I think if these tests are so good, you should not have to check anything. They are charging you the big bucks, let them figure it out, they are the "genetic detectives" aren't they?

Why fill in anything? If they are doing the genetic testing, they can tell YOU. :-)

This is the problem with trying to determine ethnicity. In our mixed up culture, where people keep marrying across established "racial" lines, we get lots of people who don't fit into any of the established races. (Personally, I think that this is a good thing.) So, let's stop worrying about "ethnicity". We are all human. That should be good enough.

1) I think they will be able to find this out. They would probably like to have this information as complement, for instance because it could be that they find a conflict between your official ancestry, as known from your family history and documents and the reality (because of different biological and official fathers). 2) what are the different choices that you can check? Is there also a "don't know" possibility or something? "Hispanic" is not really an ethnicity (see further discussion). The best way would be to ask the people doing the test, if possible. 3) Hispanic is not necessarily an ethnicity: "Hispanic (Spanish: hispano; Portuguese: hispânico; Latin: Hispānus, adjective from Hispānia, the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) is a term that historically denoted relation to the ancient Hispania and its peoples. It now refers to the culture of Spanish-speaking peoples, namely in Hispanic America and Spain, or countries with a historical link to Spain, such as the Philippines, as well as the people of those cultures, whether in their native countries or abroad. For example, there is a large Hispanic community in the United States. It can also refer to geographical distribution the same way Latin (Latino) refers to Romance languages in general." "During the 1970s, the United States Government defined the term "Hispanic" to identify Latin American individuals, and their descendants, living in the U.S., regardless of race." "The U.S. Office of Management and Budget currently defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race"." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic 4) "Autosomal DNA testing purports to determine the "genetic percentage" in a person of ancestry from particular regions. These tests examine SNPs, which are locations on the DNA where one nucleotide has "mutated" or "switched" to a different nucleotide. These tests are designed to tell what percentage Native American, European, East Asian, and African a person is. These tests are controversial—their validity has not been independently confirmed — and the results are often disputed. One company describes these four ethnic groups as follows: - Native American: Populations that migrated from Asia to inhabit North, South and Central America. - European: European, Middle Eastern and South Asian populations from the Indian subcontinent, including India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. - East Asian: Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, Korean, Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander populations, including populations native to the Philippines. - African: Populations from Sub-Saharan Africa such as Nigeria and Congo region." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogical_DNA_test Further information: http://www.healthanddna.com/ancestry.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_testing http://www.genelex.com/ http://www.dnadirect.com/patients/tests/genealogy_testing/index.jsp 5) As a conclusion, you could be (Indo-) European, and maybe also Native American or African depending on the components of your hispanicity. Probably an interesting mix.

Which genetic testing company did you go thru? I have a similar situation and both of my parents are deceased and would learn about my background.

Say "mixed" - you certainly are! Or, "human."