Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought.... Forum

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yngblkgifted

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Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought....

Post by yngblkgifted » Sat Oct 23, 2010 7:31 pm

I've crept on TLS for a while now. I have noticed there are quite a few URM applicants that have a diversity statement that has to do with difficult socioeconomic conditions (which speaks on the social and economic inequality between the races in America) that they have risen above... I mean some stuff I've read is pretty hard core....drug addictions, murders, etc. I am a black male and from what I understand, I would be shooting myself in the foot by not writing a diversity statement but I come from a very "non-disadvantaged background" ( is that even a word?). I've of course experienced some racism in my life but nothing worthy of a DS, IMO. I've written a lot research papers on race and the effects of racism during undergrad and I am sure I can come up with a broadly written topic dealing with race, but I do not know how personal it will be.



Do we HAVE to write about our ethnicity and race in the diversity topic, or can we use educational, life, and occupational experiences in our diversity statement?

For others in my situation, what did you write about?

ARTfulDodger

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Re: Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought....

Post by ARTfulDodger » Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:40 pm

No, you don't have to write about your ethnicity. A person can be diverse in various ways. Try and draw from any unique experiences that you have had when writing your diversity statement.

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thementor31337

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Re: Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought....

Post by thementor31337 » Sat Oct 23, 2010 10:18 pm

I would think that as an URM if you could stay away from strictly writing about your ethnicity, it would be your best bet. If I were an URM (I'm not), I wouldn't want my diversity statement to read "I'm (insert URM type here), admit me to your law school." I think writing about other ways that you are diverse would improve the statement and not have your whole case resting on the basis of race alone. Also, using the educational, work experience, or "non-disadvantaged life" diversity would defeat the stereotype that URM=disadvantaged.

ARTfulDodger

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Re: Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought....

Post by ARTfulDodger » Sun Oct 24, 2010 5:38 pm

thementor31337 wrote:I would think that as an URM if you could stay away from strictly writing about your ethnicity, it would be your best bet. If I were an URM (I'm not), I wouldn't want my diversity statement to read "I'm (insert URM type here), admit me to your law school." I think writing about other ways that you are diverse would improve the statement and not have your whole case resting on the basis of race alone. Also, using the educational, work experience, or "non-disadvantaged life" diversity would defeat the stereotype that URM=disadvantaged.
I agree with this. As a URM, I know for sure that I will not be discussing my ethnicity in my diversity statement, unless it ties into it somehow.

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Kohinoor

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Re: Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought....

Post by Kohinoor » Sun Oct 24, 2010 5:42 pm

ARTfulDodger wrote:
thementor31337 wrote:I would think that as an URM if you could stay away from strictly writing about your ethnicity, it would be your best bet. If I were an URM (I'm not), I wouldn't want my diversity statement to read "I'm (insert URM type here), admit me to your law school." I think writing about other ways that you are diverse would improve the statement and not have your whole case resting on the basis of race alone. Also, using the educational, work experience, or "non-disadvantaged life" diversity would defeat the stereotype that URM=disadvantaged.
I agree with this. As a URM, I know for sure that I will not be discussing my ethnicity in my diversity statement, unless it ties into it somehow.
My diversity statement discussed my ethnicity extensively and worked like gang busters.

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ARTfulDodger

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Re: Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought....

Post by ARTfulDodger » Sun Oct 24, 2010 5:45 pm

Kohinoor wrote:
ARTfulDodger wrote:
thementor31337 wrote:I would think that as an URM if you could stay away from strictly writing about your ethnicity, it would be your best bet. If I were an URM (I'm not), I wouldn't want my diversity statement to read "I'm (insert URM type here), admit me to your law school." I think writing about other ways that you are diverse would improve the statement and not have your whole case resting on the basis of race alone. Also, using the educational, work experience, or "non-disadvantaged life" diversity would defeat the stereotype that URM=disadvantaged.
I agree with this. As a URM, I know for sure that I will not be discussing my ethnicity in my diversity statement, unless it ties into it somehow.
My diversity statement discussed my ethnicity extensively and worked like gang busters.
Yes, it can work. I did the same in my personal statement when applying to undergrad. :)

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Eugenie Danglars

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Re: Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought....

Post by Eugenie Danglars » Mon Oct 25, 2010 12:59 am

I can't find the post now, but I read a thread addressing this issue a while ago. Your DS should me more like this: I'm [insert type of diversity here], it's affected my life and changed me in these ways, thus I would be a great candidate."

It's more about how your characteristics/experiences have changed you [for the better] than what those characteristics are.

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LAWLAW09

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Re: Diversity statement for urm harder than I thought....

Post by LAWLAW09 » Mon Oct 25, 2010 1:28 am

from the :47 mark til the end = my DS


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGLF0X3WIiE


We'll see if I got the language right.

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