Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the US, African American refers to racial ancestry, not citizenship. So, she is within her rights to put AA, BUT...I would let her decide (this is what I did with my child who could have "hidden" her Asian heritage on the application.)

She decided to check Asian, because she felt that was the most accurate answer. I was proud of her for being forthright, and proud of her identity. Others feel strongly about checking mixed race. Your child is forming her identity as an adult. Let her chose what feels honest to her.

By the way, two other side feelings we had were : we did not want her somewhere where her ethnicity would not be embraced AND if this is a deal breaker for the school, it would have been pretty obvious at the interview.

But again, I discussed it with her and feel proud of how she handled it. Felt authentic and transparent.

Nope. She's not AA. African American = descendants of Africans brought to the US as slaves.

So Rihanna isn’t AA?

Rihanna is black. She's not American so wouldn't be AA. She was born and raised in Barbados. Similarly, British person with African ancestry isn't African American.

She’s a green card holder. That’s American enough for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. You would mark "black" for her race, but your not satisfied with that, you would also like to mark an African country for citizenship. Is that right?

OP here. Yep.

Well, it would be a lie because you didn’t actually apply for citizenship for her and she doesn’t have it.

My son is a dual citizen with two passports. when he filled out his applications, he told the truth.

OP here. As I said in my post, she would not lie. I was asking if we should apply for the African passport so she could put both on her application. Dual citizenship is allowed.

Not worth the effort. Citizenship is not a hook.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that a black European would add much more diversity to the college than a black African.

But she will not be adding diversity.
She is American trying to pass for something else

OP here. She is NOT American. She is half black African and half white European but she had the passport of the European country and a green card.

She grew up here, finished high school here
Teenagers assimilate much faster than other age groups. Stop demanding that her passport dictated her identity

You are just trying to get her a free pass and use an opportunity meant for someone else

+1 The best part is that her DD likely doesn't even identify as black as evidenced by the fact that all her friends are white.

If she got her high school diploma in America, she will not be considered as a student from her passport country

Do you have to have black friends to identify as black?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that a black European would add much more diversity to the college than a black African.

But she will not be adding diversity.
She is American trying to pass for something else

OP here. She is NOT American. She is half black African and half white European but she had the passport of the European country and a green card.

She grew up here, finished high school here
Teenagers assimilate much faster than other age groups. Stop demanding that her passport dictated her identity

You are just trying to get her a free pass and use an opportunity meant for someone else

+1 The best part is that her DD likely doesn't even identify as black as evidenced by the fact that all her friends are white.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that a black European would add much more diversity to the college than a black African.

But she will not be adding diversity.
She is American trying to pass for something else

OP here. She is NOT American. She is half black African and half white European but she had the passport of the European country and a green card.

She grew up here, finished high school here
Teenagers assimilate much faster than other age groups. Stop demanding that her passport dictated her identity

You are just trying to get her a free pass and use an opportunity meant for someone else

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that a black European would add much more diversity to the college than a black African.

But she will not be adding diversity.
She is American trying to pass for something else

OP here. She is NOT American. She is half black African and half white European but she had the passport of the European country and a green card.

Anonymous wrote:I think that a black European would add much more diversity to the college than a black African.

But she will not be adding diversity.
She is American trying to pass for something else

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. You would mark "black" for her race, but your not satisfied with that, you would also like to mark an African country for citizenship. Is that right?

OP here. Yep.

Well, it would be a lie because you didn’t actually apply for citizenship for her and she doesn’t have it.

My son is a dual citizen with two passports. when he filled out his applications, he told the truth.

OP here. As I said in my post, she would not lie. I was asking if we should apply for the African passport so she could put both on her application. Dual citizenship is allowed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she is not a US citizen or green card holder, then she is an international applicant, which is a disadvantage no matter her race.

US colleges report data to the federal government separately for race only for domestic applicants (US citizens or permanent residents).

OP here. She has a green card but I did not know that. Thanks

A green card means permanent residency, correct? I know students without permanent residency do not qualify for financial aid. If you are hoping for financial aid, OP, you might have to inquire about whether green card holders are eligible.

OP here. We are not applying for aid

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the US, African American refers to racial ancestry, not citizenship. So, she is within her rights to put AA, BUT...I would let her decide (this is what I did with my child who could have "hidden" her Asian heritage on the application.)

She decided to check Asian, because she felt that was the most accurate answer. I was proud of her for being forthright, and proud of her identity. Others feel strongly about checking mixed race. Your child is forming her identity as an adult. Let her chose what feels honest to her.

By the way, two other side feelings we had were : we did not want her somewhere where her ethnicity would not be embraced AND if this is a deal breaker for the school, it would have been pretty obvious at the interview.

But again, I discussed it with her and feel proud of how she handled it. Felt authentic and transparent.

Nope. She's not AA. African American = descendants of Africans brought to the US as slaves.

So Rihanna isn’t AA?

Rihanna is black. She's not American so wouldn't be AA. She was born and raised in Barbados. Similarly, British person with African ancestry isn't African American.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the US, African American refers to racial ancestry, not citizenship. So, she is within her rights to put AA, BUT...I would let her decide (this is what I did with my child who could have "hidden" her Asian heritage on the application.)

She decided to check Asian, because she felt that was the most accurate answer. I was proud of her for being forthright, and proud of her identity. Others feel strongly about checking mixed race. Your child is forming her identity as an adult. Let her chose what feels honest to her.

By the way, two other side feelings we had were : we did not want her somewhere where her ethnicity would not be embraced AND if this is a deal breaker for the school, it would have been pretty obvious at the interview.

But again, I discussed it with her and feel proud of how she handled it. Felt authentic and transparent.

Nope. She's not AA. African American = descendants of Africans brought to the US as slaves.

I've always thought it meant an American with Black African ancestry. I am Black from the Caribbean and my kids were born here. My kids consider themselves AA. The question usually has Black or AA anyway, so I've never considered that (even if you were born here) you wouldn't be African American if your ancestors weren't brought to the US as slaves. I thought the question posted above about describing your Black or African American background was interesting because my kids would likely pick US/African American because that's how they identify, but now I think they should pick Caribbean to be accurate. The questions make sense if the goal is to identify the descendants of people who experienced systematic racism in this country and to provide some kind of preference based on that. Neither OP's DD nor my kids should receive that benefit if that the goal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the US, African American refers to racial ancestry, not citizenship. So, she is within her rights to put AA, BUT...I would let her decide (this is what I did with my child who could have "hidden" her Asian heritage on the application.)

She decided to check Asian, because she felt that was the most accurate answer. I was proud of her for being forthright, and proud of her identity. Others feel strongly about checking mixed race. Your child is forming her identity as an adult. Let her chose what feels honest to her.

By the way, two other side feelings we had were : we did not want her somewhere where her ethnicity would not be embraced AND if this is a deal breaker for the school, it would have been pretty obvious at the interview.

But again, I discussed it with her and feel proud of how she handled it. Felt authentic and transparent.

Nope. She's not AA. African American = descendants of Africans brought to the US as slaves.

That’s an implied definition, not a stated one on the forms. We all know what it’s supposed to mean, but for someone not versed in US cultural politics, it may not be as obvious. This is the problem with coming up with euphemisms for what is really intended. I recently figured out from looking at some of the definitions for “Hispanic/Latino” I could check the box. My grandparents came from Argentina. However, they were of Italian descent and never spoke a word of Spanish because in those days there were a bunch of different languages spoken there. But they were born in a South American country. I would never dream of checking the box for myself or my children because we are not what is meant by the question.

Anonymous wrote:I would put Black, if the mix is black white as she'll have a better chance and most people consider it black/African vs. white.

+1
This is a no-brainer. The admissions process is such a joke, I really don't have a problem with people making a mockery of it. Is there any enforcement mechanism for people who blatantly lie about race? I can see how it would be easy to get away with, especially if you check the Hispanic box.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the US, African American refers to racial ancestry, not citizenship. So, she is within her rights to put AA, BUT...I would let her decide (this is what I did with my child who could have "hidden" her Asian heritage on the application.)

She decided to check Asian, because she felt that was the most accurate answer. I was proud of her for being forthright, and proud of her identity. Others feel strongly about checking mixed race. Your child is forming her identity as an adult. Let her chose what feels honest to her.

By the way, two other side feelings we had were : we did not want her somewhere where her ethnicity would not be embraced AND if this is a deal breaker for the school, it would have been pretty obvious at the interview.

But again, I discussed it with her and feel proud of how she handled it. Felt authentic and transparent.

Nope. She's not AA. African American = descendants of Africans brought to the US as slaves.

So Rihanna isn’t AA?