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[IPmaybe]

1. Overcoming adversity based upon a trait you were born with is pretty clearly in the diversity topic zone (even if you personally disagree).

2. OP, I would carefully read the diversity statement instructions from the schools themselves. If you feel like what you have to say would fit within their rubric, then you should go ahead. It's not just asking if you can check the correct URM box, it's asking how you would bring diversity to the voice of the law school community. Some schools have pretty broad interpretations of what diversity actually entails, and a white woman from the midwest could certainly fit (e.g., if you were a single mother or older than 50 and coming back from being a house-wife. these are just meant to show that a white woman from the midwest is not precluded from diversity).

Either way, according to this site, 86.35% of admissions is based upon GPA/LSAT, so it won't matter (unless your diversity statement is so misguided as to offend the admissions committee).

[Paul Campos]

Diversity statements are on law school applications so that, for legal reasons, schools can claim they take other kinds of diversity into account besides URM status.

They don't. (Unless "my dad's name is on the business school" counts as "diversity.")

[patogordo]

in other words:

I, for one, think your successes at your squash club will definitely provide the broad spectrum of student experience SCOTUS envisioned when it made diversity a constitutionally allowable goal for academic institutions.

[McAvoy]

It's not just asking if you can check the correct URM box, it's asking how you would bring diversity to the voice of the law school community.

barf

[alexrodriguez]

.

[Big Dog]

I'm a 25 year old white, heterosexual, able-bodied female who grew up in the Twin Cities in a middle-class setting and.... went to a top liberal arts college out east,

yeah, that really reeks of diversity. (were you full pay on that "middle class background"?)

I claim troll (or lacking in common sense so you don't belong in LS).

btw: if you had absorbed any of that diversity from the 'hood, you would have gained some common sense to realize that this idea is really stupid.

[Skool]

If you can give a thoughtful meditation on diversity/race/class and your experiences etc., do it.

I once knew an upper middle class white person who TA-ed a class on and researched race relations at her prestigious school (basically what are the effects of talking about race and privilege on campus/what are the costs and benefits/ what are the most effective strategies and do some groups get more benefit from different conversation strategies. Her work helped to shape a part of the schools freshman curriculum.) If you were her, despite being white, you would kill the diversity essay.

My point is, white people can do really good diversity essays. That said, you don't sound like you have a strong enough point of view to pull it off. You talk about the fact that you've taught poor black people and came from a modest background. You're a lady killing it in a male dominated field.

Thats nice, but why should anyone give a shit? What do you add to the big picture conversation on campus discussions on race and class? I don't see why you can't just put the stuff you've mentioned in a personal statement.

[jingosaur]

I'm a 25 year old white, heterosexual, able-bodied female who grew up in the Twin Cities in a middle-class setting and.... went to a top liberal arts college out east,

yeah, that really reeks of diversity. (were you full pay on that "middle class background"?)

I claim troll (or lacking in common sense so you don't belong in LS).

btw: if you had absorbed any of that diversity from the 'hood, you would have gained some common sense to realize that this idea is really stupid.

Idk, a lot of prospective law students have just been top achievers their whole lives and when they see something is "optional" they think it's required.

With LS applications, the only optional essays that may not be truly optional are the Why X essays from some T14s. I think after being told that "optional is required" your whole life, it's hard to move away from that so even non-diverse people just try to come up with random reasons for why they're different.

I also agree with the "even though you shouldn't write a diversity statement, these are still good things to talk about in your PS and interviews" sentiment.

[jbagelboy]

No. Don't do this. It probably won't impact your application at all, but to whatever extent it does, it will make it harder for people to take you seriously.

your collection of interesting and valuable experiences speaks for itself; you don't need to tie a fake diversity ribbon on it.

[gatesome]

ITT: "If you are white, it is extremely racist for you to write a diversity statement."

Most of the posters in this thread have an absurdly narrow view of what constitutes "diversity." Or they are deliberately giving you bad advice.

You should absolutely write the optional diversity statement. Just don't talk about having friends of other races, or anything similar, as that has nothing to do with why YOU can bring something unique and diverse to the table.

[patogordo]

ITT: "If you are white, it is extremely racist for you to write a diversity statement."

you know that "ITT" means "in this thread" and not "in my imagination" right?

[jbagelboy]

ITT: "If you are white, it is extremely racist for you to write a diversity statement."

You should absolutely write the optional diversity statement. Just don't talk about having friends of other races, or anything similar, as that has nothing to do with why YOU can bring something unique and diverse to the table.

Its not "racist," its just tone deaf and makes you look ignorant (when OP is actually not ignorant - she sounds pretty self aware and competent, this question aside). All the other parts of your application already convey what you "bring to the table." I guarantee you, diversity statements are NOT just proxies for generic "I'm kinda special too" monologues.

It's funny because I actually know a 25 yr old, white, upper middle class female TFA alum from the twin cities suburbs (who taught at an all boys school with nearly 100% minority) applying to law school right now. No way she's writing a diversity statement.

[gatesome]

ITT: "If you are white, it is extremely racist for you to write a diversity statement."

You should absolutely write the optional diversity statement. Just don't talk about having friends of other races, or anything similar, as that has nothing to do with why YOU can bring something unique and diverse to the table.

Its not "racist," its just tone deaf and makes you look ignorant (when OP is actually not ignorant - she sounds pretty self aware and competent, this question aside). All the other parts of your application already convey what you "bring to the table." I guarantee you, diversity statements are NOT just proxies for generic "I'm kinda special too" monologues.

It's funny because I actually know a 25 yr old, white, upper middle class female TFA alum from the twin cities suburbs (who taught at an all boys school with nearly 100% minority) applying to law school right now. No way she's writing a diversity statement.

What makes you look ignorant is dismissing the fact that this person can be diverse regardless of your preconceived notions about what the word means.

[bk1]

Anybody can be diverse if you slice it thin enough. The issue isn't whether someone can be considered diverse but how an adcomm would respond reading that person's DS. Someone who thinks essentially "I grew up around a lot of minorities" is, at least in part, a good reason to write a DS probably isn't capable of writing a DS that comes off well when their own diverse attributes aren't very significant.

[gatesome]

Anybody can be diverse if you slice it thin enough. The issue isn't whether someone can be considered diverse but how an adcomm would respond reading that person's DS. Someone who thinks essentially "I grew up around a lot of minorities" is, at least in part, a good reason to write a DS probably isn't capable of writing a DS that comes off well when their own diverse attributes aren't very significant.

Exactly. Anyone can be diverse. It often has NOTHING to do with your race or socioeconomic status. Both of those factors are already indicated or implied in other parts of your law school application.

As I said, "I have a lot of diverse friends" makes for a terrible diversity statement. But telling someone they should leave it blank or not submit one at all makes for terrible advice.

[jbagelboy]

Anybody can be diverse if you slice it thin enough. The issue isn't whether someone can be considered diverse but how an adcomm would respond reading that person's DS. Someone who thinks essentially "I grew up around a lot of minorities" is, at least in part, a good reason to write a DS probably isn't capable of writing a DS that comes off well when their own diverse attributes aren't very significant.

Exactly. Anyone can be diverse. It often has NOTHING to do with your race or socioeconomic status. Both of those factors are already indicated or implied in other parts of your law school application.

As I said, "I have a lot of diverse friends" makes for a terrible diversity statement. But telling someone they should leave it blank or not submit one at all makes for terrible advice.

Whoosh.

[bk1]

As I said, "I have a lot of diverse friends" makes for a terrible diversity statement. But telling someone they should leave it blank or not submit one at all makes for terrible advice.

It's good advice if that person's DS would hurt rather than help their application.

[gatesome]

Anybody can be diverse if you slice it thin enough. The issue isn't whether someone can be considered diverse but how an adcomm would respond reading that person's DS. Someone who thinks essentially "I grew up around a lot of minorities" is, at least in part, a good reason to write a DS probably isn't capable of writing a DS that comes off well when their own diverse attributes aren't very significant.

Exactly. Anyone can be diverse. It often has NOTHING to do with your race or socioeconomic status. Both of those factors are already indicated or implied in other parts of your law school application.

As I said, "I have a lot of diverse friends" makes for a terrible diversity statement. But telling someone they should leave it blank or not submit one at all makes for terrible advice.

Whoosh.

If by "whoosh" you mean "you missed the point" or "you overlooked more important parts of his argument," I'll respond to the other half:

With proper advice, anyone can identify traits and attributes that make them genuinely unique/diverse, and can write about those attributes (including OP). Most of the people who replied here assumed that OP is incapable of producing a genuine diversity statement, which is NONSENSE.

[bk1]

With proper advice, anyone can identify traits and attributes that make them genuinely unique/diverse, and can write about those attributes (including OP). Most of the people who replied here assumed that OP is incapable of producing a genuine diversity statement, which is NONSENSE.

Yes but not every unique/diverse trait can serve is a basis for a worthwhile DS. I have a mole on my forearm that most people probably don't have. That's not a good basis for DS.

[gatesome]

With proper advice, anyone can identify traits and attributes that make them genuinely unique/diverse, and can write about those attributes (including OP). Most of the people who replied here assumed that OP is incapable of producing a genuine diversity statement, which is NONSENSE.

Yes but not every unique/diverse trait can serve is a basis for a worthwhile DS. I have a mole on my forearm that most people probably don't have. That's not a good basis for DS.

True, not every unique trait is the basis of a worthwhile DS.

But every person has at least one unique trait that could be the basis of a worthwhile DS. <-- If you disagree with this statement, we have fundamental ideological differences that will likely not be resolved through debate.

[bk1]

True, not every unique trait is the basis of a worthwhile DS.

But every person has at least one unique trait that could be the basis of a worthwhile DS. <-- If you disagree with this statement, we have fundamental ideological differences that will likely not be resolved through debate.

I do disagree with that and I suspect that most people ITT whose responses you have a problem with would also disagree with that.

You seem to think that people actually are special snowflakes. The real world begs to differ.

[KMart]

Being a female = diverse
Growing up in the Midwest = diverse
Being Norwegian American = kind of diverse
You can pick one (I'd pick growing up in the Midwest) or a combination of all and write about how that has shaped your perspective as you go out to the real world

This has to be sarcasm?

Growing up in the Midwest makes me diverse?

To answer the question of the OP: no.

[gatesome]

The law school I want to attend invites applicants to submit a diversity statement, because they strive to admit students with a variety of backgrounds, traits, and attributes.

However, I am not going to submit a diversity statement, because I am exactly the same as every other applicant and have nothing unique to offer.

[dwil770]

You mentioned working in computer science/programming. If you have dealt with adversity (similar to obstacles other "real" minorities have to face) with respect to being a woman in that field, I think that could make for a good diversity statement. I'm not saying that's what happened to you, but I disagree with everyone saying that it's so obvious you aren't diverse.

for a white woman from the midwest to be diverse, she'd either need to be adopted/raised by a minority family, or be an unusual religion, neither of which are stated so far. What you're suggesting would make a great PS, but it's not diversity. She's not applying for a job in tech, but for entry to law school, where the vast majority are white, and the gender balance is not out of whack

Is an unusual religion something you can write about?

[gatesome]

Is an unusual religion something you can write about?

Absolutely yes.

We use the term diversity broadly to include all aspects of human differences, including but not limited to socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, language, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, geography, disability, and age.