Hi everyone! I've heard that colleges look for diversity, and I have some Hispanic heritage. What criteria do they use to determine if someone is considered Hispanic for admissions purposes?
Hello! When it comes to identifying as Hispanic on college applications, the definition might vary slightly from one institution to another. Generally, however, the Hispanic classification refers to individuals who have origins or ancestry from Spain, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, or other Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America.
For college admissions, the designation is typically self-reported. This means that if you identify as Hispanic based on your heritage, you can report this in the demographic section of the application. Nobody is going to fact check you or ask for a family tree, so the decision should be based solely on how you genuinely view your identity.
It's important to note, however, that following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn affirmative action in June 2023, colleges are no longer allowed to directly factor a student's race into their admissions decisions. If your Hispanic identity is important to you, you may want to consider writing your personal statement, or at least a supplemental essay, about it, as schools are still allowed to consider your race as part of your overall background. If you want to read more about the overturning of affirmative action, you can check out CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/end-of-affirmative-action.
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