<p>The title says it all. I’m an ORM and if i decide not to put my race, would that hurt me?</p>
<p>No, it won’t hurt you. It won’t give you an advantage either. They just won’t be able to consider your race (and no, I don’t think they attempt to decipher your race from your last name).</p>
<p>If your name is Henry Wu, you’re not fooling anyone. In fact, even if your name is Mark Lee, you probably won’t fool anyone. Not putting your race is the best way to say, “Guess what! I’m Asian (or maybe white)!”</p>
<p>Well, generally speaking, the term “optional” means “not mandatory.”</p>
<p>@Rockermcr–thx for the obvious reply. lol But i’ve never seen a common app before so i wouldn’t know if it would say “optional” by race.</p>
<p>@christiansoldier–i guess you’re right.</p>
<p>^Well, yes, your refusal to check the ethnicity box does imply that you are an ORM or white. But I don’t think the adcoms try to “decipher” your ethnicity from your name. People say they do, but I doubt it. That would be a waste of their time (“Lee? Hm… Lee… Well, he could be Asian or white or even African-American. Let’s assume he’s Asian!”) You won’t be fooling anyone, but I think leaving the ethnicity section blank won’t hurt you or help you. They’ll just look at other aspects of your application.</p>
<p>Yes, the term “optional” means it is not mandatory. See the long FAQ thread </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/858679-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-7-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/858679-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-7-a.html</a> </p>
<p>for more details.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t assume leaving ethnicity or race blank means that the applicant is white or asian. Quite a few “URMs” and “ORMs” find the whole labeling obsession in the United States to be distasteful and choose not to participate. We regularly refuse to identify our family as “hispanic” in the US census since my husband finds it offensive to try to cram spanish and non-spanish speakers who recently or generations past had ancestors from central, south america and europe into an “ethnicity” bucket. So…there will be some conscientious objectors who refuse to participate in racial and ethnic categorizations…I assume the admissions people could care less why or what is the ethnicity of someone who does not put down their race…stop overthinking about how it will impact your chances and think about how you see yourself/define yourself and whether you fit into one of those boxes…try for a little introspection and honesty when you fill out these applications instead of seeing it as some huge conspiracy to keep you out of harvard…</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t assume leaving ethnicity or race blank means that the applicant is white or asian.”</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean that admissions officer don’t; surely many do.</p>