico my dad was born in Jamaica he is fully Jamaican does that make me hispanic
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  • entomomentomom Registered User Posts: 23,662 Senior Member
    Yes, you would be considered Hispanic or of Mixed ethnicity. You are Hispanic on your mother's side and so as long as you self-identify as Hispanic, you would be considered Hispanic by colleges and organizations like then National Hispanic Recognition Program (see the relevant threads on this forum). Remember, race is different from ethnicity, see this sticky thread:

    http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/641650-hispanic-latino-defined-aka-am-i-hispanic.html
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  • romanigypsyeyesromanigypsyeyes Registered User Posts: 33,363 Senior Member
    Hispanic is truly very confusing. I am most definitely white, but my mom is from Spain. She has been labeled Hispanic all of her life (even though she is half British and half Hungarian Roma) and I too am Hispanic. Just because my mom happened to be born in Spain. (Don't worry though, I've never put Hispanic on an application or anything. It just doesn't feel right because I don't consider myself Hispanic, even though that is what the federal government would classify me as. Oh well.)
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  • entomomentomom Registered User Posts: 23,662 Senior Member
    rge,
    As discussed in the thread I cited above, ethnicity and race are two different things. When people talk about being Hispanic it refers to their ethnicity; Hispanics can be/are of any race(s).

    There is no contradiction between having ancestors from Spain and being considered white, most Spaniards are white. It is mostly in Latin America where indigenous populations were present and many people are of mixed indigenous & white racial backgrounds.
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  • 7Sisters7Sisters Registered User Posts: 76 Junior Member
    You're Hispanic.
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This discussion has been closed.