<p>Whether or not you’re considered Hispanic depends on who is asking:</p>
<p>You qualify for NHRP as they require that you be 1/4 Hispanic background.</p>
<p>For other scholarship programs you need to see what their requirements are, some are 1/2 Hispanic background.</p>
<p>For college admissions, please see post #1 of this thread, you are Hispanic if you identify as Hispanic, there is no threshold.</p>
<p>Once in the Hispanic pool, the amount being Hispanic helps depends on several things, including: the individual school, your accomplishments, other factors about you (eg. background country, SES, overcoming diversity, first gen, association with the Hispanic community, etc.)</p>
<p>jack,
LCB is correct, please go back and read post #1 of this thread. The questions for both ethnicity and race are optional: answer either, both or neither, your choice.</p>
<p>How do I fill out that I’m solely Hispanic on the common app. It has Hispanic as it’s own separate question, and then asks me to identity to one of the following: American Indian, Asian, black, pacific islander, or white. I’m none of them, but it says to check one or more. I don’t want to leave it blank, but I don’t want to lie about my ethnicity either. Help?</p>
<p>PR,
I will recommend the same thing to you that I just did to jack, go back and read post #1 of this thread as it explains the difference between ethnicity (Hispanic) and race (white, AA, etc.).</p>
<p>Ethnicity and race are two different concepts, Hispanics can be/are of any race(s).</p>
<p>MODERATOR’S NOTE: Before posting a question on this thread, please read post #1. It gives the definition of Hispanic used on college applications, and it describes the difference between the concepts of ethnicity and race. If that post does not answer all your questions, THEN post here.</p>
<p>With all due respect I am astounded at how people constantly out of pure ignorance repeatedly refer to people of SOUTH AMERICA as Latinos and Spanish. Hispanic people are natives of SOUTH AMERICA. NOT SPAIN. You are not Spanish, Latin nor are you remotely close to being Latinos. If anyone is Latin it’s the Italians. Not that anyone really cares but I’m trying to make a point. It is the ancient Romans or the ancestors of the Italian people that were speaking Latin besides Aramaic. Someone please tell Geraldo Rivera to stop constantly referring to Puerto Ricans especially, as Latinos. One other thing, Spanish is not YOUR language. It belongs to the Spanish, especially Castile. Here’s is a little history for you. There were these explorers in search of gold approximately 700 to 500 years ago. These guys were the Spaniards. Western Europeans that were ALL white. They conquered the area inhabited by the native people. Those people were your Ancestors. Not the Spaniards. Your people lost their native language over time and took the Spanish language and were heavily influenced by the Spanish culture. This is why you’re referred to as Hispanic. Your culture is built on the Spanish culture. This does not make you even remotely Spanish mind you. That’s the lesson for today as to who is who and who the Spanish truly are.</p>
<p>^^^Guess you’ll have to take this up with the US Census bureau, they are really out to lunch about all of this Hispanic/Latino stuff! :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Oh, and the CIA as well (eg. they have Argentina all wrong per your ‘history’ lesson):</p>
<p>You have bits and pieces right in your revisionist history of South America, but the problem is that SA is not one uniform place. There are many descendants of Amerindians in countries like Mexico, Peru and Ecuador as well as mestizos due to the explorers you mentioned (Spanish genes, oh my!). However, there are other countries like Uruguay and Argentina where most of the Amerindian populations were destroyed (like in the US) and the majority of immigration came at the turn of the century from Spain and Italy.</p>
<p>Funny that you’re harping on SAs calling themselves Spanish, as the only people I have seen on this board who call themselves Spanish or mark Spain on the CA are students who’s families are directly from Spain.</p>
<p>Latino or Hispanic, people prefer different terms, nothing new there.</p>
<p>I can’t help but wonder, is your motivation that you feel responsible for correcting history? Or are you mostly concerned that “all white” Spaniards or PRs aren’t contaminated by “natives” from SA when lumped together under the single term Latino/Hispanic?</p>
<p>I read through this whole thread, and based on what I read, my daughter is 1/2 Hispanic because her birth father and both sides of his family are from Mexico. However, when I married, my husband, who is not Hispanic, legally adopted her. She does have limited contact with her birth father’s family. Does the fact that my husband adopted her, change her ability to mark Hispanic on testing materials and college applications? And does the fact that she was adopted really make it a moot point because she has never really identified herself as Hispanic?</p>
<p>Hi fastlane and thanks for taking the time to read this thread!</p>
<p>I am not sure about adoptive parents, so I will discuss your questions based on what I see in the CA and the definition used by the US Census. I hope that other members will join in with their thoughts and knowledge.</p>
<p>Here is what the CA says under the ‘Family’ section of the application:</p>
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<p>So, it is my understanding of this that you would be Parent 1, your Ds birth father would be Parent 2 and would indicate that his country of birth is Mexico, and your husband would be listed in the Additional Information section.</p>
<p>Since your D still has some contact with her birth father’s family, if she identifies at all as Hispanic, then I think she could mark the Hispanic box. Remember, identifying as Hispanic does not mean that she can’t also identify with other ethnicities and cultures as well. Note: I am using identify in the sense of how she considers herself, not whether she has checked Hispanic boxes on tests, school forms, etc. Many people are confused about these categories and so IMO the fact that one has not marked Hispanic in the past is not a deal breaker. There is a range of how much people identify with their Hispanic culture and this usually comes out in the rest of their application, and admissions reps are smart and experienced enough not to base everything on a single box.</p>
<p>If she really doesn’t identify at all, then she should likely not mark Hispanic, because that is the basis for the US Census and college admissions definition. I’m not sure how colleges would deal with the fact that her birth father is Hispanic but she does not identify.</p>
<p>i have a question. my daughter has 2 great grandparents from mexico. they got together & gave birth to her grandmother (100% hispanic), she gave borth to my wife (50% hispanic), she gave birth to my daughter (25% hispanic). Does this count? Should my daughter be putting down that she is hispanic for admissions & scholarships? Would it count for the national hispanic scholarship as well? Thanks!</p>
<p>If not, please do, as it explains that percentage Hispanic is not what determines whether or not a student can mark Hispanic for college admissions.</p>
<p>For scholarships:</p>
<p>Organizations often do have a percentage definition of who qualifies as Hispanic, you need to go to the website of each scholarships to see their definitions. Please go to the Resources sticky thread and use the link to the NHRP website, they state their eligibility requirements, which includes being at least 1/4 Hispanic.</p>
<p>My parents are from PR, but my father has an Irish name and he is Black and my mother is all Spanish. My father is originally from the states. Spanish is our first language. I hang with the AA because I identify with them as well as my Hispanic brothers and sister. Could I be both Hispanic and AA? Anyone else have similar situations</p>
<p>Hi entomom, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have a clearer understanding. I was being lazy, and I didn’t start from the beginning. Continue to keep us in check.</p>
<p>I have read through many pages of this post and find that we are a blend of several of the posters situations. Please help me with this.</p>
<p>My husband and I are both from the US. My mother was born and raised in Colombia. Her parents lived there until they died, as did her sister, and many cousins, etc. are still living there. We visit frequently and are close to them. My mother now lives in the US but maintains a residence in Puerto Rico. My children and I definitely feel a part hispanic but would not identify ourselves that way for a college application since we are not racially hispanic, and we do not speak spanish in our home.</p>
<p>Ok, that part is easy - my daughter appears to be 1/4 (the Colombian grandmother) so she theoretically could apply for NHRP. The complicating factor is that I dont know if I would describe our “ancestors” as being hispanic. Her great grandfather (my grandfather, my mother’s father) and his family moved to Colombia from Eastern Europe when he was a child. He did make it his permanent home as did most of his descendents. </p>
<p>What do you think? would it be right for my daughter to apply for the NHRP?</p>
<p>Interesting question. Questions of race and ethnicity can be complicated sometimes. My son’s 1/2 Puerto Rican, and that half is a mix of African, Spain Spanish, and Native American. His other half is 1/4 Ukranian Jew and 1/4 European mix. (I realize the Ukraine is now in Europe but back when my grandparents lived there, it was a part of Russia)</p>
<p>My son self identifies as Puerto Rican but culturally, he is white (but many people look at him and see a light skinned black person) and English is our native language.</p>
<p>Carla, did you read post #1 of this thread? Here are some of the highlights:</p>
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<p>In other words, does your D self identify as Hispanic? Self-identification is the primary criteria for being able to mark Hispanic for college admissions–surname, appearance, first language, and a range of other traits are immaterial in determining whether or not you are Hispanic.</p>
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<p>In other words, race has nothing to do with identifying as Hispanic as Hispanic is an ethnicity and Hispanics can be and are of any race(s).</p>
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<p>If you “feel” part Hispanic, then you are Hispanic for college admissions purposes. Again, your race and language do not matter.</p>
<p>Since your D is 1/4 Hispanic, she qualifies for NHRP, please see the NHRP for the other factors necessary to qualify. Many SAs immigrated from somewhere in Europe. For instance, over half of the surnames in Argentina are Italian, but they are considered Argentine and Hispanic every bit as much as immigrants who came from Spain.</p>
<p>There is an extremely wide range in what it means to be Hispanic, and as a result, there is a wide range in how adcoms view Hispanic applicants. Please read the following thread and the threads for the links given within it for some discussion of how Hispanic status works in college admissions:</p>
<p>entomom - I appreciate your taking the time to answer. I wasn’t asking about being Hispanic for admissions purposes, merely for the NHRP. In the definition of Hispanic for the NHRP, it says that you must be from “a family whose ANCESTORS are from” at least one of the countries enumerated. While my daughter’s grandmother was from Colombia, I don’t know that her ancestors are really Colombian. Webster defines ancestors as beyond the grandparent level.<br>
She does not identify herself as hispanic for purposes of general college admissions.</p>