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Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:26 pm
by jas1503
I was wondering if people were actually being serious about the requirements to qualify as a URM of African ancestry.

If you're half-black or 1/8th or whatever, can you actually claim African ancestry? I'm curious about this, because that would make this URM thing ridiculously funny.

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:37 pm
by howlery
I think this has been discussed before, but generally I think if you are 1/8 or whatever and identify (preferably before law school) as URM then you're fine. With NA it might be a bit more lenient considering how few there are. I also think you need to provide tribe affiliation for some if not all schools when claiming that status.

Its funny but URMs are still grossly underrepresented. Ha.

Also IBTL.

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:39 pm
by dresden doll
Yes, it's true. Why don't you just meander into the nearest B and N, pick up Anna Ivey's book on lawl school admissions and start reading?

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:52 pm
by jas1503
Wow. That's insane!

In theory, you could spend your entire life never identifying yourself as 'black' or another URM, until LSAC makes it useful for you to do so for once. :lol:

Actually, you could go as far as hating an URM group and still -somehow- qualify as one??

LSAC, that's some pretty EPIC trolling!

IBTL

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:54 pm
by howlery
jas1503 wrote:Wow. That's insane!

In theory, you could spend your entire life never identifying yourself as 'black' or another URM, until LSAC makes it useful for you to do so for once. :lol:

Actually, you could go as far as hating a URM group and still somehow qualify as one??

LSAC, that's some pretty EPIC trolling!

IBTL
Do you feel better now? I recommend light exercise rather than forum trolling.

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 2:12 pm
by jas1503
Not really trolling you;as an AA, I probably just misunderstood the meaning of "Under-Represented Minority" in law school. I didn't actually know that it was just a scam to get a covert points boost on your LSAT score.

...Carry on. :lol:

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 2:30 pm
by Mal Reynolds
Has anyone called IBTL on their own thread? Douche move or douchiest move?

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 2:35 pm
by sparty99
It is one thing to check URM on your application, it is another thing to actually write about it in an essay that actually shows you were disadvantage or your background as an URM will actually contribute to the law school diversity.

Simply checking the box stating you are a "URM" will mean little if you don't back that up in your essay.

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 2:37 pm
by Emma.
jas1503 wrote:Wow. That's insane!

In theory, you could spend your entire life never identifying yourself as 'black' or another URM, until LSAC makes it useful for you to do so for once. :lol:

Actually, you could go as far as hating an URM group and still -somehow- qualify as one??

LSAC, that's some pretty EPIC trolling!

IBTL
No one from law school is going to be checking up on your ancestry when they are reviewing your app. However, self identifying as an particular group solely for the purposes of law school admissions when you have never done so for anything else might create C&F issues.

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 2:39 pm
by howlery
sparty99 wrote:It is one thing to check URM on your application, it is another thing to actually write about it in an essay that actually shows you were disadvantage or your background as an URM will actually contribute to the law school diversity.

Simply checking the box stating you are a "URM" will mean little if you don't back that up in your essay.
I'm pretty sure low socioeconomic status is not a requirement for the URM boost. Thats been a criticism, actually. You can be a wealthy URM and still count for data purposes.

Anyway, someone lock this thread please.

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 3:11 pm
by jas1503
Emma. wrote:
jas1503 wrote:Wow. That's insane!

In theory, you could spend your entire life never identifying yourself as 'black' or another URM, until LSAC makes it useful for you to do so for once. :lol:

Actually, you could go as far as hating an URM group and still -somehow- qualify as one??

LSAC, that's some pretty EPIC trolling!

IBTL
No one from law school is going to be checking up on your ancestry when they are reviewing your app. However, self identifying as an particular group solely for the purposes of law school admissions when you have never done so for anything else might create C&F issues.
Great! I just brought it up because some guy posted about how he suddenly found-out that his great-grandfather was of African ancestry, and he didn't want to miss the 'opportunity' to check that URM box.

Re: Is this 'one drop of blood' rule serious?

Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 3:16 pm
by Mr. Pancakes
Mal Reynolds wrote:Has anyone called IBTL on their own thread? Douche move or douchiest move?