Diversity Statement or Not Forum

[NoA/C]

So, given my parents education, I'm considering writing a diversity statement and can't decide if I should, or not.

Education was never prominent in my household. My parents always just told me to graduate and then to "get a degree". Never told me much more than that. My father never graduated from high school and my mother graduated from North Dakota State with a degree in Home Economics. My father was the one who raised me and my mother traveled 220 days a year for work, and was never around to guide me on my education. I basically had to figure it out for myself.

Given these facts, would they make for a reasonable diversity statement? Or should I just forget about it?

Note, I'm not a URM.

[BasilHallward]

My 2 cents: I would not bother with writing a diversity statement for this.

[debdeb2]

it's a relevant topic - having to fly solo to figure things out. It takes on more meaning if you had some hardcore major in undergrad and had to navigate those difficult waters by yourself. It also has meaning if, for example, you did not grow up wealthy, and so had to figure out how to keep college costs down, save your pennies, work throughout school, and so on.

It's fine if you're not a URM - economic disadvantage, and even just a non-standard backstory, is relevant. I wouldn't write a long DS on this, but 1-2 paragraphs that establish why your upbringing was different - and maybe how your life is already much different than your father's was - does let the adcomms know that you're not another silver spoon candidate.

[Mack.Hambleton]

More so PS material. I wouldn't bother