Well, first of all, regardless of what you may have heard or, perhaps, if you think YOU are the first to come up with the idea, it’s NOT true and you’re NOT original. Just for your information, for anyone who is a member of a Native American tribe, they are documented with what is, essentially, tribal identification. When one checks the box on a college application indicating that he/she does identify as Native American, if it’s not directly requested upon that box being checked, your tribal identification information WILL BE requested before the application is reviewed entirely. In short, if you do not truly have tribal heritage, nip this absurd idea in the bud right now. However, if you do have tribal affiliation, you’re in luck. Native Americans in higher education are the most underrepresented minority. Though you still must have basic minimum requirements for any public universities or near average requirements for the privates, your heritage will be a factor (if, at the least, a minor one) during the review of your application.
As for the other boxes that one could potentially check. Race and heritage are no longer able to play strong roles in the admission process. However, it would be ignorant for me to say that schools with little diversity on campus – who ARE trying to increase their minority numbers – would not consider strongly a competitive candidate who comes from a minority group. The key word here is “competitive”. And, also, keep in mind that when an applicant checks that box indicating that he/she is of a certain minority group and then puts his/her signature on the end of the application, verifying that the information contained in the application is true, they are signing a contract which, if accepted (the student is offered admission), states that the acceptance is contingent upon the accurate and honest representation of the student’s record. In other words, if you have been dishonest in any portion of the application (i.e. stating that the courses you took were not taken, stating that you are a different race than you claimed, stating that your parents either did or did not attain a certain level of education, etc . . .) your admission can (and most likely will) be rescinded.
Not only will your offer of admission be rescinded but it will most likely be punished by, at the least, the university not refunding any deposit you may have made or, worse, banning you from submitting an amended application or transfer application or application for graduate school in the future. Best policy: be careful and be honest. There is a college out there that needs a person just like YOU, just the way you are!
