<p>Hi Hunt,
Yes, ths has come up before (mostly for students with a background from Mexico) and here’s my take:</p>
<p>On being Hispanic: Definitely yes. When the Hispanic box is marked yes on the CA, it will ask for background and countries/geographic regions will come up, including “Central America”.</p>
<p>On being NA: I think it’s valid to mark NA for someone who comes from a country where a very large proportion of the people have ancestors who are Original Peoples, even though these countries don’t necessarily document tribes as we do here in the US. The CA states, “American Indian or Alaska Native (including all Original Peoples of the Americas)”, which I interpret as including Latin American Original Peoples. The applicant is again asked for background and the CA lists several tribes, “Other” and asks whether or not the applicant is enrolled; if the Other box is checked, the applicant is then asked to “please specify”. So, your friend’s son could mark NA, Other, Country (and tribe if he knows it), and not enrolled; and IMO that would be an accurate description that adcoms at different schools could then use to decide how they want to view him.</p>
<p>I have heard that some schools, like Y, ask students who claim NA status for further validation of status. But I think that the information asked for on the CA gives a clear description of his background that would hold up under scrutiny. Also, if he wanted to, he could clarify his status in the Additional Information section or write about his background in an essay.</p>