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Stats: 3.4/177
Pertinent Information: MA in Teaching; 1 year of teaching experience & 2 years of college admissions counseling experience in Guangzhou, China

I am deciding between the following personal statement topics:

1. Facing discrimination as a bisexual male. My twist? I have faced more discrimination from within the LGBTQ+ Community than from without. Many people within the community see me as a traitor if I "choose" to date a woman in lieu of a man. I am considering writing my personal statement about a specific memorable instance of this type of discrimination.

2. Helping a student overcome her numbers to get into a top undergraduate institution. Her teachers and in-school counselors told her she'd never make it to a T30 as an international applicant with her GPA and SAT (too low by international standards), but I was adamant about setting high expectations. I helped her emphasize her unique attributes throughout her application, and she ultimately got into UC Berkeley and UCLA after being rejected by Dartmouth, WashU, UVA, and a few others. This will also double as a subtle reminder that students are more than their numbers.

3. I can write about topic 2 and use topic 1 for a diversity statement.

enz2103 wrote:Stats: 3.4/177
Pertinent Information: MA in Teaching; 1 year of teaching experience & 2 years of college admissions counseling experience in Guangzhou, China

I am deciding between the following personal statement topics:

1. Facing discrimination as a bisexual male. My twist? I have faced more discrimination from within the LGBTQ+ Community than from without. Many people within the community see me as a traitor if I "choose" to date a woman in lieu of a man. I am considering writing my personal statement about a specific memorable instance of this type of discrimination.

2. Helping a student overcome her numbers to get into a top undergraduate institution. Her teachers and in-school counselors told her she'd never make it to a T30 as an international applicant with her GPA and SAT (too low by international standards), but I was adamant about setting high expectations. I helped her emphasize her unique attributes throughout her application, and she ultimately got into UC Berkeley and UCLA after being rejected by Dartmouth, WashU, UVA, and a few others. This will also double as a subtle reminder that students are more than their numbers.

3. I can write about topic 2 and use topic 1 for a diversity statement.

Option 3 is likely the best option here, no need to burn your topic for a diversity statement on the PS.

I would also be careful with the discrimination aspect, which is important and can be done well, but don't come on too strong there and/or make it too political. I could be off here but considering the climate of politics these days I don't think you want to give an admissions committee any reason to feel like you might be a headache as part of their student body. Ultimately it sounds interesting and I think it will add positively to your app.

Lawman1865 wrote:

enz2103 wrote:I would also be careful with the discrimination aspect, which is important and can be done well, but don't come on too strong there and/or make it too political. I could be off here but considering the climate of politics these days I don't think you want to give an admissions committee any reason to feel like you might be a headache as part of their student body. Ultimately it sounds interesting and I think it will add positively to your app.

Yeah, I will not be making it political. It will just be a story about the dialogue we had and my efforts to make my friend (an LGBTQ+ ally) understand that being bisexual doesn't give me a "choice" in who I find attractive. The experience did teach me two important lessons which I will bring up:

1. I need to patiently and clearly communicate when discussing my sexuality, since it can be tough to process unless you are bisexual/pansexual.

2. Not every person will make an effort to understand my experience, and it is okay to stop trying to influence them. It was my first time dropping a conversation instead of continuing to argue senselessly.

enz2103 wrote:

Lawman1865 wrote:

enz2103 wrote:I would also be careful with the discrimination aspect, which is important and can be done well, but don't come on too strong there and/or make it too political. I could be off here but considering the climate of politics these days I don't think you want to give an admissions committee any reason to feel like you might be a headache as part of their student body. Ultimately it sounds interesting and I think it will add positively to your app.

Yeah, I will not be making it political. It will just be a story about the dialogue we had and my efforts to make my friend (an LGBTQ+ ally) understand that being bisexual doesn't give me a "choice" in who I find attractive. The experience did teach me two important lessons which I will bring up:

1. I need to patiently and clearly communicate when discussing my sexuality, since it can be tough to process unless you are bisexual/pansexual.

2. Not every person will make an effort to understand my experience, and it is okay to stop trying to influence them. It was my first time dropping a conversation instead of continuing to argue senselessly.

I understand you fully. I get all the time that people dont understand what I mean when i say I'm pan. They just say "oh you like just like sex". First off, no i dont sleep with everyone i find attractive or go on a date with . I think what Lawman said about using the option as your diversity statement, would be stellar.
I wish you luck! let me know how it turns out!
maybe even you can help me shine on my unique attributes as well!

enz2103 wrote:Not every person will make an effort to understand my experience, and it is okay to stop trying to influence them. It was my first time dropping a conversation instead of continuing to argue senselessly.

This is also a brilliant way of distancing yourself from the "I like to argue" mob