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IMHO: African American in the context of affirmative action and URM status refers to an applicant being "black". As an Egyptian would you call yourself black?

I'm half egyptian and half lebanese, with a similar story to yours (parents came here in the late 70's), speak arabic at home, etc.

you're not african american. i think you know what the adcomms mean by african american (you're not black). i think someone said it on another board, that middle easterners are not underrepresented in law schools by any means. if it helps, i check either other or white. on my apps, i'm checking white. it's also what my brother checked when he applied to law school, and he (unlike me) was born there.

on that note, instead of trying to think of ways to swindle your way in...work on your application! good luck.

Please by all means check African-American. After you get to school and the administration sees that you are far from African-American and rescind your admission...you can come back to this board and define exactly what the term African-American means. Let us know how that works out.

Think of it as an LSAT question. You scored a 170, so I'm sure you will answer this one correctly.

Egypt is located in Northern Africa. Therefore an Egyptian is:

A.) American Indian or Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

B.) Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

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

D.) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A Person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

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

Hint-- The answer is not A or C.

ak,

Though not exactly in the same boat as you, I do have some Middle Eastern ancestry (father from Turkey, his father from Morocco). I guess this gives me some far-fetched claim as Asian - though the AA boost for Asian is non-existent - or even African-American ("quadroon" in the antebellum days, with one African grandparent?), but it's just a bit much for me. Like you, I usually don't put white on my applications, rather checking Other when it's an option. I'd keep doing something similar here; your stats look pretty solid, and you really just don't know how this checkoff could hurt you in the long run.

Did you check African-American for your undergrad or other records that are likely to be checked? Not sure if law schools match race with your other records. If this is the first time to do so, definitely don't...

ChinaBowls wrote:E.) White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

TITCR.

The UW UG application specifically states that Libyans and "other North Africans" should check the white/caucasian box. I actually appreciate that level of clarity.

this issue has been resolved by admission comm, i have called at schools I want to go to. Thank you for your opinions.

p.s. whenever middle eastern or northafrican shows up beside white I have always checked that box, however when it is not present as in some applications, I check african american or other. So if anyone disagrees with that, then we must pleasently agree to disagree.


have a good day

ak4097 wrote:this issue has been resolved by admission comm, i have called at schools I want to go to. Thank you for your opinions.

p.s. whenever middle eastern or northafrican shows up beside white I have always checked that box, however when it is not present as in some applications, I check african american or other. So if anyone disagrees with that, then we must pleasently agree to disagree.


have a good day

What did the Adcom say?

but many africans who are americans dont consider themselves african american

I would put African-American, It can't hurt as technically that is what you are. However I doubt you will get a URM boost...but you could score a diversity boost if nothing else.

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OP, the new standardized race options specifically place North Africans (such as people from Egypt, Morocco, etc) in the caucasian category. So no, you would not considered African American. Whether or not you get a boost based on your diversity is based completely on how you frame it in your application package.

dakatz wrote:OP, the new standardized race options specifically place North Africans (such as people from Egypt, Morocco, etc) in the caucasian category. So no, you would not considered African American. Whether or not you get a boost based on your diversity is based completely on how you frame it in your application package.

You do realize this thread is 2 years old, right? And OP is probably going to be a 3L in the fall.

dakatz wrote:OP, the new standardized race options specifically place North Africans (such as people from Egypt, Morocco, etc) in the caucasian category. So no, you would not considered African American. Whether or not you get a boost based on your diversity is based completely on how you frame it in your application package.

I think saying that a boost is a possibility due to framing is being overly generous.

LLB2JD wrote:

dakatz wrote:OP, the new standardized race options specifically place North Africans (such as people from Egypt, Morocco, etc) in the caucasian category. So no, you would not considered African American. Whether or not you get a boost based on your diversity is based completely on how you frame it in your application package.

You do realize this thread is 2 years old, right? And OP is probably going to be a 3L in the fall.

Haha, didn't even check (obviously).

bk187 wrote:

dakatz wrote:OP, the new standardized race options specifically place North Africans (such as people from Egypt, Morocco, etc) in the caucasian category. So no, you would not considered African American. Whether or not you get a boost based on your diversity is based completely on how you frame it in your application package.

I think saying that a boost is a possibility due to framing is being overly generous.

I don't mean "boost" in the URM sense. I meant it more like in a situation where you have 2 identical candidates, one who is Egyptian and can speak of some very diverse experiences, and the other your average upper middle class white kid. The Egyptian kid may very well get the nod simply for presenting some diversity in his life experience. Not a "boost" in the way people define the term on this site, but certainly a slight advantage.

For admissions purposes, you're not African-American, you are Arab. The URM boost pertains to an applicant's race, not his/her nationality. The government considers Arabs to be white, so you wouldn't receive a boost. If you put AA on your apps, you're lying.



Somebody really needs to write a TLS article on this.

LLB2JD wrote:

dakatz wrote:OP, the new standardized race options specifically place North Africans (such as people from Egypt, Morocco, etc) in the caucasian category. So no, you would not considered African American. Whether or not you get a boost based on your diversity is based completely on how you frame it in your application package.

You do realize this thread is 2 years old, right? And OP is probably going to be a 3L in the fall.

It's a fairly common question, so it helps for the people who don't know the difference between race and nationality and come here asking this retarded question figure out where they stand. And, if OP got into law school, it wasn't because of the URM boost.

Splitt3r wrote:Technically he's african-american, so why shouldn't he put it? Egypt is in Africa...

So if one is born in a country located on the African continent, one is automatically seen as African American on US soil?

I guess this also applies to Afrikaans of South Africa?

Just wow.

dakatz wrote:I don't mean "boost" in the URM sense. I meant it more like in a situation where you have 2 identical candidates, one who is Egyptian and can speak of some very diverse experiences, and the other your average upper middle class white kid. The Egyptian kid may very well get the nod simply for presenting some diversity in his life experience. Not a "boost" in the way people define the term on this site, but certainly a slight advantage.

I understand. Yes, I agree that having a well-crafted DS is going to differentiate you from someone of similar numbers but it won't help you outplace your numbers.

*****

*****

African-Americans = BLACK

there are BLACK Egyptians and WHITE Egyptians

do you look more like a Nubian or Saudi?

If you look like a Nubian then you are definitely BLACK and can check African-American. If not then your just trying to get a boost through fraud.

*****