Ethnicity and the Common App

hsgraduate2017
Sat, 22 Oct 2016 16:09:10 +0000

Hello,

I am planning to submit my Common App shortly and am applying to top schools. I have mostly finished the application, but one question keeps bothering me: how to ethnically identify myself. For most of my life, I have considered myself to be White, but I think I have a real claim to also being Hispanic. My understanding is that my grandfather has some Hispanic ancestry going way back, and I speak Spanish very well (learned in school) and have really embraced the culture and language when exposed to it. I’m not seeking to game the system, but I do believe that I have a legitimate claim to being Hispanic (and White).

Any thoughts as to how I should identify myself? Will Admissions question the legitimacy of my Hispanic ethnicity? Any chance they would investigate me to verify my ethnic identification? Is being Hispanic even advantageous in admission to top schools?

Thank you very much in advance.