Do I qualify for URM status?

[cbhck]

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Hi, I've been reading about URM but it is quite confusing because race is so difficult to define. I was adopted when I was 1 years old. My adoptive parents are white. I was told at a young age that my biological parents were Brazilian so usually when somebody asks me about my ethnicity I will tell them I am Brazilian. I have no proof of my true ethnicity or information about my bio parents because it was a closed adoption.

So my questions is: If I check off "hispanic," with a Caucasian surname and pale skin, will it look like i'm just trying to game the system? How do the schools define race?

 

[MAdental]

No you arent hispanic. You are just latino because you come from latin America.

 

[cbhck]

No you arent hispanic. You are just latino because you come from latin America.

Really? I thought the US Government lumped them together

http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf


"Definition of Hispanic or Latino Origin Used in the 2010 Census:

Hispanic or Latino” refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."

"Hispanic origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States."

"People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be any race."

 

[Slumber]

You are.

 

[amfassz]

Check the box for whatever you identify with.

The box on AADSAS says: "Do you consider yourself to be of Hispanic origin?" You say yes so then you check the next box that says: "South or Central American " Simple.

 

[MAdental]

And looks like ADA also recognizes that to be true ! http://www.hdassoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/HDA-White-Paper-FINAL.pdf 👍

 

[ramborhino]

Race = whatever you see yourself as. With race as touchy of a subject it is, no body is going to challenge you about your race. The only exception would be claiming to be an American Indian, of which you'd need a tribal ID/Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood to get certain priority/scholarships, etc. You can honestly call yourself whatever you want...but keep in mind the philosophy behind recruiting URM's into healthcare professions is that someone of race X is much more likely to go into communities made up of race X and serve them...so be honest with your motivations with it all.

 

[Blake1e]

Hi, I've been reading about URM but it is quite confusing because race is so difficult to define. I was adopted when I was 1 years old. My adoptive parents are white. I was told at a young age that my biological parents were Brazilian so usually when somebody asks me about my ethnicity I will tell them I am Brazilian. I have no proof of my true ethnicity or information about my bio parents because it was a closed adoption.

So my questions is: If I check off "hispanic," with a Caucasian surname and pale skin, will it look like i'm just trying to game the system? How do the schools define race?

A hispanic is usually someone who is at least somewhat ethnically Spanish/Amerindian, OR is from a spanish-speaking country or Spanish culture (Latin America, Spain, and parts of SE Asia). Brazilians can consider themselves hispanic if they want to, 1/6 of Brazilian immigrants do. Nowadays anyone who wants to can say theyre hispanic. This is from a good authority on the subject: http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/05/28/whos-hispanic/

That said, White people can of course also be considered Hispanic. I know a bright blue-eyed natural blonde who is ethnically German/Polish and was born in Latin America and came to the US at age 4; she always puts herself down as hispanic and no one has ever given her any problems.

 

[doc toothache]

Other than having been born a "Latino(a)" what else would make you qualify as a URM?

 

[Illfavor]

I have been called an oreo...black on the outside, white on the inside...

 

[Blake1e]

I have been called an oreo...black on the outside, white on the inside...

Ive been called urine soaked snow... yellow on the outside, jaundice of the liver on the inside.

 

[Glimmer1991]

Hey guys, I'm going to take these great responses and add them to the AADSAS FAQs page, since this question comes up a lot. 🙂

 

[rnco]

I thought there was no such thing as race…..aren't we all equal???

 

[ToothbrushBuddy]

Whatever you feel like you should do, you can do that. I am mostly white, but I am a card-carrying Native American and intend to work for the IHS so I put both white and Native American. I think you should check both boxes and give credit to both of your heritages. You should probably only check the URM box if you intend to help out people of your URM ethnicity. So if you plan to work in a wealthy white suburban neighborhood, you should probably stick with the white status. If you intend to work in a clinic that mainly serves Latinos then you should check both or just the Latino box.