<p>My school transcript says Multi-Racial.</p>
<p>My father is caucasian and my mother is asian (chinese).</p>
<p>What do I put on the online application? Not Specified? Unclassified?</p>
<p>Please help!</p>
<p>This is probably a low blow, but whatever.</p>
<p>I would put unclassified or not specified. Technically you’re two, so you’re unclassified. Since neither race will help you at all in admissions, I’d put one of those two.</p>
<p>Put “other” or the alternative term listed as one of the options.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m really starting to get confused here. I would put “other” if that were an option considering I technically don’t fit into the standard categories (e.g. native american, asian, caucasian, african-american, hispanic, etc.). However, I don’t understand the difference between unclassified and not specified…does unclassified mean there are more than 1 race meaning it is impossible to say which race is dominant and not specified means the student doesn’t wish to share? Am I getting this correct?</p>
<p>I’m the same.</p>
<p>I remember seeing a note saying to mail in the application if you wanted to specify multiple ethnicities.</p>
<p>if you don’t specify, I believe that means they discard race in considering the app, which would be good in your case, but I heard something about racial based clubs that this influences or something. I’m not sure…</p>
<p>Other would be for a race not listed. Your race(s) are. Just put unclassified, that’s what you are. Or put non-listed. Any of the above won’t help or hurt you, since whites and asians are predominate in colleges, and non-specified leaves the place blank which doesn’t help, and you’re not other. So, I vote unclassified. You can’t classify your race because you’re a joined race. Or just put white or asian. There’s no way you could turn this to help you, so don’t sweat it (and I’m not saying you’re looking for help, I’m just pointing out that this really isn’t a big deal because it doesn’t matter what you put down because any of your applicable options provide no support)</p>
<p>‘Other’ could also be for a racial category for which none on the list applies to you as a whole. My advice is to put ‘unspecified’. Anyway, this is the problem with applications as they like to categorize people into racial groups. The result is that people like you who have a more complex situation end up being confused.</p>
<p>do we have to state our race? is “nonspecified” the same as “choose not to respond?”</p>
<p>well I’m one race but multiple ethnicities. Simply, I’m half White non-Hispanic and half White Hispanic. On the census I put White Only for race and Yes for Hispanicity.</p>
<p>most people who see me automatically classify me as white, but I’m really involved in my local Hispanic community. What do I do?</p>
<p>theloneranger, you should put ‘unspecified’ or ‘other’ if listed.</p>
<p>The question is optional. Virginia asks about this because the federal government requires reporting from all colleges in the United States, but you don’t have to answer the question at all. </p>
<p>From the U VA downloadable application: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Virginia’s Common Data Set info shows that many students are reported to the feds as “race unknown.” </p>
<p>[UVa</a> CDS: B. Enrollment](<a href=“http://www.web.virginia.edu/IAAS/data_catalog/institutional/cds/current/enrollment.htm]UVa”>http://www.web.virginia.edu/IAAS/data_catalog/institutional/cds/current/enrollment.htm) </p>
<p>Here’s my FAQ on the issue, with reference to the practices and figures at other colleges. An ethnicity question is ALWAYS optional on a college application. </p>
<p>Self-reporting ethnicity is OPTIONAL on the Common Application, which is what many colleges (for example Harvard) use as their main or sole application form. Self-reporting ethnicity is also optional on the Universal Application, which various colleges, including Harvard, also accept. Every college in the United States is required by federal law to track voluntarily self-reported ethnic data on students. The colleges ask for this information, and have to report it to the federal government, but students don’t have to report it. Harvard’s U-CAN page</p>
<p>[U-CAN:</a> Harvard University :: Page 1](<a href=“ucan-network.org”>ucan-network.org) </p>
<p>shows, based on that federally mandated data tracking, that 15 percent of its students are “race unknown,” so evidently quite a few applicants to Harvard decline to self-report their ethnicity and yet are still admitted. MIT still has its own application form, and asks its own brand of the ethnicity question. Ethnicity questions are optional on the MIT application also, but the application notes that MIT has an “Affirmative Action Plan” plan, with the comment that MIT “guarantees equal opportunity in education to students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.” About 10 percent of MIT’s enrolled class is counted as “race unknown.” </p>
<p>[U-CAN:</a> Massachusetts Institute of Technology :: Page 1](<a href=“ucan-network.org”>ucan-network.org) </p>
<p>Columbia University has its own application form, which also makes clear that ethnic self-identification information is optional. Approximately 13 percent of enrolled students at Columbia are reported as “race unknown.” </p>
<p>[U-CAN:</a> Columbia University :: Page 1](<a href=“ucan-network.org”>ucan-network.org) </p>
<p>Don’t worry about it. Self-report or not as you wish. Recognize that students from a variety of ethnic groups–including whatever one you would claim for yourself–are admitted to each of your favorite colleges each year. On the other hand, admission to some colleges (e.g., Harvard) is just plain competitive, so lots of outstanding students of each ethnic group you can imagine are not admitted each year. Do your best on your application, apply to a safety, and relax.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/357223-what-your-favorite-safety-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/357223-what-your-favorite-safety-college.html</a> </p>
<p>College admissions offices refer to the U.S. Census bureau definitions for ethnic categories, because they required to report by federal regulations, and you can look the definitions up on the Web.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[Black</a> or African American persons, percent, 2000](<a href=“http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68176.htm]Black”>http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68176.htm) </p>
<p>It would be dishonest, and possibly grounds for revoking an offer of admission, to self-report according to a category that doesn’t fit you at all. </p>
<p>Is that clear?</p>
<p>It’s not about dishonesty, but rather which race you personally choose to identify or associate yourself with. Admission officers will not even bother doing a background check to see if you are of the “correct” race - there’s just no clear justification to accuse someone of wrongly racially categorizing himself or herself. This is why I encourage you to put ‘unspecified’.</p>