Fee waiver means considered URM? Forum

[ihatenumbers]

Hi,

I got a fee waiver from UCLA through La Raza (MA/Chicano student org), encouraging me to apply. I'm Hispanic but not American, and I'm not MA. I also think my profile is way off UCLA's class (3.57 from ivy/160). Does this mean I'm being considered as a URM for admission? Should I go for it? WUSTL also sent me a waiver so I don't know if this is good or not.

Thanks!!

-confused law applicant

[mmart207]

No, you're not a URM.

[Mikey]

What kind of hispanic are you? you're not MA, but if you're PR then yes you are URM.

if not, then nah you're not.

e: oh my b, must've glanced over when he said he wasn't American!

[AlPastor]

He said he isn't American tho (OP, I assume you were talking about citizenship?). Do international applicants fall under the URM category?

[mmart207]

He said he isn't American tho (OP, I assume you were talking about citizenship?). Do international applicants fall under the URM category?

Well he said he wasn't MA, and PRs are born citizens so no, he's not a URM.

[AlPastor]

Hi,
I'm Hispanic but not American, and I'm not MA.

This is what I was referring to. Perhaps I read it the wrong way, but I understood it to mean that OP isn't American/american citizen. My bad if I did! Hopefully OP will correct us.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Isn’t there a fair amount of doubt as to which Hispanic groups really benefit from the URM boost these days? There appear to be a number of schools that don’t parse finer than “Hispanic” on the application, and non-MA/PR Hispanics report outperforming their numbers.

That said: OP, if you attended UCLA you’d be more than welcome to participate in La Raza, but I don’t think you can assign any meaning to the fee waiver. Schools like diversity even when it doesn’t necessarily fall under the URM label but may not give any boost for it. Schools are also notorious for sending out fee waivers to boost their application numbers, not because they think all the students who receive them will get in.

[ljalba]

Isn’t there a fair amount of doubt as to which Hispanic groups really benefit from the URM boost these days?

Very much so. While OP may not be a URM by being an MA/PR applicant, there's a lot of Hispanic/Latinx applicants who feel they received "boosts" outside their stats. At the same time, there are some MA/PR applicants that do not outperform their numbers and others that do. There isn't enough data to say that Hispanic/Latinx applicants are not getting boosts or that solidifies the existence of a clear boost that impacts all MA/PR applicants.

OP, if you want to apply, go for it but don't expect a "boost," necessarily.

[ihatenumbers]

Thank you for your answers. Sorry for the confusing wording, I meant I am not a US citizen, and that I'm not even of Mexican origin. I certainly assumed I was not going to get a boost, thanks for confirming that the fee waiver policies are not necessarily tied to admission!