<p>Hopeful: what do you think is a better “target” number for the so-called top 50?</p>
<p>What? Im just saying</p>
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<p>Even more important for these numbers than the overall population, which is indeed about 80 percent “white” in the United States (or 66 percent white but not of Hispanic ethnicity), </p>
<p>[USA</a> QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau](<a href=“http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html]USA”>http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html) </p>
<p>is that percentages of well prepared high school graduates vary by ethnic group. Not all young people complete high school. Not all young people who do complete high school have taken the kind of challenging high school courses necessary to be ready for “top tier” (your term) colleges. See </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.act.org/news/data/08/pdf/three.pdf[/url]”>http://www.act.org/news/data/08/pdf/three.pdf</a> </p>
<p>for one example of a report on this issue. It would, of course, be a great idea for this country if all young people maximize their high school preparation to the highest level they can, but not all young people have had opportunity to do that yet. </p>
<p>But the good news is that if you go outside the “top tier,” ALL ethnic groups in the United States without exception have ever increasing rates of college attendance. </p>
<p><a href=“American Council on Education”>American Council on Education;
<p>Wow thats just a little bit racist</p>
<p>^^ really? classist, maybe, but racist, no</p>
<p>I’m a junior and I’m half Puertorican and half Dominican( one parent born in Puerto Rico, the other in the Dominican Republic, and both immigrated around their 20s.) When i take standardized tests i normally just put Hispanic put on the PSAT there is an Hispanic(other than Puertorican and Mexican) and Puertorican option. Since i could put either one i put Hispanic thinking it would help me more since Puertoricans are still American citizens, but i just read somewhere that putting down Puertorican when applying to colleges is more of an advantage than putting Hispanic. Is this true?</p>
<p>If the choice is Hispanic (other than Puertorican and Mexican) vs. Puertorican, I’d say go with the latter as it’s the best description of your heritage. </p>
<p>Being of Puertorican or Mexican descent is usually an advantage over other Hispanics because these are the two large Hispanic populations in the US which are historically underrepresented in colleges.</p>
<p>yea thats what i thought at first, but i read something on the harvard forum where a couple of people where saying that Puertoricans and Mexicans had a greater advantage compared to other hispanics</p>
<p>Some colleges don’t make this distinction at all, but in general it’s a good idea to be specific about your background (for example, in essays or other parts of your application) if you think that makes you someone who will make the campus environment more diverse. I think the best-informed statement (on this issue regarding which there is little verifiable information) is that a designation of “Puerto Rican” gives an applicant more consideration in admissions than the more general designation of “Hispanic.” That may not be true at every college, but you may as well be specific about yourself. </p>
<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>
<p>@ tokenadult:</p>
<p>How exactly do you have so much time to spend posting and moderating on this site? Do you have a job?</p>
<p>Flexible hours here. Work all day, bop in on College Confidential in between.</p>
<p>Carltons meaning African Americans who are not disadvantaged in anyway, except historically. They still get to check the URM box in applications. It’s understandable to give students from less fortunately backgrounds a spot, but basing AA on ethnicity is silly.</p>
<p>LOL is that Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel Air?</p>
<p>you bet it is. I thought it was a fair term to use.</p>
<p>YouTube - Famous Carlton Dance (a compilation)</p>
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<p>How would you know? How could you check facts on such an issue, as contrasted with trading anecdotes?</p>
<p>You’re right, I’m not looking for any anecdotes.</p>
<p>And the answer could be, as expected, that college’s don’t. There is no distinction between poor and wealthy when it comes to checking the box, for any race. Therefore there probably are no statistics.</p>
<p>Yes, on the one hand colleges claim to give a leg up, today, to students of economically disadvantaged circumstances. And on the other hand colleges claim to cherish “diversity,” which in this context means that most colleges would like to report substantial numbers of minority ethnic groups on campus. But it is not at all clear how those goals interact in practice–and they may interact differently at some colleges from some other colleges.</p>
<p>Maybe you should reexamine whether or not the people you refer to as “Carltons” face any disadvantages.</p>
<p>Certainly if a particular applicant has faced disadvantages, it would be prudent for the applicant to describe those disadvantages as part of a college application.</p>
<p>A “Carlton” is still disadvantaged when they walk down the street, just by being black in today’s society.</p>
<p>But every non-white in America faces some sort of disadvantage because of their face and skin. In fact, I firmly believe Asian-Americans and Americans of middle eastern descent have it worst. In general, they do not play the race card, for what reason I don’t know. And also, our country increasingly antagonizes China and the middle-east.</p>