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This seems to be the first of the T20 apps to become available for this cycle. I thought I'd start a thread for it here cuz I had a few questions.

Is there no place for a Diversity Statement or should that be posted as an addendum?

post any other Q's and A's...

boosk wrote:This seems to be the first of the T20 apps to become available for this cycle. I thought I'd start a thread for it here cuz I had a few questions.

Is there no place for a Diversity Statement or should that be posted as an addendum?

post any other Q's and A's...

The place to pose this question is http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &start=300.

To answer your question: Re-read the personal statement prompt for UofChicago. IIRC, they're one of the few schools that ask you to incorporate your DS into your personal statement and don't have a limit on pages (although they recommend 2-4 pages). Read the personal statement prompts carefully for each school and remember to actually answer their questions... a general PS typically needs to be tweaked.

There's a place where you can upload an optional addendum.

Blessedassurance wrote:There's a place where you can upload an optional addendum.

Yes, but if I was on UofChicago's AdComm and someone did upload an optional addendum describing diversity, I'd ding them for not being able to follow fairly simple and straightforward instructions.

Edit: Although there is a slight possibility that the application will be edited on/before Sept 1st.

Hopefully2012 wrote:

Blessedassurance wrote:There's a place where you can upload an optional addendum.

Yes, but if I was on UofChicago's AdComm and someone did upload an optional addendum describing diversity, I'd ding them for not being able to follow fairly simple and straightforward instructions.

Edit: Although there is a possibility applications will change on Sept 1st.

"Please use the additional addendum options to provide any additional information that you believe is important to the Admissions Committee's evaluation of your application. For example, you may use an addendum to discuss a disparity in multiple LSAT scores, any weaknesses or significant trends in your undergraduate record, or any other questions or issues that you believe may arise as the Committee is reviewing your record. Please note that it is not necessary to attach an addendum; please do so only if you think it is necessary to the review of your file."

Blessedassurance wrote:

Hopefully2012 wrote:

Blessedassurance wrote:There's a place where you can upload an optional addendum.

Yes, but if I was on UofChicago's AdComm and someone did upload an optional addendum describing diversity, I'd ding them for not being able to follow fairly simple and straightforward instructions.

Edit: Although there is a possibility applications will change on Sept 1st.

"Please use the additional addendum options to provide any additional information that you believe is important to the Admissions Committee's evaluation of your application. For example, you may use an addendum to discuss a disparity in multiple LSAT scores, any weaknesses or significant trends in your undergraduate record, or any other questions or issues that you believe may arise as the Committee is reviewing your record. Please note that it is not necessary to attach an addendum; please do so only if you think it is necessary to the review of your file."

I'm really not trying to prove you wrong or get into an argument but the personal statement prompt for UofChicago is pretty clear:

"Please use the personal statement to introduce yourself to the Admissions Committee and to help the Committee get to know you on a personal level. It should demonstrate your contribution to the Law School community beyond simply academics. The Admissions Committee generally finds that a statement that focuses on a unique personal attribute or experience is usually the most informative (as opposed to a restatement of your qualifications or resume). If there are particular aspects of your background (e.g., racial, ethnic, or religious identification, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation) that you would like to highlight, please include this information in your personal statement."

Hopefully2012 wrote:

Blessedassurance wrote:

Hopefully2012 wrote:

Blessedassurance wrote:There's a place where you can upload an optional addendum.

Yes, but if I was on UofChicago's AdComm and someone did upload an optional addendum describing diversity, I'd ding them for not being able to follow fairly simple and straightforward instructions.

Edit: Although there is a possibility applications will change on Sept 1st.

"Please use the additional addendum options to provide any additional information that you believe is important to the Admissions Committee's evaluation of your application. For example, you may use an addendum to discuss a disparity in multiple LSAT scores, any weaknesses or significant trends in your undergraduate record, or any other questions or issues that you believe may arise as the Committee is reviewing your record. Please note that it is not necessary to attach an addendum; please do so only if you think it is necessary to the review of your file."

I'm really not trying to prove you wrong or get into an argument but the personal statement prompt for UofChicago is pretty clear:

"Please use the personal statement to introduce yourself to the Admissions Committee and to help the Committee get to know you on a personal level. It should demonstrate your contribution to the Law School community beyond simply academics. The Admissions Committee generally finds that a statement that focuses on a unique personal attribute or experience is usually the most informative (as opposed to a restatement of your qualifications or resume). If there are particular aspects of your background (e.g., racial, ethnic, or religious identification, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation) that you would like to highlight, please include this information in your personal statement."

owned. Yeah it is clear the U Chicago prefers the PS to be a quasi-diversity statement and that the addendums are for other purposes.

thederangedwang wrote: owned. Yeah it is clear the U Chicago prefers the PS to be a quasi-diversity statement and that the addendums are for other purposes.

Owned? Clear?

Since when did advice to focus on unique aspects of your background as opposed to restating your resume constitute disdain for diversity statements?

Anyways, I'm not going to get into an argument over this. It's pointless.

thederangedwang wrote:I'm not going to get into an argument over this.

too late...

Hmm this is tricky... but the last statement does seem to indicate that if the applicant is diverse, he should talk about it in the personal statement (as opposed to elsewhere).....

If you want to submit your DS as an addendum because you love your general PS the way it is/don't want to spend the time to re-write one for UofChicago, it might not matter; especially if your diversity statement has nothing to do with race/ethnicity/religion/socioeconomic status/sexual orientation--however, it's my understanding that 99% of the diversity statements submitted for review on TLS falls into one of those categories.

Your app, your call.

I agree that arguing over this is pointless.

Soon to be 1L at University of Chicago here, I submitted a personal statement and a separate diversity statement...