can I claim minority status?

[pwned]

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dad = caucasian
mom = 50% Filipino/50% Salvadoran

Is it ok for me to claim hispanic? and how do they verify self reporting of minority status? Where is the cutoff on such claims?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Ummm hard call lol.. I'd try at least.

 

[Howisbabbyformd]

dad = caucasian
mom = 50% Chilean/25% Costa Rican-25%Filipino
so she's 75% hispanic and 25% filipino - she has a very latino last name

Is it ok for me to claim hispanic? and how do they verify self reporting of minority status? Where is the cutoff on such claims?

I think you're a mut, just like the rest of us and not URM.

 

[flip26]

What is your cultural identity? That is your answer...

 

[MedBoundForSure]

check "other" and explain later.

 

[pwned]

well i sure don't look white...but i grew up in upper middle class america...

imagine nobody questions a half black/half white kid being "black" on applications so I'll go w/hispanic and see if anything pops up...

anyone know how they verify your race? visual inspection? do they want your parents birth certificates?

I have a very white last name but my mom's last name is Salinas

 

[flip26]

Do you think of yourself as hispanic? Doesn't sound like it to me.

There are no "tests" for racial / ethnic purity.

 

[MedBoundForSure]

well i sure don't look white...but i grew up in upper middle class america...

imagine nobody questions a half black/half white kid being "black" on applications so I'll go w/hispanic and see if anything pops up...

anyone know how they verify your race? visual inspection? do they want your parents birth certificates?

I have a very white last name but my mom's last name is Salinas

nobody is going to put you on trial about your race. The most you will get are some questions I imagine. My race is pretty obvious so I don't completely know. Your hispanic designation does not exclude "white" you seem to be white hispanic it's not like that doesn't exist. Good luck

 

[Morsetlis]

Blackness overpowers whiteness, but your Hispanicity might not overpower your whiteness.

 

[Mackey]

Do you look like your mom or dad?

They don't ask you to fax them a copy of your latino-card.

 

[MedBoundForSure]

Blackness overpowers whiteness, but your Hispanicity might not overpower your whiteness.

once again, white and hispanic are not mutually exclusive.

 

[metallica81788]

What is your cultural identity? That is your answer...

Do you think of yourself as hispanic? Doesn't sound like it to me.

There are no "tests" for racial / ethnic purity.

Right on, Flip.

It's what you identify yourself with, not how you look.

And from your posts, it doesn't sound like you're confident about being Hispanic.

 

[tinery]

dad = caucasian
mom = 50% Chilean/25% Costa Rican-25%Filipino
so she's 75% hispanic and 25% filipino - she has a very latino last name

Is it ok for me to claim hispanic?

Not really, since you're 3/8ths hispanic. You're mixed.

But if I were you I'd claim hispanic anyway, especially with a Spanish last name.

EDIT: I misread and thought you have a Spanish last name. If you don't then I would say your argument is for being Hispanic is pretty weak, but other people have said they don't check so maybe it doesn't matter.

 

[WhizoMD]

isn't Hispanic for URM purposes Mexican/Puerto Rican?

 

[Morsetlis]

once again, white and hispanic are not mutually exclusive.

 

[brygguy1]

Depends. Have you been issued your Race Card yet?

(Have y'all seen the Race Card skit from the Dave Chappelle Show?)

 

[extravagnat]

dad = caucasian
mom = 50% Chilean/25% Costa Rican-25%Filipino
so she's 75% hispanic and 25% filipino - she has a very latino last name

Is it ok for me to claim hispanic? and how do they verify self reporting of minority status? Where is the cutoff on such claims?

I lol'd ...sorry I got nothing else to say!

 

[Morsetlis]

This thread demonstrates absurdity of URM status.

 

[Ok2Panic]

This thread demonstrates absurdity of URM status.

🙄 Let's not go down this road. The OP's question seems to have been sufficiently answered.

 

[tennisball80]

dad = caucasian
mom = 50% Chilean/25% Costa Rican-25%Filipino
so she's 75% hispanic and 25% filipino - she has a very latino last name

Is it ok for me to claim hispanic? and how do they verify self reporting of minority status? Where is the cutoff on such claims?

I'd try. At least you get a better chance.

 

[Morsetlis]

The simple answer is this:

Surely at some point you have had to "check a box" to signify your race.
(...Such as on your UG application)

What race did you check?
There is your answer.

It would be pretty funny if one of the med schools checks with your UG and finds out that you magically changed races recently.

Michael Jackson.

 

[Catalystik]

isn't Hispanic for URM purposes Mexican/Puerto Rican?

Yes, at least for AMCAS.

As I recall, some have said they checked both boxes if they had a mixed background.

 

[MedBoundForSure]

This thread demonstrates absurdity of URM status.

this thread isn't even about URM status. Nice job.

 

[Elpenor]

If you have to ask, the answer is obviously no.

 

[Mister T]

imagine nobody questions a half black/half white kid being "black" on applications

No wonder Obama got into Harvard Law with his ****ty undergrad GPA (wasn't even cum laude!)

 

[morning]

Let's hope they don't ask you to speak Spanish...

"Latino last name" could also make you Spanish, as in from Spain. You can be Hispanic without having a Spanish surname. You could be Hispanic without having a drop of European blood in you, because Hispanics are made up of Europeans, Native Americans, and black people. And endless mixtures thereof.

 

[medat101]

dad = caucasian
mom = 50% Chilean/25% Costa Rican-25%Filipino
so she's 75% hispanic and 25% filipino - she has a very latino last name

Is it ok for me to claim hispanic? and how do they verify self reporting of minority status? Where is the cutoff on such claims?

I am also 1/2 hispanic (not mexican or puerto rican).. only the difference is that I do identify as being hispanic for the following reasons: I grew up in Latin America, I'm fully fluent in Spanish, I have all the cultural norms from my hispanic side, and in the future I want to practice and do research in the hispanic community and Latin America. So I went ahead and did mark myself as hispanic, but I think that in your case, that fact that you have to question it, it probably means that your don't fully identify and feel hispanic.

 

[randombetch]

dad = caucasian
mom = 50% Chilean/25% Costa Rican-25%Filipino
so she's 75% hispanic and 25% filipino - she has a very latino last name

Is it ok for me to claim hispanic? and how do they verify self reporting of minority status? Where is the cutoff on such claims?

You'd definitely count. As long as you're at least 1/8 or more of a minority group, you count! Seriously! All the "Native Americans" are like 1/8 Native American and BAM, they get into Harvard.

I'm only partially kidding - you would definitely count. With your last name, you'd be a fool not to count yourself as a URM. During interviews, if they ask, just tell them your dad's Caucasian and your mom is Latina.

 

[Bernoull]

If you have to ask, then NO.

 

[searun]

Just visualize yourself at your very first med school interview. Your interviewer sits down at his desk, gives you a stern look, and then asks you your very first interview question in Spanish. And then he asks all of the rest of his questions in Spanish. OK, how did you do?

 

[MedBoundForSure]

You'd definitely count. As long as you're at least 1/8 or more of a minority group, you count! Seriously! All the "Native Americans" are like 1/8 Native American and BAM, they get into Harvard.

I'm only partially kidding - you would definitely count. With your last name, you'd be a fool not to count yourself as a URM. During interviews, if they ask, just tell them your dad's Caucasian and your mom is Latina.

the op would not be urm in this case. Hispanic does not equal urm.

 

[organdonor]

Just visualize yourself at your very first med school interview. Your interviewer sits down at his desk, gives you a stern look, and then asks you your very first interview question in Spanish. And then he asks all of the rest of his questions in Spanish. OK, how did you do?

Race and language are different. I have several latino friends who do not speak Spanish. I learned this the hard way when I met a couple of my fiance's friends who are latino. I immediately busted out the Spanish and they just looked at me and said "dude, wtf are you saying."Additionally, I am about as white as they come, but Spanish is my second major, and I speak Spanish. If the OP is half latino, I would consider him URM for sure.

How many physicians do you think are of 50% (or whatever calculation you wish to come up) latino ancestry? I would imagine less than the general population. In other words, the definition of under represented minority.

Med bound, since when are hispanics not urm's? do you know what URM stands for? the proportion of hispanics in healthcare is less than the proportion of hispanics in the general population, this is URM.

 

[StormingWynn]

dad = caucasian
mom = 50% Chilean/25% Costa Rican-25%Filipino
so she's 75% hispanic and 25% filipino - she has a very latino last name

Is it ok for me to claim hispanic? and how do they verify self reporting of minority status? Where is the cutoff on such claims?

Ok, first of all, it doesn't matter if you're White, Black or Asian, a Hispanic can be anyone one of those or ANY combination. What matters is what you identify yourself as. I've seen completely "White" Hispanics, I've seen completely "Asian" Hispanics.. It doesn't matter. Honestly, I don't think you should claim the URM status because you don't know anything from the Hispanic culture, from what I can tell. To top it off, you said that your mom was 75% Hispanic when in reality she's "100%" Hispanic. Filipinos are, a lot of the times, considered Hispanics. They have the heritage, culture, etc..

 

[WhizoMD]

Med bound, since when are hispanics not urm's? do you know what URM stands for? the proportion of hispanics in healthcare is less than the proportion of hispanics in the general population, this is URM.

"hispanics" as a whole aren't considered URM, certain groups within the hispanic label are (eg. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans)

 

[MedBoundForSure]

"hispanics" as a whole aren't considered URM, certain groups within the hispanic label are (eg. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans)

this.

thank you whizo

 

[slowbutsteady]

SDN is a useful place to go for certain things, but this isn't one of them.

The rules are what they are, not what premeds think they are. It doesn't have anything to do with how you "identify" or how you "look" or whether your name "sounds" hispanic.

I don't know what % hispanic you need to be to qualify, but I am suspect 50% is good enough.

Bottom line, this is not opinion, it is very specific AMCAS or individual med schools rule.

 

[searun]

Race and language are different. I have several latino friends who do not speak Spanish. I learned this the hard way when I met a couple of my fiance's friends who are latino. I immediately busted out the Spanish and they just looked at me and said "dude, wtf are you saying."Additionally, I am about as white as they come, but Spanish is my second major, and I speak Spanish. If the OP is half latino, I would consider him URM for sure.

How many physicians do you think are of 50% (or whatever calculation you wish to come up) latino ancestry? I would imagine less than the general population. In other words, the definition of under represented minority.

Med bound, since when are hispanics not urm's? do you know what URM stands for? the proportion of hispanics in healthcare is less than the proportion of hispanics in the general population, this is URM.

The OP does not appear to self identify himself as hispanic, given his comments. What is the extent of his involvement in the local hispanic community where he grew up? If it is zero to none, he is not an URM in my opinion.

Personally, I would not check that box if hispanic culture was not a significant part of my life. What would the OP bring to the table in terms of adding diversity to the med school student body? What is the probablility that he would have any inclination to provide service to the underserved hispanic population? And frankly, if I was interviewing him, and I was fluent in Spanish, I damn well would ask him a few questions in Spanish.... And if he looked perplexed and confused, he would not get a pass from me. And I certainly would be asking him a number of questions about his experience and involvement with the hispanic community.

 

[StormingWynn]

SDN is a useful place to go for certain things, but this isn't one of them.

The rules are what they are, not what premeds think they are. It doesn't have anything to do with how you "identify" or how you "look" or whether your name "sounds" hispanic.

I don't know what % hispanic you need to be to qualify, but I am suspect 50% is good enough.

Bottom line, this is not opinion, it is very specific AMCAS or individual med schools rule.

All I'm saying is that by him/her claiming to be URM, it defeats the whole purpose of the URM program. It gives us true URM's a bad name. The people who are truely underrepresented, those of us who come from 20k/year income families, immigrant parents, from the ghetto, etc. Get what I'm saying? He/she said he/she was raised in a middle-class family. In my book, that's not exactly URM. He/she didn't have to suffer to stay in school, guns, gangs, drugs, etc.. (At least I don't think so.) He doesn't even know the definition of a "Hispanic," that's cause enough for me to say that he doesn't deserve to gain the advantage of the URM program.

He/she has about as much "Hispanic" culture in themselves as any other white, middle class American in the US.

 

[MedBoundForSure]

All I'm saying is that by him/her claiming to be URM, it defeats the whole purpose of the URM program. It gives us true URM's a bad name. The people who are truely underrepresented, those of us who come from 20k/year income families, immigrant parents, from the ghetto, etc. Get what I'm saying? He/she said he/she was raised in a middle-class family. In my book, that's not exactly URM. He/she didn't have to suffer to stay in school, guns, gangs, drugs, etc.. (At least I don't think so.) He doesn't even know the definition of a "Hispanic," that's cause enough for me to say that he doesn't deserve to gain the advantage of the URM program.

... Where is the facepalm guy? Get URM out of your heads the OP is not or would not be considered URM!! Also, you might want to look into the difference between URM and disadvantaged.

 

[searun]

SDN is a useful place to go for certain things, but this isn't one of them.

The rules are what they are, not what premeds think they are. It doesn't have anything to do with how you "identify" or how you "look" or whether your name "sounds" hispanic.

I don't know what % hispanic you need to be to qualify, but I am suspect 50% is good enough.

Bottom line, this is not opinion, it is very specific AMCAS or individual med schools rule.

Perhaps I am wrong but I thought filipinos are either asians or pacific islanders. It also is my understanding that most people in the Phillipines do not speak Spanish. So unless filipinos are hispanic, the OP is not 50 percent hispanic. He is, however, a 50 percent caucasion who does not appear to identify with hispanics. I would check the caucasion box, if I were him.

 

[StormingWynn]

... Where is the facepalm guy? Get URM out of your heads the OP is not or would not be considered URM!! Also, you might want to look into the difference between URM and disadvantaged.

What? You sentence made no sense.

I very much know the difference between URM and Disadvantaged. From the looks, he/she is neither. They grew up in a middle-class home. They don't know the definition of "Hispanic." What more clarification do you need?

 

[Morsetlis]

Nobody knows the definition of Hispanic -.-

 

[StormingWynn]

Perhaps I am wrong but I thought filipinos are either asians or pacific islanders. It also is my understanding that most people in the Phillipines do not speak Spanish. So unless filipinos are hispanic, the OP is not 50 percent hispanic. He is, however, a 50 percent caucasion who does not appear to identify with hispanics. I would check the caucasion box, if I were him.

They are placed under that category, but that doesn't mean they aren't "Hispanic." There are "Hispanics" everywhere. They were under the rule of Spain, thus they are Hispanics. They have the culture, last names, etc..

 

[sumstorm]

You'd definitely count. As long as you're at least 1/8 or more of a minority group, you count! Seriously! All the "Native Americans" are like 1/8 Native American and BAM, they get into Harvard.

I'm only partially kidding - you would definitely count. With your last name, you'd be a fool not to count yourself as a URM. During interviews, if they ask, just tell them your dad's Caucasian and your mom is Latina.

actually, native status varies by the standards of the tribe. and we actually do get 'race cards.' However the majority of tribal students where I am from mark 'no disclosure' or 'other' for a variety of reasons.

 

[StormingWynn]

Nobody knows the definition of Hispanic -.-

His·pan·ic (h-spnk)
adj.
1. Of or relating to Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America.
2. Of or relating to a Spanish-speaking people or culture.
n.
1. A Spanish-speaking person.
2. A U.S. citizen or resident of Latin-American or Spanish descent.

Filipinos, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Argentinians, etc.. fall under this.

 

[organdonor]

So exactly which Hispanic populations aren't URM? And if anyone wants to argue semantics between hispanic/latino/mexican/whatever just do everyone a favor and do it in the mirror. I've had enough Spanish courses, experiences with latino communities, trips to Spanish speaking countries, and latino friends to know that it really isn't as big of an issue as people make it out to be (well, except for the country you are from). In fact is isn't really an issue at all. I asked a group of my latino friends if they consider themselves hispanic/latino/whatever and they said who cares? Answer: pre-med students on here. Jeez.

The OP does not appear to self identify himself as hispanic, given his comments. What is the extent of his involvement in the local hispanic community where he grew up? If it is zero to none, he is not an URM in my opinion.

Personally, I would not check that box if hispanic culture was not a significant part of my life. What would the OP bring to the table in terms of adding diversity to the med school student body? What is the probablility that he would have any inclination to provide service to the underserved hispanic population? And frankly, if I was interviewing him, and I was fluent in Spanish, I damn well would ask him a few questions in Spanish.... And if he looked perplexed and confused, he would not get a pass from me. And I certainly would be asking him a number of questions about his experience and involvement with the hispanic community.

Why does volunteering in a hispanic community make him more hispanic? I can volunteer in Mexico all I want and I won't be hispanic or latino, why does it matter for him? If white culture isnt a big part of your life are you not white? Or whatever race you are. Race and language are completely separate. If my latino friend doesn't speak spanish, which she doesn't, does that negate the fact that both of her parents came here from Mexico? your contention is ridiculous. Yes if you see someone who is latino there is a good probability they speak Spanish, but they might not, and you would look like an as*hat if you continued in Spanish, even though the applicant didn't mark Spanish as one of their languages.

 

[Morsetlis]

His·pan·ic (h-spnk)
adj.
1. Of or relating to Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America.
2. Of or relating to a Spanish-speaking people or culture.
n.
1. A Spanish-speaking person.
2. A U.S. citizen or resident of Latin-American or Spanish descent.

Filipinos, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Argentinians, etc.. fall under this.

Yeah, a Spanish-speaking person, like me.

And since when did Filipinos speak Spanish? 😕

 

[StormingWynn]

Yeah, a Spanish-speaking person, like me.

And since when did Filipinos speak Spanish? 😕

Did you miss the "OR relating to Spain" part? Plus their language is derived from their indigenous language and Spanish. Kamusta? = How are you? = ¿Cómo está? (Spanish) see! lol

Also, just because you speak Spanish, doesn't mean you're Hispanic. Is it your first language? Where you raised around it? Etc.. Do you identify yourself with the Latino culture, etc?

Another note.. Spanish is the Third most spoken language in the Philippines.

 

[MedBoundForSure]

All I'm saying is that by him/her claiming to be URM, it defeats the whole purpose of the URM program. It gives us true URM's a bad name. The people who are truely underrepresented, those of us who come from 20k/year income families, immigrant parents, from the ghetto, etc. Get what I'm saying? He/she said he/she was raised in a middle-class family. In my book, that's not exactly URM. He/she didn't have to suffer to stay in school, guns, gangs, drugs, etc.. (At least I don't think so.) He doesn't even know the definition of a "Hispanic," that's cause enough for me to say that he doesn't deserve to gain the advantage of the URM program.

He/she has about as much "Hispanic" culture in themselves as any other white, middle class American in the US.

This is why I said you may want to look over the difference between disadvantaged and URM, you are trying to say financial situation affects whether the OP is URM. If you have it straight then cool, just doesn't seem like it.

 

[Morsetlis]

Another note.. Spanish is the Third most spoken language in the Philippines.

And Second in the US.