Honestly this is a really stupid issue but it is making me endlessly nervous. Ethnically I am very very mixed. My mom is from Trinidad and Tobago and very mixed as well. She knows her father was from a Chinese background and her mother had some Chinese in her as well but she does not know much else. By appearance she gets confused as Mexican, Native American, light skinned etc. My dad is just white with Irish background. By appearance people think I’m either just white or they’re confused by my fair skin, squinty eyes, frizzy hair and my darker mom.
When filling out my applications I listed myself as white, Asian, and black figuring that this would cover all my grounds.
Because of this I am receiving countless emails and letters inviting me to join the black communities at the universities.
Could this cause any issues with “false identification” or something? I don’t consider myself as a black girl but I also don’t consider myself to be just white or just Chinese
CA Public university admissions is race blind. You can select any box you can rationalize or simply decline to state. You want to be honest but, there is no advantage/disadvantage for race. For private schools, it is different - and there might be some advantage to selecting black at some schools where they are under represented.
For on-campus groups, they are prohibited from discriminating. Join whichever club suit you. Most colleges have a plethora of non-race based clubs (biking, adventure, wake-boarding,debate,volleyball, golf, robotics, etc) as well as social stuff like fraternities and sororities. I encourage you to go to go unaffiliated and find something that’s just a little beyond your comfort zone on club-day.