My father is from Spain. Am I a URM?

[SpecterGT260]

I see a lot of ignorance being thrown around this thread. First and foremost: You can be Hispanic of ANY RACE, be it African, Indigenous, Caucasian, Asian, or European. Many Latin Americans are a combination of two or more of those races. And some of them are predominately or entirely one race. For instance, about 15% of Mexico's population is racially white, descending from Spaniards who maintained relative racial homogeneity throughout the centuries. Who's to say they are any less Mexican or Hispanic because they don't have Native American admixture? Then you have indigenous tribes in Mexico who are essentially pure Native Americans that live in societies apart from mainstream Mexicans and still speak only an indigenous tongue. These people, although they live in Mexico, are NOT Hispanic as they do not part take in a Hispanic culture. Most Mexicans are racially mixed having both European and Indigenous ancestry with varying levels of admixture. For the AMCAS, their definition of URM Hispanic is interpreted as having origins in Latin America, although there are Hispanic ethnicities that receive the boost while others don't because not all Hispanic ethnicities are underrepresented. And Hispanic, by the way, is not a true "Ethnicity". Mexican, Cuban, Chilean, those are true ethnicities. America's definition of racial/ethnic terms is all jacked up. The true definition of the word Hispanic is having Spanish origins or being culturally Spanish. It would be silly to argue that there are no similarities between Spain and her former colonies. There are obviously many similarities in addition to language and religion. The reason why Spaniards are reluctant to identify as Hispanic is because in American society, the term Hispanic is associated with being from Latin America (excluding Brazil). This idea of questioning whether you "look Hispanic" needs to die already. A white Latin American is no less Hispanic than a mixed-race Hispanic.

Oh and Hispanic is not a race. That is just silly. The four traditionally recognized racial groups are Asian, European, African, and Australian natives. Native Americans are technically a subgroup of Asian as genetically they still cluster closely to Asians. After all, it was a group of Asians who crossed the Bering Strait ~12k years ago into the Americas.

//rant.

Finals must be over in some places. We have people resurrecting months old threads to call out misconceptions that were already cleared up

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[BlueCircle]

Finals must be over in some places. We have people resurrecting months old threads to call out misconceptions that were already cleared up

LOL I wish. Finals are not over, this is just how I choose to utilize my study breaks. On a serious note though, these misconceptions never seem to die.

 

[SpecterGT260]

So, true, I was incorrect on what the definition of hispanic is. That said, it is used by schools to establish URM status. My school lists "white-non hispanic" as an option for caucasions. A Spaniard doesnt fit the bill for URM. Some people may be able to slip it by the schools who do not put much effort into being specific, but the intent is people of latin descent, not spanish.

 

[MedPR]

I am tall with light brown hair and blue eyes. I speak Spanish conversationally and am a US citizen, but visit Spain every few years to see my grandparents and cousins. By definition, I am Hispanic. Am I also an underrepresented minority?

Spain = european. You're white.

 

[487806]

Spain = european. You're white.

That's somehow odd for me, since historically, hispanics spoke spanish because they originated from spain... Those south american revolutions changed it entirely.

This urm concept is unfortunate. Maintaining diversity is good, but schools shouldn't choose you based on race/ethnicity, but based on merit, which I believe most schools follow. Oh well.

 

[MedPR]

That's somehow odd for me, since historically, hispanics spoke spanish because they originated from spain... Those south american revolutions changed it entirely.

This urm concept is unfortunate. Maintaining diversity is good, but schools shouldn't choose you based on race/ethnicity, but based on merit, which I believe most schools follow. Oh well.

Yea it was difficult for me to grasp/accept too. I'm terrible at geography and only within the past few years did I realize Spain is a Euro country and not a South America or Carribean country.

 

[487806]

Wow..... Dude, you bumped an eight-month old thread to rant for no reason? ...

I see a lot of ignorance being thrown around this thread. First and foremost: You can be Hispanic of ANY RACE, be it African, Indigenous, Caucasian, Asian, or European. Many Latin Americans are a combination of two or more of those races. And some of them are predominately or entirely one race. For instance, about 15% of Mexico's population is racially white, descending from Spaniards who maintained relative racial homogeneity throughout the centuries. Who's to say they are any less Mexican or Hispanic because they don't have Native American admixture? Then you have indigenous tribes in Mexico who are essentially pure Native Americans that live in societies apart from mainstream Mexicans and still speak only an indigenous tongue. These people, although they live in Mexico, are NOT Hispanic as they do not part take in a Hispanic culture. Most Mexicans are racially mixed having both European and Indigenous ancestry with varying levels of admixture. For the AMCAS, their definition of URM Hispanic is interpreted as having origins in Latin America, although there are Hispanic ethnicities that receive the boost while others don't because not all Hispanic ethnicities are underrepresented. And Hispanic, by the way, is not a true "Ethnicity". Mexican, Cuban, Chilean, those are true ethnicities. America's definition of racial/ethnic terms is all jacked up. The true definition of the word Hispanic is having Spanish origins or being culturally Spanish. It would be silly to argue that there are no similarities between Spain and her former colonies. There are obviously many similarities in addition to language and religion. The reason why Spaniards are reluctant to identify as Hispanic is because in American society, the term Hispanic is associated with being from Latin America (excluding Brazil). This idea of questioning whether you "look Hispanic" needs to die already. A white Latin American is no less Hispanic than a mixed-race Hispanic.

Oh and Hispanic is not a race. That is just silly. The four traditionally recognized racial groups are Asian, European, African, and Australian natives. Native Americans are technically a subgroup of Asian as genetically they still cluster closely to Asians. After all, it was a group of Asians who crossed the Bering Strait ~12k years ago into the Americas.

//rant.

Meaningless rant and a pointless bump. Sendoff!

 

[SpecterGT260]

That's somehow odd for me, since historically, hispanics spoke spanish because they originated from spain... Those south american revolutions changed it entirely.

This urm concept is unfortunate. Maintaining diversity is good, but schools shouldn't choose you based on race/ethnicity, but based on merit, which I believe most schools follow. Oh well.

I tend to think SES based on parental tax returns is a better measure. I also tend to think it should be used at UG alone, but that may be somewhat naive. I guess there are plenty of ways in which home life could impact UG grades/scores...... I was talking to my girlfriend who is in grad school about this a little bit ago. Grad schools can tend to be worse about AA, and on top of it there are certain grants that take this into consideration. I feel like it is more BS for a URM to get into a science graduate program than it is for medicine. At least for medicine you can at least pretend that these people will go back to help out underserved areas. For research..... not even a chance. IMO for graduate school the seats and money should follow only the value of the proposed work. There is simply no reason to pass over novel work in favor of non-novel or less meaningful work simply because of URM status, especially if federal dollars are funding the grants.
and for the record, my school uses parents tax info when deciding to give grants/scholarships. I didnt get d*** because of what my parents make I still think it is the better way to go.

 

[487806]

Yea it was difficult for me to grasp/accept too. I'm terrible at geography and only within the past few years did I realize Spain is a Euro country and not a South America or Carribean country.

. not including spaniards discriminates spanish people,among themselves. So, a chile and a brazil student are urm?

 

[487806]

Aaarghhh... Identifying which groups are urm makes me insane!! Soooo confusing!!!

 

[MedPR]

. not including spaniards discriminates spanish people,among themselves. So, a chile and a brazil student are urm?

I have no idea, lol.

 

[487806]

Last question. If a person is multiracial, is he urm?

 

[MedPR]

Last question. If a person is multiracial, is he urm?

Only if one of their races is a URM race.. As far as I know.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

Last question. If a person is multiracial, is he urm?

URM is ONLY African-American, Native American (North, Central, South), Mexican-American, and Puerto Rican. I would think somebody who is half white and half black would still be URM.


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[LizzyM]

URM is ONLY African-American, Native American (North, Central, South), Mexican-American, and mainland Puerto Rican. I would think somebody who is half white and half black would still be URM.


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Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico are not URM, they are the majority.

 

[MedPR]

Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico are not URM, they are the majority.

As ADCOMs, how are your files marked for URM/ORM? Assuming admissions works how I think it does (meet minimum stat threshold in order to get your app looked at) my app would likely be trashed immediately if I was not a URM (<3.05, 33Q). However, I've gotten quite a few interviews and am curious how the ADCOM is alerted to the URM apps.

If you don't mind.

 

[LizzyM]

As ADCOMs, how are your files marked for URM/ORM? Assuming admissions works how I think it does (meet minimum stat threshold in order to get your app looked at) my app would likely be trashed immediately if I was not a URM (<3.05, 33Q). However, I've gotten quite a few interviews and am curious how the ADCOM is alerted to the URM apps.

If you don't mind.

I think that someone working for my school wrote a big huge computer program full of IF/THEN statements that tags applicants as URM Y/N. I have no idea what went into that program. I suppose other schools have the same thing.

 

[487806]

I think that someone working for my school wrote a big huge computer program full of IF/THEN statements that tags applicants as URM Y/N. I have no idea what went into that program. I suppose other schools have the same thing.

Never thought of that before.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico are not URM, they are the majority.

Good point, I should have said Puerto-Rican-Americans.

 

[Hemorrage]

I am tall with light brown hair and blue eyes. I speak Spanish conversationally and am a US citizen, but visit Spain every few years to see my grandparents and cousins. By definition, I am Hispanic. Am I also an underrepresented minority?

nope you're a trollRM

 

[MedPR]

I think that someone working for my school wrote a big huge computer program full of IF/THEN statements that tags applicants as URM Y/N. I have no idea what went into that program. I suppose other schools have the same thing.

Oh that makes sense. Thanks!

nope you're a trollRM

Lol

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[Belle Melodie]

From AAMC:

On March 19, 2004, the AAMC Executive Committee adopted a clarification to its definition of "underrepresented in medicine" following the Supreme Court's decision in Grutter.

The AAMC definition of underrepresented in medicine is:

"Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population."

Adopted by the AAMC's Executive Council on June 26, 2003, the definition helps medical schools accomplish three important objectives:

a shift in focus from a fixed aggregation of four racial and ethnic groups to a continually evolving underlying reality. The definition accommodates including and removing underrepresented groups on the basis of changing demographics of society and the profession,
a shift in focus from a national perspective to a regional or local perspective on underrepresentation, and
stimulate data collection and reporting on the broad range of racial and ethnic self-descriptions.
Before June 26, 2003, the AAMC used the term "underrepresented minority (URM)," which consisted of Blacks, Mexican-Americans, Native Americans (that is, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians), and mainland Puerto Ricans. The AAMC remains committed to ensuring access to medical education and medicine-related careers for individuals from these four historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.

 

[MrSunny1]

a white person of european descent? my word, you are the rarest snowflake of all

LMAo that is hilarious

 

[MrSunny1]

I am starting to think I might be a URM after reading up my family tree my Geat great great grandfather lived in spain for a few years he might have some spanish descent. I also checked back a few thousand generations and found out that way down my family tree near the roots there is a stegosaurus so that must count for something. "Stegosaurus had a relatively low brain-to-body mass ratio." clearly a disadvantage

 

[Hemorrage]

I am starting to think I might be a URM after reading up my family tree my Geat great great grandfather lived in spain for a few years he might have some spanish descent. I also checked back a few thousand generations and found out that way down my family tree near the roots there is a stegosaurus so that must count for something. "Stegosaurus had a relatively low brain-to-body mass ratio." clearly a disadvantage

xDDDDD