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Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 12:52 am
by Anonymous User
URM here. I wanted to write about my family and how we got where we are. The thing is my family belongs to the top 10% and I have no idea how admission committee will take this. I want to show that they came from extremely poor backgrounds and that I been thought the value of hard work for real.
Would you recommend this subject or just leave it out?
It seems a lot of people write about how they overcame the obstacle of being poor but never about being well off.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:01 am
by kaiser
Not sure what value that would serve. You are a URM. Why not write about something relating to your cultural, national, racial, etc. identity that actually does show diversity? Writing about a family rising from meager circumstances is great for a personal statement (though such statements too often focus more on the family/parents/relatives at the expense of focus on the applicant), but I don't see what purpose it would serve from a diversity perspective.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:23 am
by Cobretti
kaiser wrote:Not sure what value that would serve. You are a URM. Why not write about something relating to your cultural, national, racial, etc. identity that actually does show diversity? Writing about a family rising from meager circumstances is great for a personal statement (though such statements too often focus more on the family/parents/relatives at the expense of focus on the applicant), but I don't see what purpose it would serve from a diversity perspective.
I agree. If you are going to write a personal statement that basically expresses how your parents overcame diversity I don't see how it would really reflect well on you. If you can focus on how your URM status would add diversity to your program that could work. If your parents are first generation immigrants and you have been raised primarily in that culture, then you offer diversity to programs. Focus on that and ignore the fact that you are well off.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:24 am
by IAFG
No, being from an upper middle class family is not diverse in law school.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:41 am
by Davidbentley
"It was in many ways a typical day. I was driving my new car, a present for my Eighteenth birthday, to my friend Madison's house when a large truck blew through a stop sign and slammed into the rear quarter of the car. Luckily, the side impact airbags, window drapes, and crash sensing systems fully deployed and Maddy and I avoided any real injuries. We were, however, left with a significant problem. I was scheduled to drive Maddy, Callista, and Jordan to the airport for our big trip to Ensenada. The problem here was now that my car was totaled, I would have to drive the old 7 series, which was fine with me, but, my mother would then not be able to take her friends to see a live screening of the View, as the car would be at the airport for seven days, and she would only be able to drive the boxster. . . I guess in the end, I learned that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and go against the grain in order to achieve your goals. Some people might think it silly to rent a car simply to drive to the airport, but I had a goal to achieve, and if that meant that I had to drive a Buick Century, then gee-whiz, I was going to drive a Buick Century."
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:57 am
by ajr
Davidbentley wrote:"It was in many ways a typical day. I was driving my new car, a present for my Eighteenth birthday, to my friend Madison's house when a large truck blew through a stop sign and slammed into the rear quarter of the car. Luckily, the side impact airbags, window drapes, and crash sensing systems fully deployed and Maddy and I avoided any real injuries. We were, however, left with a significant problem. I was scheduled to drive Maddy, Callista, and Jordan to the airport for our big trip to Ensenada. The problem here was now that my car was totaled, I would have to drive the old 7 series, which was fine with me, but, my mother would then not be able to take her friends to see a live screening of the View, as the car would be at the airport for seven days, and she would only be able to drive the boxster. . . I guess in the end, I learned that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and go against the grain in order to achieve your goals. Some people might think it silly to rent a car simply to drive to the airport, but I had a goal to achieve, and if that meant that I had to drive a Buick Century, then gee-whiz, I was going to drive a Buick Century."
All this when you've got a Bentley in your name?
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:22 pm
by canarykb
Davidbentley wrote:"It was in many ways a typical day. I was driving my new car, a present for my Eighteenth birthday, to my friend Madison's house when a large truck blew through a stop sign and slammed into the rear quarter of the car. Luckily, the side impact airbags, window drapes, and crash sensing systems fully deployed and Maddy and I avoided any real injuries. We were, however, left with a significant problem. I was scheduled to drive Maddy, Callista, and Jordan to the airport for our big trip to Ensenada. The problem here was now that my car was totaled, I would have to drive the old 7 series, which was fine with me, but, my mother would then not be able to take her friends to see a live screening of the View, as the car would be at the airport for seven days, and she would only be able to drive the boxster. . . I guess in the end, I learned that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and go against the grain in order to achieve your goals. Some people might think it silly to rent a car simply to drive to the airport, but I had a goal to achieve, and if that meant that I had to drive a Buick Century, then gee-whiz, I was going to drive a Buick Century."
+1
Sorry, OP, you're not suffering any "obstacles of being well-off".
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:38 pm
by CorkBoard
Anonymous User wrote:URM here. I wanted to write about my family and how we got where we are. The thing is my family belongs to the top 10% and I have no idea how admission committee will take this. I want to show that they came from extremely poor backgrounds and that I been thought the value of hard work for real.
Would you recommend this subject or just leave it out?
It seems a lot of people write about how they overcame the obstacle of being poor but never about being well off.
You sound like a douche.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:50 pm
by fatduck
top 10% is like $100k household income, bro. tell your parents to strive harder.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:55 pm
by rad lulz
Anonymous User wrote:URM here. I wanted to write about my family and how we got where we are. The thing is my family belongs to the top 10% and I have no idea how admission committee will take this. I want to show that they came from extremely poor backgrounds and that I been thought the value of hard work for real.
Would you recommend this subject or just leave it out?
It seems a lot of people write about how they overcame the obstacle of being poor but never about being well off.
Gat dang minorities came and TUKURJERBZ
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 1:25 pm
by californiauser
Flame? Top 10% household income is about $120,000 a year combined income. You will not be special nor unique at a top law school coming from an upper middle class family.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 1:43 pm
by Aberzombie1892
URMs in law school are usually well off, almost to the point where if you find a URM with a household income below $100-200k+, they are diverse. I would say that there are exceptions for URMs at T4ish type schools.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 2:04 pm
by JamMasterJ
1% or GTFO
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 2:13 pm
by HeavenWood
Anonymous User wrote:URM here. I wanted to write about my family and how we got where we are. The thing is my family belongs to the top 10% and I have no idea how admission committee will take this. I want to show that they came from extremely poor backgrounds and that I been thought the value of hard work for real.
Would you recommend this subject or just leave it out?
It seems a lot of people write about how they overcame the obstacle of being poor but never about being well off.
You grew up in a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath newish construction colonial tract house, and the mortgage is now paid off. You had a public K-12 education in a good suburban school district. Your parents chipped in for college, but they can't afford to help you out with lawl skool, though they are thinking of getting a timeshare somewhere on the Gulf Coast.
Come to Penn so you can feel like the poor you always wanted to be.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 2:28 pm
by LeDique
Epic anon use.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 2:41 pm
by RodneyBoonfield
If anything you'll be punished
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:21 pm
by vanwinkle
mrizza wrote:If you are going to write a personal statement that basically expresses how your parents overcame diversity I don't see how it would really reflect well on you.
I really hope you meant "overcame adversity" here.
mrizza wrote:If you can focus on how your URM status would add diversity to your program that could work. If your parents are first generation immigrants and you have been raised primarily in that culture, then you offer diversity to programs. Focus on that and ignore the fact that you are well off.
I think that it can really vary, actually. A well-written PS (or DS) about what lessons you learned from your parents and
how they are a part of you now could possibly really help. Like any other PS/DS topic, the issue is ultimately convincing a school that this is something about
you. If you write things in a way that shows what you've learned and that you're bringing a unique viewpoint because of it, then that's a good writing subject. Writing about what your parents taught you, from what they went through, is
possible. It'd just have to be really well-written.
I do agree that just being a "somewhat well-off minority" is not at all PS/DS worthy, just FTR.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:33 pm
by BruceWayne
vanwinkle wrote:mrizza wrote:If you are going to write a personal statement that basically expresses how your parents overcame diversity I don't see how it would really reflect well on you.
I really hope you meant "overcame adversity" here.
mrizza wrote:If you can focus on how your URM status would add diversity to your program that could work. If your parents are first generation immigrants and you have been raised primarily in that culture, then you offer diversity to programs. Focus on that and ignore the fact that you are well off.
I think that it can really vary, actually. A well-written PS (or DS) about what lessons you learned from your parents and
how they are a part of you now could possibly really help. Like any other PS/DS topic, the issue is ultimately convincing a school that this is something about
you. If you write things in a way that shows what you've learned and that you're bringing a unique viewpoint because of it, then that's a good writing subject. Writing about what your parents taught you, from what they went through, is
possible. It'd just have to be really well-written.
I do agree that just being a "somewhat well-off minority" is not at all PS/DS worthy, just FTR.[/quoteA
LMAO just wanted to point out how commonly I see this on my facebook home page for people's status updates. I assume it's a mistake for most of them--but who knows maybe not!
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:34 pm
by gaud
f7u12 wrote:Davidbentley wrote:"It was in many ways a typical day. I was driving my new car, a present for my Eighteenth birthday, to my friend Madison's house when a large truck blew through a stop sign and slammed into the rear quarter of the car. Luckily, the side impact airbags, window drapes, and crash sensing systems fully deployed and Maddy and I avoided any real injuries. We were, however, left with a significant problem. I was scheduled to drive Maddy, Callista, and Jordan to the airport for our big trip to Ensenada. The problem here was now that my car was totaled, I would have to drive the old 7 series, which was fine with me, but, my mother would then not be able to take her friends to see a live screening of the View, as the car would be at the airport for seven days, and she would only be able to drive the boxster. . . I guess in the end, I learned that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and go against the grain in order to achieve your goals. Some people might think it silly to rent a car simply to drive to the airport, but I had a goal to achieve, and if that meant that I had to drive a Buick Century, then gee-whiz, I was going to drive a Buick Century."
Awesome.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:39 am
by RodneyBoonfield
Davidbentley wrote:"It was in many ways a typical day. I was driving my new car, a present for my Eighteenth birthday, to my friend Madison's house when a large truck blew through a stop sign and slammed into the rear quarter of the car. Luckily, the side impact airbags, window drapes, and crash sensing systems fully deployed and Maddy and I avoided any real injuries. We were, however, left with a significant problem. I was scheduled to drive Maddy, Callista, and Jordan to the airport for our big trip to Ensenada. The problem here was now that my car was totaled, I would have to drive the old 7 series, which was fine with me, but, my mother would then not be able to take her friends to see a live screening of the View, as the car would be at the airport for seven days, and she would only be able to drive the boxster. . . I guess in the end, I learned that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and go against the grain in order to achieve your goals. Some people might think it silly to rent a car simply to drive to the airport, but I had a goal to achieve, and if that meant that I had to drive a Buick Century, then gee-whiz, I was going to drive a Buick Century."
TFM
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:41 am
by dowu
gaud wrote:f7u12 wrote:Davidbentley wrote:"It was in many ways a typical day. I was driving my new car, a present for my Eighteenth birthday, to my friend Madison's house when a large truck blew through a stop sign and slammed into the rear quarter of the car. Luckily, the side impact airbags, window drapes, and crash sensing systems fully deployed and Maddy and I avoided any real injuries. We were, however, left with a significant problem. I was scheduled to drive Maddy, Callista, and Jordan to the airport for our big trip to Ensenada. The problem here was now that my car was totaled, I would have to drive the old 7 series, which was fine with me, but, my mother would then not be able to take her friends to see a live screening of the View, as the car would be at the airport for seven days, and she would only be able to drive the boxster. . . I guess in the end, I learned that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and go against the grain in order to achieve your goals. Some people might think it silly to rent a car simply to drive to the airport, but I had a goal to achieve, and if that meant that I had to drive a Buick Century, then gee-whiz, I was going to drive a Buick Century."
Awesome.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:43 am
by bizzybone1313
Davidbentley wrote:"It was in many ways a typical day. I was driving my new car, a present for my Eighteenth birthday, to my friend Madison's house when a large truck blew through a stop sign and slammed into the rear quarter of the car. Luckily, the side impact airbags, window drapes, and crash sensing systems fully deployed and Maddy and I avoided any real injuries. We were, however, left with a significant problem. I was scheduled to drive Maddy, Callista, and Jordan to the airport for our big trip to Ensenada. The problem here was now that my car was totaled, I would have to drive the old 7 series, which was fine with me, but, my mother would then not be able to take her friends to see a live screening of the View, as the car would be at the airport for seven days, and she would only be able to drive the boxster. . . I guess in the end, I learned that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and go against the grain in order to achieve your goals. Some people might think it silly to rent a car simply to drive to the airport, but I had a goal to achieve, and if that meant that I had to drive a Buick Century, then gee-whiz, I was going to drive a Buick Century."
Lol.
Lmao. I almost fell out of my chair. OP, write something similar in your PS.
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:07 am
by Micdiddy
Honestly, I had a similar dilemma. My dad grew up super poor, but he became pretty successful before I was born. I used his story in my PS as the source of my motivation, though. So instead of saying "poor me" it was about how my role model succeeded through hard work, and to be a self-satisfied man I would have to do the same.
Reading between the lines maybe all it says is "Hey I'm an upper middle class Caucasian. Let me in!"
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:12 am
by Ludo!
This thread got necroed with an abbreviation I don't even understand, but I'd never read it before so good job necroer
Re: Being somewhat well off counts as diversity?
Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:35 pm
by rad lulz
Ludovico Technique wrote:This thread got necroed with an abbreviation I don't even understand, but I'd never read it before so good job necroer
Total frat move