Another Diversity Essay Question

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Hopin4bestExpectingworst

New Member
7+ Year Member
I'm really struggling with my diversity essay and have a few ideas:

1.) Diversity of clinical Experience.

2.) Family history research

3.) Unique interest in medicine.
 
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1) You're not going to contribute much in terms of knowledge of clinical specialties to a medical school..
2) This seems more like a fun fact/experience than what you bring to the incoming class. Don't know if you can make the argument that you'll show your fellow students how to find out about their family history.
3) If you don't have the ECs to back it up, then you're not really showing me how you uniquely contribute to awareness/knowledge of trop med and microbio compared to some guy who read up on it on wikipedia the night before.
 
None of those are very good for a diversity question, to be honest.

Some potential ideas for your typical suburban, middle class white kid:
-are you rural in any way?
-are any of your grandparents immigrants and if so, do you demonstrate remnants of the "old country?"
-did you work 20 hr/wk or more during college?
-are you from a small state (like Delaware, Nebraska, Vermont etc)?
-did you get a major in English, French or any other atypical field (for premeds)?
-did you move around a lot as a kid?

These are just brainstorming ideas. You're on the right track that diversity can mean a lot of things, but your proposals are not "diverse" in any way. This was a hard question for me, as well.
 
Thanks for your honesty, I know they suck lol
Not rural, no immigrants, no job during college, bio major

Did move around quite a bit and am from a small state but I fail to see how these bring any diversity to a class.
 
Hopin4bestExpectingworst said:
Thanks for your honesty, I know they suck lol
Not rural, no immigrants, no job during college, bio major

Did move around quite a bit and am from a small state but I fail to see how these bring any diversity to a class.
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Well, if you moved around a lot, did you have to learn how to adapt/fit in to new social structures quickly? That's unique, and that is desirable for medicine.

If you are from a small state, do you think your viewpoint might be different from the thousands of California applicants? For me, I was from a small state, and my interviewers were very interested by that--they asked "Why is a kid from XYZ state applying to this school back east?" etc etc. It's a stretch, I'll admit, but seems like you might need to do a bit of stretching for this question!
 
Hopin4bestExpectingworst said:
I'm really struggling with my diversity essay and have a few ideas:

1.) Diversity of clinical experience. Worked in a lot of different hospitals and had some diverse shadowing experience. It seems pretty safe but also not too unique and doesn't say much about me.

2.) Family history research - made a family tree, found tons of relatives and connected people, and took my grandparents to the cemeteries. I think it's kind of cool, but I'm not sure how it's medically related.

3.) Unique interest in medicine. Really passionate about tropical medicine and microbio, but don't really have the EC's to back up those interests atm. Also don't want to commit to one specialty.

Thanks guys, this essay is killing me! I honestly am a super cookie cutter applicant.
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1) NO!!! every premed volunteers and shadows
2)umm not really anything to go off here?
3)NO!!! Please don't make me list the number of pre-med tropical volun-touring companies that create hundreds of applicants with an 'interest in tropical health'....
 
We expect all applicants to have this.


1.) Diversity of clinical experience. Worked in a lot of different hospitals and had some diverse shadowing experience. It seems pretty safe but also not too unique and doesn't say much about me.

This is indeed cool.
2.) Family history research - made a family tree, found tons of relatives and connected people, and took my grandparents to the cemeteries. I think it's kind of cool, but I'm not sure how it's medically related.

You and five gazillion other pre-meds. You could get rejected for being this unoriginal.

3.) Unique interest in medicine. Really passionate about tropical medicine and microbio, but don't really have the EC's to back up those interests atm. Also don't want to commit to one specialty.

C'mon, use your little brain! What's cool about you? Unique????
 
Anyone know if it's better to have a more recent "experience" to the diversity essay topic? I excelled at pretty much the national level in a very niche sport (it's an Olympic one too), but I quit when I was 13 because it became much too expensive... when I tell people it's always a "wow cool I'd never have expected that" reaction, but I was young...
 
I am prewriting a diversity template essay ( for secondaries) and I have a few questions.

(1) I happen to really like words (vocabulary) and in middle school I was part of a national competition (and did well on my state level), I was going to mention it in passing on a diversity essay but I am worried that since it was so long ago ( middle school), I should not mention it.


(2) The other thing I would like to mention is about how having two parents who are doctors really shaped my experiences and perspectives for medical school. I was worried though that having a high SES would hurt me more than help and that I should never mention it. I mean, I work in my dad's office, but through working there I have also
1) learned the value of confidentiality, dad's a psychiatrist and taught many of my classmates in school
2) learned how to interact with patients and have difficult conversations with them ( billing, initial intake)
3) learned how to work through billings, prior authorizations, and am learning how to navigate the insurance system
4) had to deal with eventualities that came up, ( one patient forged my dad's scripts and we had to stop him, change the number, deal with police reports and so on)
5)my dad runs a boutique practice, and by seeing how he interacts with wealthy patients and my work ( I used to volunteer working with lower income patients), it makes me wish we could devote more time and resources to lower SES patients. and that every patient could get the benefit wealthy ones do with their doctor.
I also grew up reading the DSM-IV, etcetera.

(3) This one is also more controversial. Though I am not disadvantaged, I grew up rather poor. I am the daughter of immigrants,so when I was younger we all lived in the Bronx, 6 people to a room, in a school district that was bad, in a neighborhood where people got shot a playgrounds. I also kind of have a head start certificate. I feel iffy about talking about this because my parents both got American residencies, managed to turn their lives around and now I live in a nice development where kids drive BMW's to high school. I don't want to be accused of playing the lower SES card or something or whatever.
 
Silence in ER said:
I am prewriting a diversity template essay ( for secondaries) and I have a few questions.

(1) I happen to really like words (vocabulary) and in middle school I was part of a national competition (and did well on my state level), I was going to mention it in passing on a diversity essay but I am worried that since it was so long ago ( middle school), I should not mention it.


(2) The other thing I would like to mention is about how having two parents who are doctors really shaped my experiences and perspectives for medical school. I was worried though that having a high SES would hurt me more than help and that I should never mention it. I mean, I work in my dad's office, but through working there I have also
1) learned the value of confidentiality, dad's a psychiatrist and taught many of my classmates in school
2) learned how to interact with patients and have difficult conversations with them ( billing, initial intake)
3) learned how to work through billings, prior authorizations, and am learning how to navigate the insurance system
4) had to deal with eventualities that came up, ( one patient forged my dad's scripts and we had to stop him, change the number, deal with police reports and so on)
5)my dad runs a boutique practice, and by seeing how he interacts with wealthy patients and my work ( I used to volunteer working with lower income patients), it makes me wish we could devote more time and resources to lower SES patients. and that every patient could get the benefit wealthy ones do with their doctor.
I also grew up reading the DSM-IV, etcetera.

(3) This one is also more controversial. Though I am not disadvantaged, I grew up rather poor. I am the daughter of immigrants,so when I was younger we all lived in the Bronx, 6 people to a room, in a school district that was bad, in a neighborhood where people got shot a playgrounds. I also kind of have a head start certificate. I feel iffy about talking about this because my parents both got American residencies, managed to turn their lives around and now I live in a nice development where kids drive BMW's to high school. I don't want to be accused of playing the lower SES card or something or whatever.
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Oh my. ANYTHING but using the 'both my parents are doctors and it inspired me' card in a diversity esssay

Please don't hate me for saying that, I'm not trying to be rude, their story does sound inspiring (aka your 3rd option).
But pulling the 'family of doctors' card is kind of the opposite of diversity.....
 
ConfusedChemist said:
Oh my. ANYTHING but using the 'both my parents are doctors and it inspired me' card in a diversity esssay

Please don't hate me for saying that, I'm not trying to be rude, their story does sound inspiring (aka your 3rd option).
But pulling the 'family of doctors' card is kind of the opposite of diversity.....
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eh.

I guess so, but diversity is all about having different perspectives, right?
And having parents who are doctors, working with them, and knowing their business somewhat intimately like I do is also
something that is a part of me. I mean, I grew up reading the DSM-IV, listening to tales about patient stories, and being taught the value of the Hippocratic oath.... should I lie about it? Hide it? It kind of seems dishonest to me.

And with the third option, while yeah, it is interesting, but I also was very young when all the crazy stuff happened, so I have a different perspective than most. I.e.- when a person got shot in my playground I kind of thought it wasn't a big deal and that sometimes that happened. I was seven and was not aware that having 6 people in a room in unbearable by most American standards, it simply was what it was. Even more, I never went hungry and I always had clothes. ( from salvation army, but still). I never realized that my life would be considered hard or difficult or whatever.
 
Silence in ER said:
eh.

I guess so, but diversity is all about having different perspectives, right?
And having parents who are doctors, working with them, and knowing their business somewhat intimately like I do is also
something that is a part of me. I mean, I grew up reading the DSM-IV, listening to tales about patient stories, and being taught the value of the Hippocratic oath.... should I lie about it? Hide it? It kind of seems dishonest to me.

And with the third option, while yeah, it is interesting, but I also was very young when all the crazy stuff happened, so I have a different perspective than most. I.e.- when a person got shot in my playground I kind of thought it wasn't a big deal and that sometimes that happened. I was seven and was not aware that having 6 people in a room in unbearable by most American standards, it simply was what it was. Even more, I never went hungry and I always had clothes. ( from salvation army, but still). I never realized that my life would be considered hard or difficult or whatever.
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Oh I'm sure it could be a fine essay, but I'm just pointing out, it's a VERY overdone essay, and you run the (high) risk of making adcoms cringe before they even read it.
also....not talking about your parents jobs as the focus of a secondary essay isn't dishonestly...unless the question asks what your parents do...
 
Silence in ER said:
eh.

I guess so, but diversity is all about having different perspectives, right?
And having parents who are doctors, working with them, and knowing their business somewhat intimately like I do is also
something that is a part of me. I mean, I grew up reading the DSM-IV, listening to tales about patient stories, and being taught the value of the Hippocratic oath.... should I lie about it? Hide it? It kind of seems dishonest to me.

And with the third option, while yeah, it is interesting, but I also was very young when all the crazy stuff happened, so I have a different perspective than most. I.e.- when a person got shot in my playground I kind of thought it wasn't a big deal and that sometimes that happened. I was seven and was not aware that having 6 people in a room in unbearable by most American standards, it simply was what it was. Even more, I never went hungry and I always had clothes. ( from salvation army, but still). I never realized that my life would be considered hard or difficult or whatever.
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Id probably avoid all of those. The last part about growing up poor, at least at first might be an option. I would just leave out the whole American residencies, and now everyone drives Bentleys part. Definitely don't do your diversity essay on both your parents bring doctors, say that out loud and tell me how that sounds like a good idea?
 
Fedekz said:
Id probably avoid all of those. The last part about growing up poor, at least at first might be an option. I would just leave out the whole American residencies, and now everyone drives Bentleys part. Definitely don't do your diversity essay on both your parents bring doctors, say that out loud and tell me how that sounds like a good idea?
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Bentleys?

hahaha I wish. nope. not nearly that advantaged. though I'd like a mazzerati.


meh. I just wanted to write on something other than my culture, I'm so tired of talking about it but it's all adcoms want to hear. We've got ____ many applicants with this background. it's kind of dull.
 
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