Is a diversity statement overkill? Forum

[yikes0117]

Ok everybody, should I write and attach a diversity statement to each law school application? I'm applying to a handful of T14 schools, but I've customized my personal statement to each school. Is an added diversity statement extraneous and distracting? (Especially since I'm a white guy from the suburbs)

[dani_burhop]

If you have a good topic for a diversity statement and can write one in under 500 words, it's useful. If you don't have a good topic, there's no need to include one.

Best, Dani

[theadvancededit]

Diversity statements aren't mandatory, so you won't be penalized for not including one.

[jcarsen]

It's actually better *not* to include one, unless you have something really compelling to add that can best be explained there.

Best,
Jen Carsen
Law School Statement Editor
http://www.spam.com

[kublaikahn]

Are you diverse from all the other suburban white dudes?

[yikes0117]

Hahaha. I can only think of being diverse because I attended private school my whole life (not the Eton variety, the leaky portable building variety). I've already sent out some apps without any optional statements attached, but I'm addressing my private schoolness in Michigan's optional essay. I decided against attaching a diversity statement to Harvard and Stanford because I thought it carried too great a risk of being unnecessary.

[JamMasterJ]

It's actually better *not* to include one, unless you have something really compelling to add that can best be explained there.

Best,
Jen Carsen
Law School Statement Editor
http://www.spam.com

was this a mod edit? HI-larious

[yikes0117]

What about Pennsylvania? Everyone always talks about how you should write optional essays for Penn, but I have already sorta addressed each of the four prompts in my personal statement. Is it bad to not write any optional statement for Penn?