Advice on diversity topic

[BrahmsFan]

Hi all, I'm trying to write my diversity essay, and I'm kind of stuck between two topics, so I was hoping I could get some advice on which seems better. I was thinking first, of writing about a really interesting hobby I had, but I was having a lot of trouble figuring out how it gave me a diverse perspective. The best I could come up with was how it was similar to medicine in a lot of ways, which doesn't seem to be answering the spirit of the question.

Alternatively, I was going to write about my business major, in particular, a class I took about Behavioral Economics. It's the relatively new field that discusses, by and large, how people make decisions, are bad at evaluating risk, etc., and how these things play out in the real world. It's definitely very applicable to medicine (doctors and patients have to make decisions constantly) and so I thought this might be a unique thing to talk about. However, I know people caution against talking about courses / majors / etc., so I wasn't sure.

Thanks for any advice people can give!

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[Nymphicus]

If you share the exact prompt, we can give more specific answers. I'm assuming it says something along the lines of "how will you contribute to the diversity of the class..."

Neither of your topics would help your application and may in fact hurt it. The essence of the question is "what strengths do you bring." Neither business major or having a hobby is very impressive in that regard. Reviewing applications, these types of answers demonstrate that the applicant may be unaware, unprepared, very privileged, or some combination of the above. Not saying that is the case for you, but, you can only learn so much about someone on paper and make quick judgements, especially when you're quickly reviewing applications en masse.

Instead, talk about a personal quality, challenges you've overcome, things you've learned in your life, something along those lines that demonstrates your maturity, strengths, and that you're prepared to work in a profession tasked with serving every single individual in our country.

 

[BrahmsFan]

If you share the exact prompt, we can give more specific answers. I'm assuming it says something along the lines of "how will you contribute to the diversity of the class..."

Neither of your topics would help your application and may in fact hurt it. The essence of the question is "what strengths do you bring." Neither business major or having a hobby is very impressive in that regard. Reviewing applications, these types of answers demonstrate that the applicant may be unaware, unprepared, very privileged, or some combination of the above. Not saying that is the case for you, but, you can only learn so much about someone on paper and make quick judgements, especially when you're quickly reviewing applications en masse.

Instead, talk about a personal quality, challenges you've overcome, things you've learned in your life, something along those lines that demonstrates your maturity, strengths, and that you're prepared to work in a profession tasked with serving every single individual in our country.

Thanks for your help. I didn't have a specific prompt in mind, but rather, just trying to write a generic one - what you said essentially.

I appreciate the advice, but it seems like you're misunderstanding what I may write about. I'm not writing about my business major, I'm talking about specifically taking Behavioral Econ, and delving into new understandings of how people make decisions, which would give me a 'diverse' perspective, as I understand a very important and practical topic that isn't widely appreciated. Similarly, it's not that I have a 'hobby', but mine is very unique and parallels medicine in important ways. What do you think?

 

[Goro]

Hi all, I'm trying to write my diversity essay, and I'm kind of stuck between two topics, so I was hoping I could get some advice on which seems better. I was thinking first, of writing about a really interesting hobby I had, but I was having a lot of trouble figuring out how it gave me a diverse perspective. The best I could come up with was how it was similar to medicine in a lot of ways, which doesn't seem to be answering the spirit of the question.

Alternatively, I was going to write about my business major, in particular, a class I took about Behavioral Economics. It's the relatively new field that discusses, by and large, how people make decisions, are bad at evaluating risk, etc., and how these things play out in the real world. It's definitely very applicable to medicine (doctors and patients have to make decisions constantly) and so I thought this might be a unique thing to talk about. However, I know people caution against talking about courses / majors / etc., so I wasn't sure.

Thanks for any advice people can give!

No, not cool enough. What's cool about YOU???

 

[Med Ed]

Thanks for your help. I didn't have a specific prompt in mind, but rather, just trying to write a generic one - what you said essentially.

I appreciate the advice, but it seems like you're misunderstanding what I may write about. I'm not writing about my business major, I'm talking about specifically taking Behavioral Econ, and delving into new understandings of how people make decisions, which would give me a 'diverse' perspective, as I understand a very important and practical topic that isn't widely appreciated. Similarly, it's not that I have a 'hobby', but mine is very unique and parallels medicine in important ways. What do you think?

It's only unique if you were the only student in history to take a class in behavioral economics.

@Nymphicus and @Goro are correct, this question is about who you are and what you will add to the class. It's not about something you did.

 

[KnightDoc]

It's only unique if you were the only student in history to take a class in behavioral economics.

@Nymphicus and @Goro are correct, this question is about who you are and what you will add to the class. It's not about something you did.

Okay, but is "unique" really the metric by which we are judged on this? Are URMs unique? Low SES? Military? Research superstars? Non-trads? Trads? People with extensive service? Anything that seems to be valued by adcoms?

I thought the question is more about what we bring, whatever that happens to be, rather than straining to be "cool" or "unique." After all, out of 22,000 matriculants, how many are truly unique? And yet, they all managed to be accepted somewhere.

 

[Med Ed]

Okay, but is "unique" really the metric by which we are judged on this? Are URMs unique? Low SES? Military? Research superstars? Non-trads? Trads? People with extensive service? Anything that seems to be valued by adcoms?

The world population is over 7.6 billion. How many of us are unique? In the one sense all 7.6+ billion of us are, since no two are literally identical. In another sense almost none of us are, since virtually every individual characteristic we possess can be found in others.

With that in mind, try and deconstruct the phrase "very unique."

 

[hubbsbubbs]

Instead of deciding to write about something concrete, like a specific hobby, try freewriting a bit. Explore moments in your childhood, difficult talks you've had with people, what makes you angry, what makes you cry. Write a lot. Dig deep. You might stumble onto something organically

 

[BrahmsFan]

Instead of deciding to write about something concrete, like a specific hobby, try freewriting a bit. Explore moments in your childhood, difficult talks you've had with people, what makes you angry, what makes you cry. Write a lot. Dig deep. You might stumble onto something organically

Thanks! I'll give it a shot friend

 

[Billy Ruben]

What’s the prompt? I don’t think having a hobby (unless you were amazing at it) is worth talking about, and taking a class -any class- is definitely not. They have your transcript.

 

[deleted555445]

I think the best way to approach it is to think about what might be most surprising about you to some random person you meet on the street. And then you can talk about how that diversity would improve the class etc.

 

[BrahmsFan]

I think the best way to approach it is to think about what might be most surprising about you to some random person you meet on the street. And then you can talk about how that diversity would improve the class etc.

This is legitimately really helpful. Thanks!

 

[Fano]

Okay, but is "unique" really the metric by which we are judged on this? Are URMs unique? Low SES? Military? Research superstars? Non-trads? Trads? People with extensive service? Anything that seems to be valued by adcoms?

I thought the question is more about what we bring, whatever that happens to be, rather than straining to be "cool" or "unique." After all, out of 22,000 matriculants, how many are truly unique? And yet, they all managed to be accepted somewhere.

Unique cookie cutters

 

[jhmmd]

Hi all, I'm trying to write my diversity essay, and I'm kind of stuck between two topics, so I was hoping I could get some advice on which seems better. I was thinking first, of writing about a really interesting hobby I had, but I was having a lot of trouble figuring out how it gave me a diverse perspective. The best I could come up with was how it was similar to medicine in a lot of ways, which doesn't seem to be answering the spirit of the question.

Alternatively, I was going to write about my business major, in particular, a class I took about Behavioral Economics. It's the relatively new field that discusses, by and large, how people make decisions, are bad at evaluating risk, etc., and how these things play out in the real world. It's definitely very applicable to medicine (doctors and patients have to make decisions constantly) and so I thought this might be a unique thing to talk about. However, I know people caution against talking about courses / majors / etc., so I wasn't sure.

Thanks for any advice people can give!

I don't personally consider either of these topics "diverse." You might want to step out of your comfort zone, so to speak, and spend some time with people who are different from you. Whether this means traveling to a foreign country, volunteering in a low-income neighborhood, learning a different language etc...the diversity prompt has to show that you have interacted with other people who are not like you. You don't want to show how you yourself are diverse, if that makes sense. Your experiences make you who you are. However try not to talk too much about yourself. Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any further questions.

 

[fogo]

I'll give an example of my own. For me, my parents spent a lot of time abroad, and so I lived in four continents. While that by itself isn't anything substantial, it sparked my interest in global health and how standard of healthcare is different in different parts of the globe. This made me want to pursue medicine with a strong global focus, and do research regarding both vaccine development and epidemiology. I guess I have some good anecdotes and life stories resulting from this as well.