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Duke asks for either a 1) Why Duke or a statement or 2) a statement on how you will enhance the educational environment and contribute to the diversity of the student body.
I'm planning on applying to Duke ED, but wondering if I should write the second statement. I'm not a URM, but I'm married with a child, so slightly non-trad., and coauthored a paper published by a top 10 law review. Does this sound like enough for a good #2 statement? I already wrote it, but I hate it, and I'm wondering if it is worth it to keep trying to wrestle out a good one.

AP-375 wrote:Duke asks for either a 1) Why Duke or a statement or 2) a statement on how you will enhance the educational environment and contribute to the diversity of the student body.
I'm planning on applying to Duke ED, but wondering if I should write the second statement. I'm not a URM, but I'm married with a child, so slightly non-trad., and coauthored a paper published by a top 10 law review. Does this sound like enough for a good #2 statement? I already wrote it, but I hate it, and I'm wondering if it is worth it to keep trying to wrestle out a good one.

.... sorry, no.
the paper should be on your resume though

married with a child is not a diversity aspect though, although non-traditional sometimes is taken into account... just can't write a DS about it.

s0ph1e2007 wrote:

AP-375 wrote:Duke asks for either a 1) Why Duke or a statement or 2) a statement on how you will enhance the educational environment and contribute to the diversity of the student body.
I'm planning on applying to Duke ED, but wondering if I should write the second statement. I'm not a URM, but I'm married with a child, so slightly non-trad., and coauthored a paper published by a top 10 law review. Does this sound like enough for a good #2 statement? I already wrote it, but I hate it, and I'm wondering if it is worth it to keep trying to wrestle out a good one.

.... sorry, no.
the paper should be on your resume though

married with a child is not a diversity aspect though, although non-traditional sometimes is taken into account... just can't write a DS about it.

WRONG, absolutely no reason why this can't be a great DS if done properly.

CastleRock wrote:

s0ph1e2007 wrote:

AP-375 wrote:Duke asks for either a 1) Why Duke or a statement or 2) a statement on how you will enhance the educational environment and contribute to the diversity of the student body.
I'm planning on applying to Duke ED, but wondering if I should write the second statement. I'm not a URM, but I'm married with a child, so slightly non-trad., and coauthored a paper published by a top 10 law review. Does this sound like enough for a good #2 statement? I already wrote it, but I hate it, and I'm wondering if it is worth it to keep trying to wrestle out a good one.

.... sorry, no.
the paper should be on your resume though

married with a child is not a diversity aspect though, although non-traditional sometimes is taken into account... just can't write a DS about it.

WRONG, absolutely no reason why this can't be a great DS if done properly.

hmm I defer to someone who knows better. I was simply under the impression from schools that being married or being older was not 1. unusual anymore 2. not considered an aspect of diversity

I guess my default answer will be: Go ahead. It can't hurt you. Might not help you though.

s0ph1e2007 wrote:

CastleRock wrote:

s0ph1e2007 wrote:

AP-375 wrote:Duke asks for either a 1) Why Duke or a statement or 2) a statement on how you will enhance the educational environment and contribute to the diversity of the student body.
I'm planning on applying to Duke ED, but wondering if I should write the second statement. I'm not a URM, but I'm married with a child, so slightly non-trad., and coauthored a paper published by a top 10 law review. Does this sound like enough for a good #2 statement? I already wrote it, but I hate it, and I'm wondering if it is worth it to keep trying to wrestle out a good one.

.... sorry, no.
the paper should be on your resume though

married with a child is not a diversity aspect though, although non-traditional sometimes is taken into account... just can't write a DS about it.

WRONG, absolutely no reason why this can't be a great DS if done properly.

hmm I defer to someone who knows better. I was simply under the impression from schools that being married or being older was not 1. unusual anymore 2. not considered an aspect of diversity

I guess my default answer will be: Go ahead. It can't hurt you. Might not help you though.

Your default answer is actually a fairly good one. Writing a DS gives you one more page to show your writing off. Of course, if you're a terrible writer, maybe you don't want to write one. But a DS is not specifically for URMs, the poor, or people from some exoctic place. Everyone has some sort of diversity going for them, and if you write about it well, it's just an additional page to show off your skills.

Being married with kids is still pretty unique for LS applicants. It shows a side that is not apparent in your resume or application. It's an okay topic.

Hmmm... Conflicting opinions... Thanks for the discussion guys.
I feel like this is a situation where a poor essay will hurt more than nothing, while a good essay will help more than nothing. So, of course, I'll attempt the latter. Now I just have to make sure it doesn't suck.

Anyone else care to weigh in?