Dueling Diversity Topics

[MSTPtastic]

Which would be the better topic as an ORM to shoot for on a diversity secondary essay?

1) Unusual expertise:
I was a political organizer before deciding on medical school. I've worked with all sorts of people, sat down to dinner with them, and so on. I like policy, and I'd like to incorporate it into my career somehow if the opportunity arises. It's the obvious approach for me, and I've already discussed the work experience (but not the career goal) in my PS.

2) Slightly unusual background:
While my immediate family isn't underprivileged, one side of my family grew up extremely poor in Appalachia, and my parents never let me forget it. We'd visit our family down there all the time, and I love them deeply. It's been interesting dealing with having that kind of background in privileged parts of the North - you'd be shocked how many people have made jokes to my face about how my cousins are probably the product of incest, for example. It's not an obvious source of socioeconomic diversity, and the impact on me has been extremely small. But I think that if I examine it introspectively, focusing on how that experience has affected my perception of issues like cultural heritage and privilege, it could be the basis for an interesting essay.

Which essay would you rather read?

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[whatever5]

I don't really see how number 1 adds diversity to you, I would say number 2 makes for a better read if done tastefully to show how its contributed to diversifying your world view, and how that will better help you serve future patients.
Just be careful - if done poorly, it could easily look like your claim to diversity is something along the lines of "well, my cousin married a black guy"

 

[Goro]

If I asked your friends what makes you interesting or coll, what would they say?

THAT'S the diversity schools are looking for

Which would be the better topic as an ORM to shoot for on a diversity secondary essay?

1) Unusual expertise:
I was a political organizer before deciding on medical school. I've worked with all sorts of people, sat down to dinner with them, and so on. I like policy, and I'd like to incorporate it into my career somehow if the opportunity arises. It's the obvious approach for me, and I've already discussed the work experience (but not the career goal) in my PS.

2) Slightly unusual background:
While my immediate family isn't underprivileged, one side of my family grew up extremely poor in Appalachia, and my parents never let me forget it. We'd visit our family down there all the time, and I love them deeply. It's been interesting dealing with having that kind of background in privileged parts of the North - you'd be shocked how many people have made jokes to my face about how my cousins are probably the product of incest, for example. It's not an obvious source of socioeconomic diversity, and the impact on me has been extremely small. But I think that if I examine it introspectively, focusing on how that experience has affected my perception of issues like cultural heritage and privilege, it could be the basis for an interesting essay.

Which essay would you rather read?

 

[NickNaylor]

I would agree that #1 is a bit of a stretch when it comes to "diversity" (and really isn't that uncommon), but what struck me the most is that in your OP you describe that topic as the "obvious" approach and that #2 has had an "extremely small" impact on you. Unless you can do some reflection and perhaps figure out a way to explain #2, then I would go with #1 or an entirely different topic altogether - even if it may not be the best experience to use for the essay. Few things are worse than trying to shoehorn something to be what it just isn't (i.e., with prompt #2).

 

[starlite911]

Personally, I like topic number 1 better. I think that when most schools ask about diversity, they aren't necessarily asking about culture/race/background, because some people can't help that they don't have anything "unique" in that respect. Instead, I like to think of it as a diverse, meaning less typical, perspective or viewpoint that you bring to the medical school class as a result of your experiences. Based on this definition, it definitely sounds like #1 has had more of an influence in shaping your viewpoint of the world, and it would be fairly straightforward to tie in how your love of policy is going to shape your education & career in medicine.