About what you said in terms of your race being a hook: this is an extremely debatable topic, and is argued over regularly on this site. I will give my opinion, I just want to note to everybody that I don’t want to start a debate here.
My opinion: being a URM (under-represented minority) does help with admissions, BUT it will not get you in. You will still need to be qualified enough to get in, although being a URM will add some additional weight to your application. I’m not exactly sure if being 1/4 will have an effect… Even ** highly ** qualified URMs don’t get in, just like everybody else, so don’t depend on it or expect it to get you in.
Good luck! Hmu if you got questions.