There’s a tendency on CC to say explain in essays, but it can simply go in Addl Info. Use the main essay for a narrative that illustrates the personal attributes the particular target colleges like to see.
This background question seems perfectly clear to some of us, but OP was clearly confused by the prism of identities.
There really are two questions here;
There are many good ideas and speculations on this rather philosophical question. They all seem to be thoughtful and great.
Check “African American” only and be done. It’s so clear and definitive that I don’t think it allows any 2nd opinion.
I don’t think that’s based on experience, Sculptor Dad, only your idea he might get a URM boost. But you do not need to be exclusively African American to provide an interesting perspective and add to the diversity on campus.
Normally I value a logic and statistics based idea more than any outlier personal experience, either mine or someone else’s.
Anyway, there is a whole forum for this issue. I suppose both you and OP can study it instead of listening to my mere idea.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/
as well as reading Race FAQ in this forurm
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1843141-race-in-college-applications-faq-discussion-12-p1.html
Of course not. But you can provide an interesting perspective AND get the URM boost as well, which in my idea is a far more effective strategy than an interesting perspective without the URM boost.
No, SculptorDad. People of integrity just check whatever is the truth and are done with it. Not playing any supposed “what is the best admission strategy” game. This person is multiracial so he checks all the relevant boxes. Done and done.
And nothing, absolutely nothing, says only people who check just AA are considered URM. Besides, OP did not ask about some tip. Her son has a multilayered background. She’s aware of the cultural history. It’s interesting.
Nearly every one of us agrees on this.
I think this is wrong. I read a NY Times piece recently about race and college admissions. A representative of Rice was one of the administrators who was interviewed. I came away with the understanding that colleges are interested in the whole person. I find the ancestry of OP’s son intriguing, and I think colleges would too.
The article mentioned that students who check multiple boxes are still counted in URM categories no matter how many boxes are checked. A Native American/Caucasian is still Native American. A native Hawaiian/African American/Caucasian is Pacific Islander and African American. Being a mix of races doesn’t disqualify a student from being an URM.
I consider these opinions as philosophical value judgement, answers to the question #1 as categorized in my previous reply. I respect all of them, and have nothing more to say at this time.
@lookingforward , @austinmshauri
Seems to me, she sure is asking about some tip.
OP’s son can do everything including the essay about his ancestry just the same, and still check only AA, and still be considered intriguing.
I think it’s more complex than that, too complex to be summarized that way. Therefore I would like to suggest OP to decide on her own after her own reading
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/african-american-students/
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1843141-race-in-college-applications-faq-discussion-12-p1.html
and consult experts if she isn’t sure.
OP doesn’t need to turn to a thread that vents about affirmative action for her son’s decision. We are telling you, SD, that there is no need to check just one box. Adcoms can read, they’re savvy to various situations and issues. There are no special points for claiming only one heritage. And like it or not, this is an intriguing background.
Again, if you’re aiming high, don’t use the main essay to "explain. That’s not the point of the writing there. It’s different if the background is used as an illustration of perspective, efforts, engagement, growth and impact. Etc. Really, get an idea of what top adcoms look for.
Austinmshauri said it well.
@lookingforward , I don’t see anything new and substantial in your latest reply. So please allow me not to repeat the same answers.
The “race” discussions on CC are full of posters who don’t know what they are talking about. It is abundantly clear that being African American is not some “magic check box” that toggles the decision to “accept”.
And I don’t think a poster who is the parent of, what, an 8th/9th grader, who hasn’t even gone through the process of elite college admissions, should be spreading such misinformation.
“Purely on admission benefit, African American will beat any interesting mixed race any day”
You’re making this up out of whole cloth. Just because you assert it with confidence doesn’t make it true. Please don’t do the poster a disservice. It is clear that the child qualifies as multiple races. They can check multiple races. Problem solved. It’s a simple question and baseless assertions don’t help here.
Fortunately, it’s also clear this mom is savvy. I liked her understanding of the family history. She and her son will make the best decision for them.
It seems you are suggesting that the OP, being an inexperienced new high school parent, lacks ability to navigate complex information that are mostly useless, and decided for her own, and therefore she should just accept the stronger voices, , yours, within this thread.
On the other hand, I think there are plenty of good information on the 12 threads Race FAQ, from many useful contributors including the thread creator tokenadult. And based on OP’s thoughtful question and calm responses, I would give her a benefit of doubt that she might actually be capable of critical reading for the thread.
As a newbie, I sometimes have difficulty in choosing between different opinions from multiple experienced posters including yours. I don’t see why I should accept your logic over differing opinions of other posters with compatible number of posts. While I made the bold assertion, I also suggested the OP to study the past discussions and make her own logical decision.
I have repeatedly turned to the past discussions as the base of my assertion. You are free to dismiss the FAQ thread and a forum as useless. And I am still free to find them equally valuable as your assertions.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and reply to my rather lengthy question here. I too think my son’s heritage is interesting. Anyway, just to clarify why I felt prompted to ask this question (for those of you who feel there is nothing to wonder about here), maybe I am overthinking it (and so is my son in that case), but some of the applications frame the question as 'Which race / ethnicity do you identify as?" - which is a more abstract/complicated question than if they simply asked “What is your racial background or “Ethnicity/ race - tick all that apply”?” I wasn’t sure if that was simply an awkward choice of wording that is not meant to be as deep as it sounds, and he should just ignore that and answer according to his ancestry, or if they were worded that way because they wanted him to actually ponder the question more deeply and then answer accordingly? And whatever the case, do colleges, when kids report multiple racial / ethnic backgrounds, expect / look for some sort of explanation at some point - or for it to be explained in the essay? Does he have to ‘justify’ what he puts down at some point?
SD, try to vet who knows what they’re talking about versus who’s venting or guessing. This isn’t about who has what number of posts. That alone doesn’t mean they know. The “experience” that matters isn’t number of times they posted a comment. You will learn more by going directly to the right sources themselves.
People on CC say all sorts of strange things. In the end, in top admissions, it’s the individual that matters, the combo of experiences and challenges taken on, successfully, and their ability to make a good self presentation via the app and supps.
I think he’s fine to check African-American and anything else he likes. If his story doesn’t end up in his main essays, he might want to mention it in the “Anything else you want to tell us about?” section. He’s obviously got a very interesting background that would be considered a plus at many colleges.
it’s not really a “deep thinking” question. It starts with a govt requirement that the colleges report and an interest in asking, to know the background. Much like they ask the parent’s education, work, (and “country of birth,”) to understand the platform. After that, it’s up to the kid to show the right stuff, for any particular college. Some kids don’t explain their mixed heritage, they just state it. Nothing lost. In your son’s case, they would see the African portion. If he uses Addl Info to briefly explain how his African and Asian roots are combined, they will see he offers a unique sort of background, experience, and awareness. (Judging by your own awareness, I’m guessing he’s an interesting kid, on his own.) Unless he wants to show something about how the heritage inspired him to action, grew him, or formed some of his directions/choices, it doesn’t need to be an essay. Th essay is a narrative, to show attributes. Ideally, those attributes that school values and wants to see.
@lookingforward, I find your last 3 posts logical and conforming to all my personal research.
“And whatever the case, do colleges, when kids report multiple racial / ethnic backgrounds, expect / look for some sort of explanation at some point - or for it to be explained in the essay? Does he have to ‘justify’ what he puts down at some point?”
No. I mean, the majority of the time, people are putting down multiple races because, well, people of two different races got married and had a kid. That doesn’t require “explanation,” as that’s just life. What is there to explain or justify? “My white mother fell in love with an Asian guy and they got married and had me.”