Application Question: What is your race?

[ImHis]

At my university, we didn't have this section in our applications. Did you leave your race blank even if it was optional? I'm concerned it'll affect my chances on my admissions.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Articklish

[TakeruK]

In most schools, this information is collected and then filed separately for the school to 1) comply with federal regulations and 2) use for statistical purposes only. It is not usually sent along to the people that make admission decisions.

 

At my school, the student government is working with the grad school to get these numbers for race/minorities. We are particularly concerned something like numbers that show a lot of a certain minority group are admitted but then decide not to matriculate here. We would then use that information to help us determine why our school's enivornment is causing us to lose students from that group.

[kumapanda]

I'm concern about this too. I'm considered to be a minority and I fear it might affect my application where it lowers my chance of getting into a program.

[ImHis]

In most schools, this information is collected and then filed separately for the school to 1) comply with federal regulations and 2) use for statistical purposes only. It is not usually sent along to the people that make admission decisions.

 

At my school, the student government is working with the grad school to get these numbers for race/minorities. We are particularly concerned something like numbers that show a lot of a certain minority group are admitted but then decide not to matriculate here. We would then use that information to help us determine why our school's enivornment is causing us to lose students from that group.

 

Thank you TakeRuk for your perspective. One of the schools I looked at does publish these results but not all schools do. I am very weary about putting it down because of the articles I've been reading invovling stereotypes with Asian Americans and their overrepresentation in some institutions despite being considered as a minority in all the cohorts I'm planning to join. Did you put yours down?

 

 

Rainsonata said:  I'm concern about this too. I'm considered to be a minority and I fear it might affect my application where it lowers my chance of getting into a program.

 

I am going to ask my advisors what is their take on this.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Articklish

[ImHis]

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Edited October 20, 2014 by Articklish

[TakeruK]

Thank you TakeRuk for your perspective. One of the schools I looked at does publish these results but not all schools do. I am very weary about putting it down because of the articles I've been reading invovling stereotypes with Asian Americans and how overrepresentated they are in instutions. Did you put yours down?

 

I forgot to say that the example I wrote above is supposed to be an example of one way the data might be used, not to mean that it's the only way the data is used! That is, my point is that it's for statistics/compliance, and "should" not be used to admission decisions (although I can't say for sure how good schools are at keeping this information separate from your application and what unconscious biases professors may have!). Note also that in many cases, a person can also guess at your race/gender/etc. from your name and other information in your application anyways.

 

I did not report my race because I am not American and the applications for my schools (in 2011 at least, not sure about now) did not allow me to report race if I was not American. This is because compliance with federal laws only require tracking of these stats for Americans, not international students. 

 

If I was American, I would report my race (in Canada, I always chose to disclose that I am Asian-Canadian). I think that these statistics are very useful for organizations supporting minorities to help make policy changes. It's very important to have data/numbers to back up qualitative arguments. Also, please note that so-called "over-representation" in college student populations does not preclude under-representation at later stages of career. For example, while there are many Asian students in my Californian school, Asian students are still considered visible minorities because in almost all fields, there is a very large and noticeable lack of Asian professors. I notice this almost every time at almost every scientific conference. The list of invited speakers, the people who ask the questions after talks, the majority of the faces in the room are Caucasian males so pretty much every other group of people are visible minorities in my field. Another example is that I grew up in a city full of immigrants (80% of the population do not speak English as a first language). However, I was still eligible for and received a fellowship for visible minorities in my Masters program in eastern Canada. In my opinion, at the graduate level, schools care about training a diverse set of students so as I said above, your minority status in a professional field is not necessarily the same as your minority status in other aspects of life.

 

In my field, I do feel that demographics are changing and my field is becoming more diverse very fast. In terms of gender, the cohort of young professors aged 30-40 is much more diverse than the cohort aged 50-60. So I am happy that schools are implementing policy changes that are leading to more diversity. In order to do this, proponents of diversity need stats and numbers and data to help identify areas where we are losing diversity. 

 

Of course, I do not mean to make anyone feel bad for worrying about their own interests and not disclosing their race / other minority status. I respect everyone's privacy and right to withhold that information. I only intend this post to show/explain the good/usefulness that can come out of these types of questions and why I would personally choose to disclose it when I can (i.e. in Canada).

[GandalfTheGrey]

I think it's worth noting that over 90% of SLPs are white, and many programs actively recruit minorities... and this only matters if the program is dishonest and really does look at the page where you check off your race.

 

Ideally, the race information is kept separate. Meaning that when you submit your online application, the race page goes to a central office for statistical purposes, and the rest of your application goes to the admission committee... so no one knows if, and how, you filled it out.