When would a DS hurt you? Forum

peke · Post by **peke** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:38 am

I wrote up a Yale 250 that touched on some diversity and didn't want it to go to waste on a hail mary. I'm thinking of polishing it up and submitting it to other schools as a diversity statement. I'm curious in what cases would a DS hurt your application (assuming no grammar errors and a writing level comparable to the PS)?

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:43 am

...when you're not diverse?

peke · Post by **peke** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:45 am

so if you're on the bubble, it would actively lessen your chances by submitting one?

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 2:06 am

If you write a paper about how hard being a white guy, a tall person, left handed etc has been for you, yes you'd sound really dumb.

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 2:17 am

Post removed.

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:24 am

I'm gonna stick by my opinion, as a lefty mind you, that writing an essay about being diverse as a lefty is roughly as stupid as writing about no air conditioning.

If you were reading statements all day about underprivileged kids, discriminated against kids, homeless kids, and then you read about boohoo my scissors are awkward, that comes off as insensitive. I'm not necessarily doubting your friend, although it is possible they wrote about something too personal to share, or didn't write anything at all, got the idea from Karen's post about how dumb lefty essays are, and used it as a joke etc.

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:25 am

Also I ain't no Harvard kid, splitter4lyfe

seashell.economy · Post by **seashell.economy** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 6:44 am

MistakenGenius wrote:
Clearly wrote:...when you're not diverse?
Disagree, everyone is diverse in some way, you just have to figure out how you are. One of my good friends here wrote hers on the challenges of being left-handed. It was pretty comedic, and while I can't say it helped, it obviously didn't hurt. That said, you have to be very tactful about this and I probably wouldn't recommend her approach. I know of some person who wrote a diversity statement about going on a mission trip and experiencing life without air-conditioning and how hard that was. That was mind-numbingly stupid, and she was rejected with incredible numbers. Yale doesn't love extra essays, which is why I'm not sure if there's even a spot for them, but if you can come up with a good one, it can be worth it. If you want me to look at it and give you my opinion, I'd be happy to.

Edit: Since this came up while I was writing it
Clearly wrote:If you write a paper about how hard being a white guy, a tall person, left handed etc has been for you, yes you'd sound really dumb.
Get fuckin' scooped Harvard boy. lol.

Disagree with your disagree. Everyone is different in some way, but if I encountered a Diversity Statement written about being left-handed, or lacking air conditioning, or being really tall I'd be truly disgusted.

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:23 pm

Post removed.

TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 2:33 pm

MistakenGenius knows more than most of us about Yale, so I defer to him there.

That said, if you're going to do a DS about something like being left handed, I would tread very carefully. If you don't stick that landing, you risk coming across as whiny, overly dramatic, or completely lacking perspective.

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:22 pm

Post removed.

peke · Post by **peke** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 3:35 pm

Thanks for all the responses. As far as topics go, I was thinking of presenting a personal perspective as a result of an extended stay abroad. This didn't quite fit in my PS since I took time off from college to do it on my own, outside any sort of structured environment and has nothing to do with anything I've done or have done since. I understand these stories are a dime a dozen but I thought it could further showcase any writing abilities and present a non-engineering/math focused perspective pervasive in the rest of my application.

My stats are right below the medians for Harvard for which I am hoping to be waitlisted. Do these softs matter a bit more for waitlisters?

Thanks again

cheesy145 · Post by **cheesy145** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:01 pm

peke wrote:Thanks for all the responses. As far as topics go, I was thinking of presenting a personal perspective as a result of an extended stay abroad. This didn't quite fit in my PS since I took time off from college to do it on my own, outside any sort of structured environment and has nothing to do with anything I've done or have done since. I understand these stories are a dime a dozen but I thought it could further showcase any writing abilities and present a non-engineering/math focused perspective pervasive in the rest of my application.

My stats are right below the medians for Harvard for which I am hoping to be waitlisted. Do these softs matter a bit more for waitlisters?

Thanks again

I think it'd do more harm.than good especially if you haven't overcome any adversity as a result of this traveling and the DS is just talking about backpacking through Europe or something. I also makes you sound privileged compared to other DSs they'll be reading about overcoming racism, abuse, homeslessness etc

Nebby · Post by **Nebby** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 4:13 pm

If you're a white dude who didn't grow up in abject poverty, then you're SOL.

seashell.economy · Post by **seashell.economy** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 6:11 pm

Yeah, MistakenGenius, I'd be "completely disgusted" re: something like that air conditioning crap. You aren't diverse because you chose to live the way a billion people are forced to live. It degrades the concept of a DS.

Also, anything goes at Yale for a DS? Yeah no kidding. If the silver spoon hanging out of your mouth isn't filled with caviar, you can write a DS about that for Yale and they'd love it.

Nebby · Post by **Nebby** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 8:49 pm

seashell.economy wrote:Yeah, MistakenGenius, I'd be "completely disgusted" re: something like that air conditioning crap. You aren't diverse because you chose to live the way a billion people are forced to live. It degrades the concept of a DS.

Also, anything goes at Yale for a DS? Yeah no kidding. If the silver spoon hanging out of your mouth isn't filled with caviar, you can write a DS about that for Yale and they'd love it.

My family only had two BMWs, it was horrible.

rnoodles · Post by **rnoodles** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:41 pm

Nebby wrote:
seashell.economy wrote:Yeah, MistakenGenius, I'd be "completely disgusted" re: something like that air conditioning crap. You aren't diverse because you chose to live the way a billion people are forced to live. It degrades the concept of a DS.

Also, anything goes at Yale for a DS? Yeah no kidding. If the silver spoon hanging out of your mouth isn't filled with caviar, you can write a DS about that for Yale and they'd love it.
My family only had two BMWs, it was horrible.

I'll never forgive my father for getting me an i8 when I clearly asked for a R8.

3pianists · Post by **3pianists** » Mon Sep 28, 2015 3:35 pm

Hope this thread isn't too dead yet...

I wrote a DS about learning to navigate the culture split between the poverty-stricken Appalachian and relatively affluent university communities I grew up in. How do we feel about that being DS-worthy?

Blue Rock Law · Post by **Blue Rock Law** » Tue Sep 29, 2015 1:10 am

3pianists wrote:Hope this thread isn't too dead yet...

I wrote a DS about learning to navigate the culture split between the poverty-stricken Appalachian and relatively affluent university communities I grew up in. How do we feel about that being DS-worthy?

I think that's a great topic to write about. I always err on the side of submitting a DS. Let Adcoms decide what diversity is to their school. Keep in mind most schools like diversity that you can check off a box and put a percentage to (i.e. minority, LGBT, low-income students); however, for schools that genuinely look for diversity of thinking, experiences, and personalities--only a few--this is a great topic. Either way, it will be an interesting topic, if done right.

amacdon123 · Post by **amacdon123** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 10:18 am

Does diversity of interest count? I was told by a current HLS student that I could write a diversity statement about how I plan to pursue animal law. They don't have an animal law program, but doesn't it look good for them to have law students doing a large variety of things? Otherwise, I'm a middle class white girl with no real contribution to diversity.

A. Nony Mouse · Post by **A. Nony Mouse** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 10:58 am

No, diversity of interest doesn't count. I mean this is in the nicest possible way, but I would not offer that as a diversity statement. It could be part of a PS, easily, but unless you've done some really unusual/extreme/interesting things (like, you were an environmental activist who chained herself to a tree for three months or the like), a white middle class girl wanting to save animals really is not adding any diversity. (And even then, it's likely better as a PS.)

TawnyNurseShark · Post by **TawnyNurseShark** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:22 pm

The DS I am trying to write: I am a white, middle class female who was raised overseas in a different culture from my parents and experienced immense culture shock upon moving to America as an adult. By being white I am an outsider at home, and when in the USA I am culturally/philosophically/intellectually an outsider.

I suppose this is diversity in the International sense but with the amount of International Students applying from abroad with similar experiences, is this an essay worth continuing?

seashell.economy · Post by **seashell.economy** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 12:42 pm

TawnyNurseShark wrote:The DS I am trying to write: I am a white, middle class female who was raised overseas in a different culture from my parents and experienced immense culture shock upon moving to America as an adult. By being white I am an outsider at home, and when in the USA I am culturally/philosophically/intellectually an outsider.

I suppose this is diversity in the International sense but with the amount of International Students applying from abroad with similar experiences, is this an essay worth continuing?

1) Are you discussing this in your PS? If so, then do not repeat the topic for a DS.

2) I'd rather see this topic as part of a PS, as it seems like a story you could elaborate on. A DS should be one page.

3) If you really can't fit this into a PS, I think a one page DS on this topic would be fine - ONLY BECAUSE you actually grew up overseas, and this isn't just a year or two long study abroad, which has become trite in admissions essays as of late.

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 1:17 pm

Post removed.

TawnyNurseShark · Post by **TawnyNurseShark** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 1:22 pm

Thank you, Seashell.Economy and MistakenGenius. You both have made valuable comments for me. I will probably go ahead with this as a DS but be careful that there is little to no crossover with my PS.