Hispanic URM?

[Broncos15]

Hello,

I read the last post ...and I was curious as a Hispanic ( South American) , non MA and non PR applicant,,,,,Why is the consensus that among Hispanics only MA's and PR's get any type of admissions boost and not any others? I feel as being a Hispanic I could potentially provide just as much of a diverse background as an MA/PR Applicant.

I just took a look at the data on LSAC's website and they seem to have merged Mexican applicants with other Hispanics/Latinos ..so I'm guessing if anything the differentiation comes when you apply. ( Although, PR applicants were classified separately under LSAC's data)

I am planning on piecing a good applicant regardless of any boost or not and writing a diversity statement ....( I understand URM Admissions can be a touchy subject among applicants)

I just wanted clarification on where i would stand as a Hispanic non MA?PR Applicant

Thanks!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hello Broncos15,

The reason why other Hispanics don't get a "boost" is that you aren't necessarily underrepresented in law school, and/or there is no admissions data to confirm this either way. Say you're from Chile, and you argue that there aren't too many Chileans in your law school. The response you'll get is: how many Chileans are there in the U.S. population? The whole idea here is not of "minority" status per se: of course, anyone coming from abroad will be a minority at an American school. The issue is one of underrepresented minority, i.e. the presence of a cultural/social conditions that place certain minority groups at a particular disadvantage. For more information on how law schools tailor their admissions policies, read the Grutter v. Bollinger SCOTUS opinion (https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/02-241.ZS.html).

Of course, you can still write a diversity statement, if you believe that your background will make a unique contribution to the law school's entering class.

Hope this answers your question!

[Broncos15]

My question is among Hispanics how do law schools differentiate between MA/PR and other non Hispanic Applicants if the application does not explicitly ask.


From Harvard's application
"1. Are you Hispanic/Latino?" with only a yes or no option and no option to indicate under which Hispanic classification you fall into

Other schools like Colombia for instance do ask which type of Hispanic do you identify as (i am not sure which is a more common practice among law schools)

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi Broncos15,

Most applications do ask you to distinguish between Mexican, Puerto Rican, and "other" Hispanic applicants, and so does LSAC (I believe it's a question you need to answer when creating your profile). As to how specific schools, such as Harvard, handle such distinctions, it's probably best to reach out to them directly if the application does not give you the option to be specific.

Best of luck!