Feedback: Should info be in personal or diversity statement? Forum

tlsapplicant1234 · Post by **tlsapplicant1234** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 4:48 pm

I was hoping I could get some advice on a dilemma where I keep going back and forth: I took two gap years between high school and college to serve in an AmeriCorps program; this has obviously had a big impact on my life, and influenced my academic and career choices heavily. I don't know if I should discuss this heavily in my personal statement, or as a separate diversity statement. My concern is that if I include it in my personal statement, I will either focus on it so much that it seems like everything I have done in the 6 years since then (I had some great accomplishments in college and have been working in politics for the past year) is negligible or unimportant, or that if I try to create a cohesive narrative flowing from AmeriCorps, to college, to politics over a 7 year period that I will have essentially written the disdained "resume in prose form". But I also worry that if I tack it on as a diversity statement (since it is rather nontraditional that I took these gap years between high school and college) I'm missing an opportunity to describe an important experience in the personal statement. Any advice?

benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:18 pm

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doublehoohopeful · Post by **doublehoohopeful** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:30 pm

I'd be careful about an AmeriCorps PS. Asha writes about the TFA PS (which I'm assuming takes a similar form) here.

tlsapplicant1234 · Post by **tlsapplicant1234** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:34 pm

Thanks for the advice! Seems like it might be too ubiquitous to be helpful. And the fact the fact that it was a non traditional path to college is not worth mentioning then?

benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:34 pm

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benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:37 pm

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CanadianWolf · Post by **CanadianWolf** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:54 pm

OP: Whether or not your AmeriCorps experience should be included in your law school PS or as a diversity statement depends upon your theme and how this experience fits into the development of that theme.

With respect to Asha's comments regarding TFA essays, the short version, by my reading, is that whatever you write as a law school application essay should allow the reader to know you, to like you & to understand you. The "understanding" portion is where self analysis comes into play. Insights as to who you are, how you became that way & what is your "world view" make one's writing interesting & memorable.

basedvulpes · Post by **basedvulpes** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 6:06 pm

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