Am I a URM???/Is___ race/circumstance considered URM?? Forum

[CalMc]

I'm non-status Canadian Aboriginal. The only previous poster in this thread didn't receive an answer as to how these kinds of applicants are treated.

[pushsum123]

I'm non-status Canadian Aboriginal. The only previous poster in this thread didn't receive an answer as to how these kinds of applicants are treated.

Congrats on your LSAT score! If you do not identify as NA/AA/PR/MA, then you are not a URM for law school admissions purposes. Get working on your DS.

[CalMc]

I'm non-status Canadian Aboriginal. The only previous poster in this thread didn't receive an answer as to how these kinds of applicants are treated.

Congrats on your LSAT score! If you do not identify as NA/AA/PR/MA, then you are not a URM for law school admissions purposes. Get working on your DS.

Thanks for the clarification (and the congratulations).

[bklynattorney]

They are considered Hispanic/Latino and don't qualify for URM status. You could write a really good diversity statement and show the school how you can bring diversity to their class, but as far as getting a boost, you wouldn't qualify.

Sure they are considered URM's in that they are Hispanic. No one is going to ask for your country of origin (or your family's) on the college application. All you're putting down is that you're Hispanic. Thus, you'll get the same bump in URM status as other Hispanics.

[PoopNpants]

They are considered Hispanic/Latino and don't qualify for URM status. You could write a really good diversity statement and show the school how you can bring diversity to their class, but as far as getting a boost, you wouldn't qualify.

Sure they are considered URM's in that they are Hispanic. No one is going to ask for your country of origin (or your family's) on the college application. All you're putting down is that you're Hispanic. Thus, you'll get the same bump in URM status as other Hispanics.

PRs and Mexicans get the URM boosts, other's aren't regarded as "URMs"
I quoted this exactly from the URM section of TLS

Which groups are considered URMs?

American Indians/Alaskan Natives, African Americans/Blacks, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans are typically considered URM’s. Please note that there is a difference between Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and other types of Hispanics in the admissions process. Additionally, I would like to offer a small caveat to international students, who fall into a separate category of their own.

[lcpquinitio]

Hi..
I am full Filipino, but I was born and raised on Guam..
Would I qualify for a boost?

[Lad]

Hi..
I am full Filipino, but I was born and raised on Guam..
Would I qualify for a boost?

Nope. You are only a URM if you're: African American, Native American, Mexican American or Puerto Rican.

[Person1111]

How does one reconcile the TLS consensus that only MA, PR, AA, and NA applicants are considered URMs with the following language from LSAC's website?

To promote diversity, law schools actively seek qualified African American, Latino, Asian, and Native American students, as well as other students of color.

[Trippel]

How does one reconcile the TLS consensus that only MA, PR, AA, and NA applicants are considered URMs with the following language from LSAC's website?

To promote diversity, law schools actively seek qualified African American, Latino, Asian, and Native American students, as well as other students of color.

Easy to reconcile: the only URMs who receive any real admissions boost in the T14 are MA, PR, AA, and NA applicants. Who cares what LSAC says.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I'm pretty sure I recently saw someone (one of the former adcomms ?) say that schools/LSAC used to ask people to break Latino/Hispanic down into various subgroups, but that in recent years the category they use is just "Latino/Hispanic" and don't parse it further, so the traditional breakdown for boosts may not be holding as strongly any more.

(I think the idea is that 1) one of the early AA cases, Bakke, specifically identified Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans but not other Hispanic groups, which schools used as a guide to what what allowed; 2) MAs and PRs had territories conquered by the US, so their boost is in line with concerns about rectifying inequities resulting from past government action, which you can see with African Americans and Native Americans; and 3) the statistics available seemed to bear out that breakdown.)

But what LSAC says about diversity isn't quite the same as considering which groups are underrepresented in law schools - it seems pretty clear that Asians don't get any kind of systematic boost.

[Person1111]

Sure. That makes sense. I just always had a difficult time believing that 100+ law schools had adopted exactly the same criteria for which URMs receive an admissions boost, even though the received wisdom on TLS is that MA/PR/AA/NA applicants receive an admissions boost and that no other groups do. It also seems (at least from reading the first few pages of this thread and the last few pages) that someone claimed that schools looked to Grutter to determine what groups received an admissions boost, even though that decision doesn't stand for the proposition that only certain groups receive an admissions boost. It just seems like this received wisdom might have been spread through what is essentially an elaborate game of telephone. But it's not a big deal either way - I'm well out of law school and I have no dog in this fight.

[velvet-lou]

Post removed...

[pushsum123]

I am wondering what I should put in my application under race/ethnicity, since I am Colombian (born there), I would put Latino/Hispanic...but since I am mixed with Indigenous Pastos, African, Spanish and French (All from my parents). Should I fill out Black and White? Anyone know? Please let me know!

We can't tell you what to mark because we can't tell you how to identify. As you know, Hispanic/ Latino people can be of any race. If you are both Black and white according to the DOE definitions of those terms and you identify as such, then you should feel free to mark both. If you identify with your indigenous heritage, then mark that as well. As long as what you mark is actually true, you are fine.

[sw1066]

When I created my profile on LSAC I ticked the box that said that I am South American while also saying that I am white (European). However, I looked back over my LSAT answer sheet and it looks like I only bubbled in that I was white (I might have missed the part that said "ethnicity" and assumed just race or I might have missed the smaller print that said that we could bubble in multiple choices). I'm worried that this discrepancy will look weird. Do the law schools see the actual answer sheet, or just the score report with a breakdown of correct answers by section? I know that South Americans might not count as URM, I just don't want to be inconsistent.

Would a discrepancy like that count against me if the law schools do see it?

[pushsum123]

There is no reason to be worried. Everyone knows these race/ethnicity questions are not the best way to capture individual identity. I'm not sure if schools see your LSAT answer sheet, and I don't know if they even get to see exactly how many questions you missed and on which sections. I assumed they just got the scaled score and writing sample. I could be wrong, though. You did not lie on your answer sheet. You just didn't answer a question about ethnicity that happens to be entirely optional. Identify as you'd like on your apps. As long as the boxes you check are actually true for you (in this case both ethnically Hispanic and racially white), there will be no problem. Be sure to write a DS because I've seen some South American non-urms outperform their numbers.

[sw1066]

Thank you. I tend to be uncomfortable saying that I'm Hispanic/Latino on forms unless I can specify because I don't like to give the illusion that I'm Mexican-American, which is usually the primary association. I will probably not write a diversity statement because while I am South American, I am still white and I have still benefited from white privilege. I just don't want law schools to think that I'm being dishonest because I identified as white/Hispanic on one form and just white on another form. When I actually apply I will go with both.

[christinanc93]

I know it probably does not give URM since it is not a race, but does being LGBT give any sort of boost?

[christinanc93]

Thank you. I tend to be uncomfortable saying that I'm Hispanic/Latino on forms unless I can specify because I don't like to give the illusion that I'm Mexican-American, which is usually the primary association. I will probably not write a diversity statement because while I am South American, I am still white and I have still benefited from white privilege. I just don't want law schools to think that I'm being dishonest because I identified as white/Hispanic on one form and just white on another form. When I actually apply I will go with both.

Dude, I'm exactly the same way! One thing to keep in mind is that Hispanic/Latino is no longer asked as a question of RACE, but ethnicity, which means that you can mark that you are Hispanic/Latino for ethnicity and still say your race is white, and no eyebrows will be raised....except mine, thinking it's suspicious that this has suddenly happened.

[emkay625]

I know it probably does not give URM since it is not a race, but does being LGBT give any sort of boost?

No. But it could potentially make for a good topic for a personal statement or diversity statement. But no boost.

[Shasta McNasty]

If I am 1/2 Filipino and 1/2 Mexican, would there be red flags raised because of marking Mexican American (Chicano) on the application and then discussing my biracial experience in my personal statements?

[rpfote]

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[JudgeWanker]

I am having a disagreement with a fellow applicant on whether he is urm or not. He told me he is 1/8 Mexican-American from his dad's side ( his dad's grandmother was full blooded Mexican). Does he count as Mexican/chicano urm? He has put it on his college applications and is intending on putting it on his law school applications. He wants to practice in Texas, but I said the bar might have an issue with it. Do you guys agree with myself or more with him? He has a white name and does not look hispanic except for his hair. How does even prove that they are latino? Birth certificate? I know Texas bar asks for that.

[JudgeWanker]

I am having a disagreement with a fellow applicant on whether he is urm or not. He told me he is 1/8 Mexican-American from his dad's side ( his dad's grandmother was full blooded Mexican). Does he count as Mexican/chicano urm? He has put it on his college applications and is intending on putting it on his law school applications. He wants to practice in Texas, but I said the bar might have an issue with it. Do you guys agree with myself or more with him? He has a white name and does not look hispanic except for his hair. How does even prove that they are latino? Birth certificate? I know Texas bar asks for that.

[The Mixed Tape]

if he checks the box then hes gonna get the bump

he wont have problems w the bar

your name and what u physically look like are not factors

[cbbinnyc]

if he checks the box then hes gonna get the bump

he wont have problems w the bar

your name and what u physically look like are not factors

This.