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Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 11:53 am
by iwanta170
Ethnically I am not diverse (i am caucasian), but I was able to think of a few possibilities for a diversity statement
1) I come from a long line of world-class musicians from poland, including my grandpa. I also have a very famous musician in my family that a lot of people have probably heard of because he was depicted in a movie. Much of this side of my family was killed in the Holocaust. I do not play any musical instruments though
2) My great grandfather was a head of the big labor movement in new york a century ago. He fought to earn more rights for blue-collared workers
Can I tie either of these topics into how I'd add diversity to a law school? How so?
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:00 pm
by kurla88
Unless it's something you have done rather than your family members, I don't see it how it makes you diverse.
Are you Jewish? Not exactly a minority in law schools, but you could conceivably talk about that if you're desperate to have a DS.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:01 pm
by iwanta170
kurla88 wrote:Unless it's something you have done rather than your family members, I don't see it how it makes you diverse.
Are you Jewish? Not exactly a minority in law schools, but you could conceivably talk about that if you're desperate to have a DS.
Is having a diversity statement important for T14 schools? I don't want to take any chances if it is important
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:02 pm
by Hannibal
Being a Jew descended from Holocaust victims is a really weak DS. I'm a Polish Jew descended from Holocaust victims too. I'd imagine they're flush with them in law school since when I went to my family reunion a month ago, 5/30 people were lawyers.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:03 pm
by Xnegd
kurla88 wrote:Unless it's something you have done rather than your family members.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:07 pm
by iwanta170
So what are examples of a good topic then if I'm caucasian
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:09 pm
by kazu
You don't have to write a DS, even for T14 schools. Plenty of people get accepted w/o writing a DS. If you feel like you have to make one up, or unearth obscure info from your family tree you'll probably be better off not writing one.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:15 pm
by iwanta170
But could not having one hurt my application package? I don't want to take any chances and I'm sure I could come up with a topic if I put more thought into it
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:17 pm
by kazu
iwanta170 wrote:But could not having one hurt my application package?
No.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:18 pm
by Patriot1208
kazu wrote:iwanta170 wrote:But could not having one hurt my application package?
No.
Exactly, most people don't write diversity statements because most people are not diverse, including you.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:19 pm
by Dany
iwanta170 wrote:But could not having one hurt my application package? I don't want to take any chances and I'm sure I could come up with a topic if I put more thought into it
If you have to "put more thought into it" to even find a topic, then WRITING ONE IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:21 pm
by romothesavior
Do not write a diversity statement.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:24 pm
by UFstudent
You don't have to talk about your genetics in your diversity statement. You can talk about your feelings on diversity, how you define it, what it means to be diverse. How you've handled situations where diversity was an issue and so on. I wrote a statement that I later got contacted about for doing the above. It had nothing to do with my own genetics.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:32 pm
by iwanta170
Don't some top schools "encourage" or "require" one though?
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:33 pm
by shoop
iwanta170 wrote:So what are examples of a good topic then if I'm caucasian
Crippling poverty. Physical disability. Gayness. Coming from a terrible neighborhood. Having MAJOR family responsibilities, like a veggie parent or having to work 80 hours a week in high school to support your 15 siblings. Stuff like that.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:37 pm
by romothesavior
iwanta170 wrote:Don't some top schools "encourage" or "require" one though?
Umm... no. Not require.
And they encourage you to write one
if you have something meaningful to say. But they don't want to read some middle class average white kid's sap story about their great great great uncle's cousin fighting for the Union in the Civil War. Write something meaningful or don't write it at all.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:38 pm
by kevin261186
iwanta170 wrote:So what are examples of a good topic then if I'm caucasian
Overcoming a physical dsiability.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:40 pm
by CanadianWolf
Law schools seek to enroll a diverse student body primarily to create opportunities for all to obtain a professional education & to gain a degree of upward economic & social mobility.
The answer to the OP's question is no.
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:26 pm
by iwanta170
I also have Tourette's. What about that? overcoming adversity..
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:30 pm
by paratactical
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Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:32 pm
by iwanta170
paratactical wrote:iwanta170 wrote:I also have Tourette's. What about that? overcoming adversity..
*facepalm*
Assuming you're not a troll/flame, yes, that is, obviously, a good idea for a diversity statement.
Not a troll lol. Just checking before I invest my time writing it, couldn't hurt
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:36 pm
by paratactical
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Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:39 pm
by iwanta170
Thanks I'm going to do it. My only concern is that my personal statement is about how a disorder (not tourettes) I have made me into an activist and propelled my interest for law (i know i'm being vague, you'd have to read it). Will it look over the top to have a personal statement about this other disorder and a diversity statement about tourette's?
Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:43 pm
by paratactical
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Re: Is this a good diversity statement topic?
Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:43 pm
by sibley
iwanta170 wrote:Thanks I'm going to do it. My only concern is that my personal statement is about how a disorder (not tourettes) I have made me into an activist and propelled my interest for law (i know i'm being vague, you'd have to read it). Will it look over the top to have a personal statement about this other disorder and a diversity statement about tourette's?
It might look like you're too fragile to get through a semester. You don't have any absences or semesters off do you?