The "Other" Option on Univeristy Applications - Part 3

Selecting "Other" on a University Application Race Reporting Form

Welcome to the next installment of Growing Up Mixed's series on racial and ethnic self-identification on a university application as a mixed person.  In this section, we'll look at the pros and cons of selecting "Other," or a similar unspecified option, and writing "multiracial" and/or "multiethnic" in the blank space provided.

If you want a quick recap of what we discussed in part 1, selecting all applicable identities, check out 

Benefits of Selecting "Other"

Increased public awareness of multiracial and multiethnic identities is a possible benefit of either:

• filling in some other unspecified identity
• making an "Other" section on the form if possible

Admission officers may take notice of your write-in answer as being applicable to more that just you.  "There just might be, *gasp* other people out there who identify as multiracial/muliethnic and we should include those options on our application forms!!!"  

In a perfect world, the above is how admission officers respond to your personalized write-in answer.  However, there are no real personal or immediate benefits to you as a mixed university applicant.

Issues with Selecting "Other"

Having the admission officials take you less than seriously is a possible negative effect of writing in the "Other"  space on a university application.  "Multiracial," "multiethnic," or another unspecified answer leave your identities ambiguous.  Admissions could have difficulty assessing your circumstances that factor into your acceptance and even scholarship offers.

No available space to write personal identity labels on the application form is another issue with this option.  According to an open letter by the California Department of Education in 2009, there are new(ish) federal laws that have removed the "Unknown or "Declined to state" options on race and ethnicity identifications forms in public educaton (CDE).

Since many forms are now electronic, writing in blank spaces to personalize your responses as a mixed applicant is somewhat less possible.

Conclusion

I suggest selecting all applicable racial and ethnic identities over selecting "Other" and filling in the blank on a university application.

I believe that you should always try to consider how your actions influence. larger issue of mutliracial/multiethnic awareness.  However, university acceptance is a big deal.  You (and possibly your family, teachers, friends, etc.) worked hard for many years for your chance to go to university.  I honestly think that selecting all applicable identities will help you more.

If the form does not allow you to select all applicable identities, then I suggest you select the "Other" option and write in "multiracial," "multiethnic" and all your applicable identities in parenthases.

Next Time

In the final installment, we'll look at the pros and cons of the last option for completing the race report form of a university application: selecting only one applicable racial/ethnic identity.

As always, let me know your thoughts on these and other mixed issues.  How do you report your race/s and ethnicity/ies?  Any comments, questions or discussion suggestions are totally fair game.

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<3 Elise "The Mixed Blogging Chick"