@Pizzagirl "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.”
I asked about justifying what he puts down because I keep hearing these ‘scandals’ in the news about this person or that one who falsely claimed to be Native American or whatever to get into a University and somehow someone has dug it out. And I believe it was Mindy Kaling’s brother who admitted to shaving his head and cutting his eyelashes to pass himself off as African American so he could get into Medical school because as an Asian (Indian) applicant he didn’t stand out enough.
Then I had my friend who is part Native American telling me that her kids have to get the tribe affiliation card or it ‘doesn’t count’… So I just wondered between what she told me and people outright admitting they’d used the race card to game the system, if universities are asking for proof of race these days - in which case I am not sure what to give barring a DNA test since his father is long gone. I also asked it because of something I just read from someone working in admissions somewhere who was talking about how they didn’t feel kids had the right to list all of their ancestral races unless they truly connected with them - and then used. as an example of a kid a who really deserved to use hers, some girl who wrote part of her essay in some obscure ancestral tongue. I can tell you right now, if they are expecting something like that from my son if he chooses to put all three, that he speaks only English. But from other comments it seems I don’t need to worry about that.
I am new at all of this. He’s my oldest child - so my questions probably sound silly or even stupid to all of you - I apologize for that. I also live outside of the US and most of my son’s friends aren’t even planning to go to school in the US, so I have had a rude awakening discovering how different and competitive the whole process seems to be compared to what I vaguely remember from when I was in high school. For example, I recently learned that most kids nowadays go for SAT prep classes (my son didn’t … oops) and their parents hire admissions coaches - some of whom write their clients’ essays… Meanwhile, the only part of my own college application process that I remember clearly - because the rest was so uneventful - is the one and only time I visited my school’s snack-obsessed guidance counselor to ask her for an application to the State University, (which she kept in a stack right next to her lifetime supply of Doritos on the shelf just below the one with the boxes of TastyKakes and packages of Oreos) and she flung it at me with a huge sigh. The rest of the process after that is a blank.
The part about the tribal affiliation is true, however, because otherwise lots of kids would claim Native American and there really needs to be some proof of that. But I think you needn’t worry in your son’s case. Good luck!
OP you seem to know more about your son’s race than most people do. Check African, Asian, and Caucasian. If they don’t offer the option to ‘check all that apply’ then check ‘mixed race.’
I would check them all and write one hell of a essay regarding the issue. His background is very unique and this is exactly what selective schools look for. Hell your sons background has raised my interest. Best of luck to you.
BTW, there has been lots of publicity about the success of various kids from Nigerian immigrant families in the college admittance process in recent years. College admissions people are not so stupid that they think a black person has to be the descendant of Africans brought against their will to the Americas as slaves in order to contribute to the diversity of their school. The OP’s son has a very interesting background in his own right–including his long term residence in the Middle East–and I think he should claim it.
Checking ‘African American’ has certain meaning to people. It is a coined term and not really a race at all. Does he identify as an African (race) raised in America? If he were born in South Africa to tall white people who just happened to be Americans living in South Africa with Dutch or Swedish dna, I would not consider him ‘African American’. The person living in France whose ancestors are from Africa would not be an African American, but his race would be exactly the same. I don’t identify my race as Irish American or English American, and my daughter doesn’t identify her race as Chinese American, just as Chinese (or Asian). Her culture may be Chinese American, but not her race.
But you said the question is ‘what race do you identify with?’ and that allows your son to check any boxes he identifies with (except Native American, which will require registration with a tribe). Subjective. My daughter would not check Chinese as she doesn’t identify as Chinese, just American. If the question is ‘what race ARE you’, that restricts the answers to the facts and I couldn’t check Chinese or French or AA because I’m not, and my daughter couldn’t check Caucasian even though that’s how she identifies. Objective.
I think the question should be ‘what culture do you identify with.’ Race is determined by dna, culture is not.
And in the end I don’t think it makes one bit of difference in college admissions.
To clarify my post #43. “OP you seem to know more about your son’s race than most people do.”
I should have said OP you seem to know more about your son’s race than most people do about their own race. All of my grandparents died before I was born. Until I did the 23 and me test I just checked “unknown.”
Nope. “Race” is a cultural construct. The geographic region that your ancestors came from can be determined from your DNA but not “race.”
My mom’s “race/ethnicity” changed several times when she was growing depending on where she happened to be living (which country). My race/ethnicity/cultural identification doesn’t generally follow what you’d expect from my name or physical appearance.
The OP’s son should check whichever he identifies with. Good luck, OP
He can write everything about his multi racial ethnicity and long term residence in the Middle East. Making him a very interesting person. Then he can also check African American only, allowing the college to claim higher AA percentage in it’s students demographic for higher published diversity, also allowing his reader to mention AA while her short 1 minute pitch for him to other AOs.
@Pizzagirl, Not to general diversity statistics. But to specific African American statistics, which likely has no cons but only possible pros compared to being in the mixed pool.
" For example, I recently learned that most kids nowadays go for SAT prep classes (my son didn’t … oops)"
The vast majority of students don’t take SAT prep classes.
“and their parents hire admissions coaches”
Extremely few people do. According to the Harvard freshman survey, only 16.3% of their students did, and even among the super wealthy 500K+ income families, only 32% did.
some of whom write their clients' essays... " I'm sure they do.
Yes, MaterS, that’s the whole point. If (for example) the school is 65% white, 30% Asian, 15% African-American, 5% Native American (numbers made up for illustrative purposes) obviously there are multi-racial people in there who checked multiple boxes. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t still counted. It’s simply wrong to assert that “to be counted in diversity” one has to be solely of that particular race.
I disagree. I don’t think your race can change, it is what it is. I can move to China, I can become culturally Chinese, change my citizenship to Chinese, but racially I’m always going to be caucasian. Racially, my daughter is always going to be Chinese. She’s ethnically American, she’s an American citizen, she doesn’t really enjoy anything Chinese (food, music, dress, holidays), but she checks Asian or Chinese for race if she wants it considered. Sometimes she doesn’t check anything. If the questioned asked ‘race/ethnicity’ she’d leave it blank because she has two different answers for that question, and ‘multi’ wouldn’t do it for her. She is racially Chinese, she is ethnically American, and doesn’t consider herself mixed.
I don’t remember there being a question about ‘ethnicity’ on any college applications. I remember there being two questions, the first one about race with many choices and even a box to write in more, and then a second question whether you consider yourself Hispanic, and if so white or non-white.
OP is now saying that the question has changed to how your identify yourself, not what race you are genetically. As I said, I think that is a subjective question, not objective.
since his father is long gone. I also asked it because of something I just read from someone working in admissions somewhere who was talking about how they didn’t feel kids had the right to list all of their ancestral races unless they truly connected with them - and then used. as an example of a kid a who really deserved to use hers, some girl who wrote part of her essay in some obscure ancestral tongue. I can tell you right now, if they are expecting something like that from my son if he chooses to put all three, that he speaks only English. 