I’m currently a sophomore, taking two college courses over the summer and planning on taking some college courses during the year and next summer. I took all honors, AP or senior courses this year, with a GPA around 3.8-3.9, so my academics are in a good place, though hopefully I’ll be able to build them up even more during Junior and Senior year. Now, with all that laid out, I would like to know how my URM (under-represented minority) status will benefit me in applying to college (The schools I’m looking at are Johns Hopkins, Washington University in St. Louis, Columbia, UCLA, UVA, and Dartmouth; I admittedly need to get more decided as far as what college I want to go to, though I do know I want to go premed). My ethnicity is Ashkanazi jewish, Mexican, and Italian. I would consider myself multiethnic; will this benefit me or hinder me as far as getting into a good university?
UCLA does not do affirmative action. No public school in CA does.
This is helpful to know. Not sure how I didn’t think of it before, considering the minority population in CA. I have legacy at UCLA though, so I’ll hopefully be able to reap some benefits from that.
@FriedDog only privates (not all though) reap benefits from legacy. Not publics.
A more accurate statement would be “UCLA doesn’t consider legacy.” Look at their Common Data Set, section C. My public university does consider legacy, but others don’t.
Make your list of safeties, matches, and reaches without counting on URM status. Whether it matters depends on the college, and how much it matters where it does matter is often hidden in an opaque holistic admission process (and it probably matters less than most people think at most colleges where it does matter).
Is your race reported as Hispanic? Because Ashkenazi Jew and Italian definitely fall under white.
Interestingly enough, Ashkenazim are the majority of American Jews.
“My ethnicity is Ashkanazi Jewish, Mexican, and Italian. I would consider myself multiethnic; will this benefit me or hinder me as far as getting into a good university?”
What do you personally identify as? As far as being multi-ethnic, many people in the US have a multi-ethnic background, but how one identifies themselves is important in how one presents oneself to a college.
Not all ethnicities are considered to be a URM. Being Italian or Jewish is not considered to be a URM. However, your ideas and cultural perspectives might be interesting to a college that is looking to build a diverse student community.
Do you practice Judaism? Speak Spanish or Italian? Visit family in their country of origin? These are important considerations when presenting who you are to a college. The colleges are more interested in who you are as an applicant than one aspect of you.
I agree with ucbalumnus that you should make up your list of colleges according to which ones fit you best as an individual. How much your background can help you or not is going to be factored in to all aspects of your application.
Speaking from an admissions perspective, if you are stating you are an URM, they want to see what ties you have to your community and how that effectuates your perspective on life, as well as your own career aspirations. I am delicately saying that they are very keen and sensitive on folks claiming URM status to gain a hook during the admission period, without having a real history and presence in the community.
For places like WashU, Dartmouth and Columbia, they are trying to develop leaders in these communities, and they want a fairly delineated statement on how you have previously been involved in terms of your history and activities.
I am conversationally fluent in Spanish, and an active member of my synagogue. I’m not particularly involved with the Mexican side of my family, and am admittedly not very culturally immersed culturally, except for my Jewish heritage. I typically report myself as Hispanic, as that’s my primary race and the one which I most resemble physically.
Since Hispanic is your primary race, then it is fine to consider yourself Hispanic on college applications. As bollaHI said, colleges are interested in how your background has shaped you as a person, and the perspectives you will contribute to the college community.
Since you are active in your temple, you might want to make contact with the Hillel and /or Chabad centers on the campuses of interest- not for admissions but to see what activities might interest you. Also, if you participated in any youth groups, camps, then you might consider referring to them on your application. Letting the admissions office see that you are involved is saying more to them than listing your background. Speaking two languages- if you were raised bilingual- is also an interesting aspect.