DS Topic? Forum

[JJDancer]

EDIT: please see newer response below

Aside from writing about it in a PS/DS should I/can I mention
a) years of studying dance, taking classes outside of school, performing, teaching it..
b) extensive traveling (not for work or school)

I guess I'm thinking of those schools that ask for a pretty inclusive resume..can I somehow list it there?

[gdane]

Only mention what's relevant to you as a law student. If you want to put these things on there just to pad your resume, dont bother.

Dont worry too much about the resume though. Schools just want to see that youve been doing something productive with yourself prior to applying to law school. Your grades and LSAT matter much more.

Good luck!

[Pleasye]

Aside from writing about it in a PS/DS should I/can I mention
a) years of studying dance, taking classes outside of school, performing, teaching it..
b) extensive traveling (not for work or school)

I guess I'm thinking of those schools that ask for a pretty inclusive resume..can I somehow list it there?

I think studying, taking classes, performing and especially teaching dance definitely belongs on a resume. Extensive traveling...I don't know if you should put it on there. However, I do remember a school that asked for an inclusive resume and gave traveling as a suggestion of something to include (Berkeley maybe?)

[JJDancer]

Would it be ok to include a DS about traveling. I know off hand this sounds generic but I spent some of my childhood sailing with my father (on cargo ships/oil tankers) + I'm an immigrant

I wrote an immigrant focused PS when I applied to colleges but don't plan on doing that now. Not sure about using it or my unique childhood experiences as a DS?

[Pleasye]

Would it be ok to include a DS about traveling. I know off hand this sounds generic but I spent some of my childhood sailing with my father (on cargo ships/oil tankers) + I'm an immigrant

I wrote an immigrant focused PS when I applied to colleges but don't plan on doing that now. Not sure about using it or my unique childhood experiences as a DS?

I think the immigration DS would definitely fit the standard definition of a DS better than a traveling one. However, you could focus the DS on you being an immigrant and also talk about the traveling or just talk about the traveling. The best way to tell if it would work is to write it and post/PM it to people to get opinions.

[gdane]

The purpose of a diversity statement is to illustrate how certain "diverse" things about you would benefit the law school you want to go to and your fellow students. If youre going to write a DS about the things you mentioned, keep them relevant to law school.

[Pleasye]

The purpose of a diversity statement is to illustrate how certain "diverse" things about you would benefit the law school you want to go to and your fellow students. If youre going to write a DS about the things you mentioned, keep them relevant to law school.

calm down with the law school relevancy. I'm sure JJdancer is aware that he/she is applying to law school. The DS doesn't have to talk about law school it just has to demonstrate JJ's diversity.

[JJDancer]

The purpose of a diversity statement is to illustrate how certain "diverse" things about you would benefit the law school you want to go to and your fellow students. If youre going to write a DS about the things you mentioned, keep them relevant to law school.

calm down with the law school relevancy. I'm sure JJdancer is aware that he/she is applying to law school. The DS doesn't have to talk about law school it just has to demonstrate JJ's diversity.

I think the relevancy is basically contributing to diversity of viewpoint. The immigrant thing is about me becoming more comfortable with my religious identity (includes some facing adversity). The childhood sailing/traveling is what exposed me to different places and people (where I went and also other people on the crew like a Sri Lankan man that basically became my uncle - he joined the crew because he feared he would be made to join the Tamil Tigers if he did not leave his homeland). It fostered my love of different cultures, dances and languages.

Don't know if that makes anything better or worse DS wise..

[gdane]

The purpose of a diversity statement is to illustrate how certain "diverse" things about you would benefit the law school you want to go to and your fellow students. If youre going to write a DS about the things you mentioned, keep them relevant to law school.

calm down with the law school relevancy. I'm sure JJdancer is aware that he/she is applying to law school. The DS doesn't have to talk about law school it just has to demonstrate JJ's diversity.

Its important to stress that you have to write your statements with a goal/purpose. Dont just write them to write them. They have to demonstrate what you'd bring to the law school.

This is from Ken's Diversity Statement guide:

“Diversity” has so many meanings to law school admissions committees, that the once-buzzword has become stale. Still, admissions committee members value the plenitude suggested by the word. The committee members want to gather a class full of all kinds of different students, with different backgrounds, stories, and wisdom to share, with the expectation that shared knowledge brings humility and tolerance. Anyone who thinks their background qualifies as diverse, should feel free to write about it in their personal statement. As with all statements, the writer should show how the topic contributed to developing his or her intellectual excellence, tangible impact on others, leadership skills, real-world experience, and impartial perspectives. Most commonly, diversity statements deal with issues of socio-economic class, disability, and race. These statements can also focus on (among others) differences of ethnicity, nationality, religious practice, or sexual-orientation that make candidates unique in their social spheres or that caused them hardships they went on to overcome.

[AP-375]

Aside from writing about it in a PS/DS should I/can I mention
a) years of studying dance, taking classes outside of school, performing, teaching it..

I think you should definitely mention this, in a podcast I can link to if desired, the Berkeley dean talked a ton about a dance-related PS that really impressed him. It is a very unique qualification, and can be turned into something really good.

[JJDancer]

Thanks AP-375

Anyone else have thoughts on this?
(copied from post above):
I think the relevancy is basically contributing to diversity of viewpoint. The immigrant thing is about me becoming more comfortable with my religious identity (includes some facing adversity). The childhood sailing/traveling is what exposed me to different places and people (where I went and also other people on the crew like a Sri Lankan man that basically became my uncle - he joined the crew because he feared he would be made to join the Tamil Tigers if he did not leave his homeland). It fostered my love of different cultures, dances and languages.

Don't know if that makes anything better or worse DS wise..

[Pleasye]

Thanks AP-375

Anyone else have thoughts on this?
(copied from post above):
I think the relevancy is basically contributing to diversity of viewpoint. The immigrant thing is about me becoming more comfortable with my religious identity (includes some facing adversity). The childhood sailing/traveling is what exposed me to different places and people (where I went and also other people on the crew like a Sri Lankan man that basically became my uncle - he joined the crew because he feared he would be made to join the Tamil Tigers if he did not leave his homeland). It fostered my love of different cultures, dances and languages.

Don't know if that makes anything better or worse DS wise..

I think it sounds very interesting, but like I said before it really depends on how you write it.