Page 1 of 1

"unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 11:50 pm
by Anonymous User
I already have a solid personal statement written, but I believe I have many unique qualities that help my chances that most people would not be able to attribute to themselves. For example, my father was a Ranger in the Army and a ski racer, my mom is a refugee of the Iranian Revolution... I have been raised by two people with vastly different ideals and values in which most people cannot say they have. I have heard things and drawn experiences from them which are highly valuable and unique. Would this be valuable information for perhaps a resume or possibly another short "diversity statement"? I understand I'm not technically a minority, however I do believe that I have an opportunity to show I am extremely diverse in terms of experience which may help me in the long run.

Thoughts on a diversity statement or including that in a section of my resume?

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 12:22 am
by 3ThrowAway99
Anonymous User wrote:I already have a solid personal statement written, but I believe I have many unique qualities that help my chances that most people would not be able to attribute to themselves. For example, my father was a Ranger in the Army and a ski racer, my mom is a refugee of the Iranian Revolution... I have been raised by two people with vastly different ideals and values in which most people cannot say they have. I have heard things and drawn experiences from them which are highly valuable and unique. Would this be valuable information for perhaps a resume or possibly another short "diversity statement"? I understand I'm not technically a minority, however I do believe that I have an opportunity to show I am extremely diverse in terms of experience which may help me in the long run.

Thoughts on a diversity statement or including that in a section of my resume?

Hmmm, I'm all for using every advantage possible, but really the ranger thing and ski racing isn't a diversity issue IMO... can you incorporate that into PS? Maaaybe the Iranian thing could be....

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 11:39 am
by Bildungsroman
What? No, you shouldn't write a diversity statement about your dad being a skiier. Diversity statements are for things like race, not a few random details about your relatives that you think are unusual.

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 1:18 pm
by Anonymous User
Bildungsroman wrote:What? No, you shouldn't write a diversity statement about your dad being a skier. Diversity statements are for things like race, not a few random details about your relatives that you think are unusual.
Did you read what i typed or did you read the first sentence and decide to try and make my question seem that unintelligent?

I would write this not to say my dad was a skier, but to say growing up with extremely diverse perspectives has affected my views on certain issues. Would u like me to elaborate?

I appreciate the extremely backhanded feedback that is "don't include your dad skied, focus more on race," that was not my question though. So if you would like to give me some real advice and not channel your bad day online I'd appreciate it. And if you want it in more blatant terms you won't have such a hard time interpreting here: "Should I write a statement about how my two racial backgrounds and the experiences I have drawn from them have made me unique?"

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 3:08 pm
by CanadianWolf
Seems like reasonable & interesting material for a diversity statement, in my opinion.

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 3:24 pm
by thelawschoolproject
Anonymous User wrote: I have heard things and drawn experiences from them which are highly valuable and unique. Would this be valuable information for perhaps a resume or possibly another short "diversity statement"?

Does this mean that you already wrote a DS? If so, what was it about?

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 3:33 pm
by PickMe!
thelawschoolproject wrote:
Anonymous User wrote: I have heard things and drawn experiences from them which are highly valuable and unique. Would this be valuable information for perhaps a resume or possibly another short "diversity statement"?

Does this mean that you already wrote a DS? If so, what was it about?
This + your avatar= :lol:

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 4:26 pm
by fruitoftheloom
Also - this definitely does not belong in a resume. If you want to submit it, it needs to be in a diversity statement. I've heard that some K-JDs have an "interests" section on their resume, but I don't think this would belong there. I believe (maybe I'm wrong) that you're supposed to keep all information about race, etc. off your resume.

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:52 pm
by Anonymous User
thelawschoolproject wrote:
Does this mean that you already wrote a DS? If so, what was it about?
No, I haven't I was just typing hypothetically I guess, my mistake.
fruitoftheloom wrote:Also - this definitely does not belong in a resume. If you want to submit it, it needs to be in a diversity statement. I've heard that some K-JDs have an "interests" section on their resume, but I don't think this would belong there. I believe (maybe I'm wrong) that you're supposed to keep all information about race, etc. off your resume.
Oh okay. Thanks for the response. I think I'll write one. Obviously leaving out the skiing part (did not mean for it to come out the way it did in the OP, lol.).

Thank you for the quick responses, this site has helped me so much during my application processes.

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 9:23 pm
by Bildungsroman
Anonymous User wrote:
Bildungsroman wrote:What? No, you shouldn't write a diversity statement about your dad being a skier. Diversity statements are for things like race, not a few random details about your relatives that you think are unusual.
Did you read what i typed or did you read the first sentence and decide to try and make my question seem that unintelligent?

I would write this not to say my dad was a skier, but to say growing up with extremely diverse perspectives has affected my views on certain issues. Would u like me to elaborate?

I appreciate the extremely backhanded feedback that is "don't include your dad skied, focus more on race," that was not my question though. So if you would like to give me some real advice and not channel your bad day online I'd appreciate it. And if you want it in more blatant terms you won't have such a hard time interpreting here: "Should I write a statement about how my two racial backgrounds and the experiences I have drawn from them have made me unique?"
Lol glad to see the anon feature is as useful as I expected in this forum. If your diversity statement is about being biracial then go ahead. If it's about your dad skiing and being in the army then don't. Just your parents having different values is not interesting or diverse, and remember that you need to show how you would contribute to diversity at a school, not about how your parental unit is diverse.

Re: "unique" should I write about it in an additional essay?

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 10:39 pm
by red52
Bildungsroman wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Bildungsroman wrote:What? No, you shouldn't write a diversity statement about your dad being a skier. Diversity statements are for things like race, not a few random details about your relatives that you think are unusual.
Did you read what i typed or did you read the first sentence and decide to try and make my question seem that unintelligent?

I would write this not to say my dad was a skier, but to say growing up with extremely diverse perspectives has affected my views on certain issues. Would u like me to elaborate?

I appreciate the extremely backhanded feedback that is "don't include your dad skied, focus more on race," that was not my question though. So if you would like to give me some real advice and not channel your bad day online I'd appreciate it. And if you want it in more blatant terms you won't have such a hard time interpreting here: "Should I write a statement about how my two racial backgrounds and the experiences I have drawn from them have made me unique?"
Lol glad to see the anon feature is as useful as I expected in this forum. If your diversity statement is about being biracial then go ahead. If it's about your dad skiing and being in the army then don't. Just your parents having different values is not interesting or diverse, and remember that you need to show how you would contribute to diversity at a school, not about how your parental unit is diverse.
I don't need to be anon to tell you how I feel, will showing you my username give you a better sense of who I am? Probably not. It will be more about the different perspectives I have gained while growing up with such a diverse-nearly polar opposite ethnic backgrounds.