Medical What ethnicity should I put on medical school applications?

[Goro]

Hi.
I have been thinking about this for a while now and it's finally time for me to apply. I was born and raised in South Africa and have been in the US since 2009. That means I spent the first 12 years of my life in South Africa and the second half in the US. Just wondering what I should put on my application without admissions thinking I am trying to be a wise one. Is it acceptable to put African American and white on my application?

You are NOT African-American in the way the question is asking, as per the US Census.

It's asking about ethnicity, not national origin

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[TheBoneDoctah]

Yeah be careful with this one.

 

[Raryn]

Generally, the US census definition is what is used.

Black or African American – A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

As opposed to

White – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

Now, there's an element of self-identity there, but Elon Musk (born in South Africa) is not Black/African American.

If you're not sure whether you qualify, please think back to your known ancestors. Around the year say, 1400, were any of them living south of the Sahara? If you feel that it is unlikely, you're *also* not Black/African American. Even if you were born in Africa.

Edit: Apparently three of us chose to answer your question within 2 minutes.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I agree with the above--while I understand the literal definition of ethnicity means that you could say that you identify as African American, that's honestly not what the question is intended. As others have pointed out, the US Census equates African American with Black, not with being born in Africa.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Unless you are Black, you should not identify as African-American/Black unless ethnicity-wise you have parentage from an ethnically black background or your family was treated as such in South Africa. Read into the issues related to race/ethnicity, identity, and American society.

 

[lord999]

Race and ethnicity are separate concepts in the US. The only ethnicity asked in the current standard is Hispanic origin, which you are not.

Also, normally, no one is going to challenge the matter, but unfortunately in your case, there is enough animus toward racial categorization in South Africa (certainly here in this US State since both schools have longstanding academic ties with Witwatersrand, Rhodes, Cape Town, and UPE) that misrepresentation would be dealt with especially severely.

Simply put, since you probably know how South Africa classifies race, do you consider yourself other than White by their standard? I think you can make an argument if you fall into the B or C groups (and potentially the O), but not the A or W ones. If you are C, you can make the argument as that was a fully disadvantaged racial class in South Africa.