When talking about overrepresented minorities, what numbers are being referred to?

Applying to College
1

<p>I am a white male so this probably does not apply to me, but when talking about over representation, do colleges like to bring in a certain amount of minorities that is proportional to the total US population? So if the US is 30% hispanic, will colleges try to fill up each class with 30% hispanics?</p>

2

<p>Take a look at the Common Data Sets for various colleges, they give data for enrollment by race/ethnicity.</p>

3

<p>No, it is not determined by population. Colleges have ‘quotas’ to meet. If you take a look at the breakdown of ethnicities at universities, the Hispanic section usually ranges from 5% to 15%. Of course, if a particular college is in an area heavily populated by Hispanics, then that percentage will be higher.</p>

4

<p>prsg: although “quotas” are forbidden, it’s an unkept secret that soft quotas exist (based on the stability of ethic group percentages year to year). But these goals are set by the school according to their needs & desires. Whether they fall along US census numbers or not would be pure coincidence.</p>

5

<p>I think when posters refer to themselves as an over represented minority they are almost always asian.</p>