Are South Americans considered URMs?

Comments

• 1 Like

  OlamHafuch Alum Member

  August 2017 2326 karma

  I think it depends on the school. Not sure that you can get schools to say straight out who they consider URM. The operative term over here is "underrepresented." If a student body from a certain country is not underrepresented, then regardless of the struggles experienced by people from that country, they will not be considered URM. There are quite a few minority groups whose ancestors struggled mightily, but since they are not underrepresented, they are not given any edge in admissions.
• 1 Like

  Cant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage ⭐ 🍌 7Sage Tutor

  August 2017 27822 karma

  Not positive on that, but if by any chance @Alejandro is still around, I'm sure a fellow Colombian who's been through all this would know.

  Regardless of your status, you can still definitely write a diversity statement on that though, so make sure you make that a part of your app.
• Nanchito-1-1 Yearly Member

  August 2017 1762 karma

  I don't think so. I'm sure your experience can bring a distinctive perspective. You should def write a statement on it.
• 3 Likes

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  August 2017 edited August 2017 23929 karma

  No, South Americans like Colombians aren't considered traditional URMs. As an immigrant and first gen college student, you have a great story for a diversity statement that will serve as another way to convey your diversity.
• 1 Like

  TheMikey Alum Member

  August 2017 4196 karma

  What Alex said is TCR.

  Colombians are not considered URM. But yeah, what he said about a DS is true!
• 1 Like

  nevadacity37 Free Trial Member

  August 2017 163 karma

  It might be advisable to contact the schools you are interested in and ask them directly. Should your heritage not be considered to qualify as a URM, from what you describe of your background, you do offer many diversity aspects to law schools. As such, it seems to me you have plenty of fodder for a diversity statement, which can add value - or provide a "boost" as you say - to your candidacy.
• gioaragon95 Alum Member

  August 2017 edited August 2017 174 karma

  I think what matters is how you (your applications) compares to the avg application of your cohort. Being that you are of Hispanic descent rather than believing that if you do or do not fall into the URM category, you won't or will get a "boost" I think is the wrong way to look at it and bit vague. I believe it's best to look at the stats of the avg Hispanic student (lsac score and UGPA) and see how these compare to your own. I believe that's where the "boost" in application comes (if your scores fall above the mean) within a certain underrepresented group.

  https://www.lsac.org/search-results?action=results&num=10&site=Public_CMS&q=minorities&sort=date:D:S:d1

  *Edited: ( The first PDF may offer some insight and answer some questions you have or add some new points of view of how to look at this circumstance).

  I think context is everything when discussing this issue. It's not that simple saying Yes you are Mexican or no your not Mexican.
• LauraC829 Alum Member

  August 2017 218 karma

  @"Cant Get Right" said:
  Not positive on that, but if by any chance @Alejandro is still around, I'm sure a fellow Colombian who's been through all this would know.

  Regardless of your status, you can still definitely write a diversity statement on that though, so make sure you make that a part of your app.

  Thank you! Would love to hear from a fellow Colombian @Alejandro
• LauraC829 Alum Member

  August 2017 218 karma

  @gioaragon95 said:
  I think what matters is how you (your applications) compares to the avg application of your cohort. Being that you are of Hispanic descent rather than believing that if you do or do not fall into the URM category, you won't or will get a "boost" I think is the wrong way to look at it and bit vague. I believe it's best to look at the stats of the avg Hispanic student (lsac score and UGPA) and see how these compare to your own. I believe that's where the "boost" in application comes (if your scores fall above the mean) within a certain underrepresented group.

  https://www.lsac.org/search-results?action=results&num=10&site=Public_CMS&q=minorities&sort=date:D:S:d1

  *Edited: ( The first PDF may offer some insight and answer some questions you have or add some new points of view of how to look at this circumstance).

  I think context is everything when discussing this issue. It's not that simple saying Yes you are Mexican or no your not Mexican.

  Gracias @gioaragon95! This does help me look at it from a different perspective, and I hope you are right that my stats would be compared to the average stats of the Hispanic student group. I was thinking that unless you are Mexican or PR, you would not be considered a Hispanic applicant since you would be checking off the "Other" box under "Hispanic" rather than the specific boxes made for only those two subgroups.
• Alejandro Member Inactive ⭐

  September 2017 2424 karma

  @lc829-1 what's up! Yeah, I'm from Barranquilla and came to the U.S. for college. Don't really know if we are URMs technically to be honest, but the diversity and your story definitely help! I wouldn't think about it too much man, just put your best foot forward on your application, write a compelling story that only YOU can write, and you will be successful. Hope that helps
• SethDCorley Alum Member

  September 2017 57 karma

  I think as long as you're not a white Brazilian or Argentinian it works. Not positive though.