Two Questions- Diversity and December Forum

[tfarunner]

Hi everyone, so I have two questions in regards to applications.

1) Is there any benefit to writing a diversity statement as a white female? The last thing I would want is it to come off disingenuous, but I am from a very small rural southern town (2,000) where the primary industry is agriculture and without getting into too much detail, it is a place that traps people. My high school growing up was pretty terrible, and I had a decently rough childhood with a mother that was an alcoholic/prescription drug abuser and was in and out of rehab/court. That being said, I overcame it pretty well and managed to escape- get out of the city, to a different state and joined TFA after college to give back to similar communities.

I am just curious if any of that is worth mentioning in a diversity statement or is that primarily restricted to more traditional forms of diversity?

2) Took the LSAT in September, and was practice testing in the range of 169-176, with the average hovering around 172. However, on the night before the LSAT I got some pretty horrible news and I fear that it did actually do damage to my score. My concentration was off, and just could not seem to focus correctly.

That being said, I am almost certain I will be re-taking in December and am really aiming for a T-6 (3.88 GPA). Is December too late if I re-take and perform at average or would it be better to wait and apply next cycle?


Okay, apologies for the novel above.
Thanks!

[FairchildFLT]

Oh no not this again.

[A. Nony Mouse]

OP, the above response is just because there have been a number of people in the past week or so asking if they should write a diversity statement as a white person. I'm not a great expert on diversity statements so can't really answer, but you might want to search/browse through this forum (and maybe the personal statement forum) to see what's been posted recently. There's also a Q&A with Admissions Consultants Mike Spivey and Karen Buttenbaum in the Help from Professionals forum, and I think they talked about this fairly recently as well. (Which isn't meant to suggest you shouldn't have posted the question here; it's perfectly fine to post the question, I just wanted to explain the dismissive response above.)

About December, no, it isn't too late to apply.

[Moneytrees]

Applying in early January should be fine

[banjo]

Probably yes on the diversity statement. You had a difficult upbringing and you saw TFA as a way to address challenges that poor people face. I'm no expert either, but just for the record, here's what I thought about the other close calls this week:

Student 1: White male adopted at birth by Filipino father and white mother. Parents split, lived with his grandmother until age 13. Identifies with family history (raised Catholic, cuisine, worked on farm).

Probably yes if the student continued to be involved in Filipino culture, issues relating to adoption, broken families, etc.

Student 2: Lived abroad for a few years after college doing a few different things.

Probably not. Although good experience, it doesn't really track the things law schools and firms look for in a diverse candidate (minority status, unique perspective and/or commitment to promoting diversity)

Student 3: Middle-class white female went to a diverse school where few go to prestigious undergrads. Worked in computer programming, a male-dominated field.

Definitely not. Maybe this would be different if she had worked in programming for 10 years and contributed to initiatives to get more women into programming or comp sci or whatever.

Student 4: White, middle-class kid with Dharma and Greg parents.

Probably not. Maybe if he had stayed involved in bridging religions or something like that.

[KMart]

The December LSAT is fine. Scoring a 175 will be a 175. Couple that with your GPA and a lot of schools will want you. As for the DS, I'm not an expert but I'd say it makes for a killer personal statement. Best of luck!

[oceanmd]

It is a great personal story. If you use it as a topic for your DS, what will you be writing about in your Personal Statement?

[tfarunner]

Thanks everyone for the responses. And that is an excellent point about DS vs. PS. I wasn't sure if it would work as a personal statement since it focuses more on past challenges and my reaction to them instead of my desire to go to law school and why I would excel there.

But thanks all, this helps a lot!