race/ethnicity on amcas

[thupham]

Hi all,
I am half Asian-Indian and half Mexican-Caribe (my mom's half Mexican and half indigenous Carribean) but people say I look Pakistani or Persian. I was a little puzzled as to how to fill out the "race/ethnicity section of AMCAS. I checked off "Mexican/Chicano/Chicana" for ethnicity and "Asian Indian" under the Asian category, but then that doesn't really completely make sense. A lot of hispanics check off the white category, but my mom's mostly indigenous American so that doesn't apply. I tried to check off both the Asian-Indian category and the native american category but then they ask for an identification number.
Also, what would I be classified as? Asian-Indians are an (way) overrepresented minority in medical schools. But does being half indigenous/latina make me a URM? Or would it cancel out?

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[MercuryX]

Haha very good question. I dont know. but i agree that i wouldn't call you a native american so i dont know what you would be.

 

[inside_edition]

Hi all,
I am half Asian-Indian and half Mexican-Caribe (my mom's half Mexican and half indigenous Carribean) but people say I look Pakistani or Persian. I was a little puzzled as to how to fill out the "race/ethnicity section of AMCAS. I checked off "Mexican/Chicano/Chicana" for ethnicity and "Asian Indian" under the Asian category, but then that doesn't really completely make sense. A lot of hispanics check off the white category, but my mom's mostly indigenous American so that doesn't apply. I tried to check off both the Asian-Indian category and the native american category but then they ask for an identification number.
Also, what would I be classified as? Asian-Indians are an (way) overrepresented minority in medical schools. But does being half indigenous/latina make me a URM? Or would it cancel out?

i think it makes you hot. you gotta admit that mixed (especially more than 2 races) people always look very hot. the best genes of all the races.

 

[thupham]

yeah to make things more complicated i have a indian first name and last name, which actually sounds more middle eastern to people. the adcoms might think i'm just trying to get URM status. when i took the MCAT last august i only checked "asian-indian," because in the carribean generally in schools your race is decided by your father's race, so I was accustomed to checking only one box off. so would it seem that i suddenly "decided" to be mexican? (ok that sounds weird, but you get what i'm saying)

 

[thupham]

i think it makes you hot. you gotta admit that mixed (especially more than 2 races) people always look very hot. the best genes of all the races.

aww~thanks=)

 

[jeniffer lopez]

I think it is a matter of how you identify yourself. Did you grow up feeling asian or feeling mexican? With which identitiy do you feel most comfortable with? Do you speak spanish fluently? Some people will assume you do if you are hispanic. I am also latina, but, by definition, we are a mixture of white, black and indian. I look rather native american (get mistaken ALL the time), but I did not grow up in a reservation/don't have a membership number. So I checked the "decline to answer" category. I think that if I checked white or black people would seriously laugh at me when they see me...out loud! I called AMCAS to see if they had a "multi-racial" option, at least for hispanics, and they said no...I guess nobody cares about that.

 

[power_to_people]

I think it is a matter of how you identify yourself. Did you grow up feeling asian or feeling mexican? With which identitiy do you feel most comfortable with? Do you speak spanish fluently? Some people will assume you do if you are hispanic. I am also latina, but, by definition, we are a mixture of white, black and indian. I look rather native american (get mistaken ALL the time), but I did not grow up in a reservation/don't have a membership number. So I checked the "decline to answer" category. I think that if I checked white or black people would seriously laugh at me when they see me...out loud! I called AMCAS to see if they had a "multi-racial" option, at least for hispanics, and they said no...I guess nobody cares about that.

People wouldnt laugh at you if you called yourself black. Black people have so many looks and features no one could say you are not. My father is Honduran and still black so being hispanic wont stop poeple from thinking you are black if thats what you identify yourself as. Also I aggree there should be a multiracial box because nowadays people are having children outside of their race more and more so they should adcomadate.

 

[neurodoc]

The Latino(a) monority status is a "good" one, in that it qualifiess as an URM. "Indigenous" is not helpful unless you qualify as NA, in which case you will need to have a tribal registry number...for a US tribe.

East Indians and most South and East Asian groups are NOT considered URMs for the purposes of racial prefernces for college/med school admissions.

Good luck.

 

[photo_girl07]

i think it makes you hot. you gotta admit that mixed (especially more than 2 races) people always look very hot. the best genes of all the races.

Agreed.

Also, check the race that you most identify with. Adcoms will not necessarily question your answer....

glck

 

[MasterMD]

Hi all,
I am half Asian-Indian and half Mexican-Caribe (my mom's half Mexican and half indigenous Carribean) but people say I look Pakistani or Persian. I was a little puzzled as to how to fill out the "race/ethnicity section of AMCAS. I checked off "Mexican/Chicano/Chicana" for ethnicity and "Asian Indian" under the Asian category, but then that doesn't really completely make sense. A lot of hispanics check off the white category, but my mom's mostly indigenous American so that doesn't apply. I tried to check off both the Asian-Indian category and the native american category but then they ask for an identification number.
Also, what would I be classified as? Asian-Indians are an (way) overrepresented minority in medical schools. But does being half indigenous/latina make me a URM? Or would it cancel out?

i think i know you PM me if you think you know me too!! and this is really weird if you are not who i think you are because there aren't a whole lot of people of that mix out there!!

 

[chaeymaey]

If I were you, I would mark Mexican so that you get the benefit of URM status. Also, I know a doctor who served on UTH's adcom, and he said that they always went by what the mother was. His dad was Asian, but because his mom is white, he was told to put white and that's what everyone at the adcom expected. If you're worried about how "Mexican" may not match with your name, include your multiracial background in the secondaries. Although I don't think that they look into the race stuff much unless you're marking native american.