Anonymous wrote:My Asian friends said they marked “mixed races.” It imo,it’s maybe Hispanic or black, but you don’t have to specify. Still gives you an advantage over white or Asian.

As far as I recall, there isn't a generic "mixed race" box on the Common App. You can mark one or more races or choose not to mark any. The question is optional.

DP: what did you see on campus tours? Were students more or less diverse than the published demographics?

Much less diverse.

Seriously, why are white people so angry?

I’m white and have a story of overcoming adversity that is so compelling that I could write a book. But, even I know that my whiteness has afforded me unfair advantage and privilege. Nothing could be more obvious in this country. I don’t understand how other white people can’t see it.

Anonymous wrote:

I truly doubt that there's a statistically significant number of applicants who are lying about their race or ethnicity.

Based on our on campus tours, I think you're wrong. I also think colleges have caught on to the lies. Either way, colleges have shifted to prioritizing First Gen students which I think achieves their goals of trying to provide access across all sectors of our society, focusing on merit, not race.

DP: what did you see on campus tours? Were students more or less diverse than the published demographics?

Anonymous wrote:

I truly doubt that there's a statistically significant number of applicants who are lying about their race or ethnicity.

Based on our on campus tours, I think you're wrong. I also think colleges have caught on to the lies. Either way, colleges have shifted to prioritizing First Gen students which I think achieves their goals of trying to provide access across all sectors of our society, focusing on merit, not race.

Well, unless their definition of “First Gen” means “parents did not graduate from Ivy League schools” which is the definition Penn uses (or at least used for a long time until they got bad publicity for it).

I truly doubt that there's a statistically significant number of applicants who are lying about their race or ethnicity.

Based on our on campus tours, I think you're wrong. I also think colleges have caught on to the lies. Either way, colleges have shifted to prioritizing First Gen students which I think achieves their goals of trying to provide access across all sectors of our society, focusing on merit, not race.

I truly doubt that there's a statistically significant number of applicants who are lying about their race or ethnicity. The social stigma attached to lying about something like this - much less the consequences if it was revealed - is just too severe. It sounds crazy to presume that there can be self-policing in such an absurd process, but I really think it's the case.

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Anonymous wrote:Where does the ethnicity stop, though? I'm always so confused about this. I'm 1/2 hispanic via my mother who is 100%. I've always just checked "white" for my kids recognizing that they are more white than hispanic. But am I wrong? My DH is not technically white but there's no box for him.

You’re fretting and overstating the importance of this. When it comes to diversity outreach, the main focus is now and long has been on African Americans. As it should be, since this country has screwed them over in unimaginable ways for hundreds of years. All of this other stuff is just noise. None of you is being denied anything.

Once the liberals opened the Pandora’s Box of racial spoils there was no putting the troubles back in. They said “this race should get this and that because reasons” and the obvious and predictable consequence was other races trying to see what they could also get, because reasons. You can try and dismiss everyone else and tell them to shut up but it’s not going to happen.

Colleges should require high-re pictures and conduct detailed analysis of skin pigmentation to root out this unethical behavior.

Don't you remember sending your photo in with applications? It was pretty standard in the 80s and 90s. I think Georgetown was one of the last to stop doing it.

Besides the racial bias issue, there's a beauty bias that is hard to combat in humans.

The race questions are optional.

Option 1: Don't answer the questions. Nothing wrong with this.

Option 2: Deliberately check the wrong box. Teach your child to lie and commit fraud. Risk being found out and having the application tossed for lying because you signed a statement saying everything in the application is true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where does the ethnicity stop, though? I'm always so confused about this. I'm 1/2 hispanic via my mother who is 100%. I've always just checked "white" for my kids recognizing that they are more white than hispanic. But am I wrong? My DH is not technically white but there's no box for him.

You’re fretting and overstating the importance of this. When it comes to diversity outreach, the main focus is now and long has been on African Americans. As it should be, since this country has screwed them over in unimaginable ways for hundreds of years. All of this other stuff is just noise. None of you is being denied anything.

Once the liberals opened the Pandora’s Box of racial spoils there was no putting the troubles back in. They said “this race should get this and that because reasons” and the obvious and predictable consequence was other races trying to see what they could also get, because reasons. You can try and dismiss everyone else and tell them to shut up but it’s not going to happen.

Colleges should require high-re pictures and conduct detailed analysis of skin pigmentation to root out this unethical behavior.

But as we know, the American rule is “just one drop” makes you diverse, and this cannot necessarily be detected by photos. Everyone will have to submit a detailed genealogy going back many generations!

I'm Asian but 23 and me says I have African and Native American "drops".

I think I'll apply the one drop rule for my family too. Oh wait, they'll say that a black person's one drop caused discrimination against their ancestors so race based affirmative action in 2022 is some sort of absolution of sin type of redemption.

And the discrimination against my kids in 2022 is all in my head.

Anonymous wrote:Where does the ethnicity stop, though? I'm always so confused about this. I'm 1/2 hispanic via my mother who is 100%. I've always just checked "white" for my kids recognizing that they are more white than hispanic. But am I wrong? My DH is not technically white but there's no box for him.

You can easily check Hispanic, except that by your post it seems like your Hispanic identity isn’t a very big part of your lives, in which case I probably would not. My kids are white and 1/4 Hispanic, and always check white and Hispanic or, for old school forms that don’t understand that Hispanic is an ethnic identity not a race, they check multi racial. But the country that they get their identity from is a huge part of our lives, they visit family there often, and they are dual citizens with Hispanic names. Idk what we would do if they had a more tenuous connection to that identity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where does the ethnicity stop, though? I'm always so confused about this. I'm 1/2 hispanic via my mother who is 100%. I've always just checked "white" for my kids recognizing that they are more white than hispanic. But am I wrong? My DH is not technically white but there's no box for him.

Hispanic all the way.

Most Hispanics are either white or white/native, something like 50/50 in last Census if I recall correctly.

Noted. I have also done white but may rethink moving forward. For myself, I always check "white" (except on medical intakes) because I assumed that they were asking for recent immigrants or those that were marginalized hispanics, which I am not.

You assumed incorrectly. It that was what they were "looking for," that is what they would have asked.

Adding: This is a common misconception about diversity statistics. The data collection was never about being disadvantaged or marginalized, it was and is about representation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where does the ethnicity stop, though? I'm always so confused about this. I'm 1/2 hispanic via my mother who is 100%. I've always just checked "white" for my kids recognizing that they are more white than hispanic. But am I wrong? My DH is not technically white but there's no box for him.

Hispanic all the way.

Most Hispanics are either white or white/native, something like 50/50 in last Census if I recall correctly.

Noted. I have also done white but may rethink moving forward. For myself, I always check "white" (except on medical intakes) because I assumed that they were asking for recent immigrants or those that were marginalized hispanics, which I am not.

You assumed incorrectly. It that was what they were "looking for," that is what they would have asked.

Anonymous wrote:If this is a widespread problem it would be concentrated in the top 30 or so competitive schools. This would mean that the diversity stats these schools report are BS, correct?

If this is actually happening (and I'm betting it isn't), then you are right that it is only to get into those schools (not necessary elsewhere), so yes, it would mean their diversity stats are a lie too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where does the ethnicity stop, though? I'm always so confused about this. I'm 1/2 hispanic via my mother who is 100%. I've always just checked "white" for my kids recognizing that they are more white than hispanic. But am I wrong? My DH is not technically white but there's no box for him.

You’re fretting and overstating the importance of this. When it comes to diversity outreach, the main focus is now and long has been on African Americans. As it should be, since this country has screwed them over in unimaginable ways for hundreds of years. All of this other stuff is just noise. None of you is being denied anything.

Once the liberals opened the Pandora’s Box of racial spoils there was no putting the troubles back in. They said “this race should get this and that because reasons” and the obvious and predictable consequence was other races trying to see what they could also get, because reasons. You can try and dismiss everyone else and tell them to shut up but it’s not going to happen.

Colleges should require high-re pictures and conduct detailed analysis of skin pigmentation to root out this unethical behavior.

But as we know, the American rule is “just one drop” makes you diverse, and this cannot necessarily be detected by photos. Everyone will have to submit a detailed genealogy going back many generations!