Diversity Essay Ideas

[premed_applicant]

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I have three ideas for the diversity secondary essay prompt, and I can't decide on which one to run with:

 

[Mr.Smile12]

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1) I need more focus. It seems you want to focus on your identity as an immigrant into a predominantly White-majority American (Southern?) culture. I don't know who your audience/school list is or the character limit. Yes, this is traditional, but sometimes you need to show you can talk about this.

2) Saying I love math and science isn't going to get you points in "diversity" for medical school applicants. That is as cliche as "helping people."

3) If you are applying to Loma Linda, you may already have an essay on this. For everyone one, being "Christian" isn't really something that makes you stand out, so I need more information. Different Christian college clubs span a breadth of beliefs (fundamental to progressive). For example, there is no monolithic Judaic group or authority. Consequently, many Christian/religious faiths fully embrace analytical and scientific thinking (take the Catholic/Jesuit schools). This needs a little more development, especially if you are trying to make a point to "bridge a gap."

 

[Mr.Smile12]

1) I'm applying to about 30 schools, most of which are in the top 40-50 range. The character limit varies but median is around 1500-2000 characters (max is 500 words/~3000 characters). And yes, I think it'd be most interesting to focus on moving to a white-majority southern environment as a Korean child. Because I came to America at an age where I'd already been accustomed to Korean culture and lifestyle, it was difficult for me to adapt to the new culture, especially since it was so different from the one I grew up in. In addition, there were almost no other Korean people where we moved to, so it was extremely difficult to get Korean groceries, let alone find a Korean community. As a result, I felt very isolated from my Korean identity and tended to shy away from it at school to try to fit in with my peers. Coming to college, however, I started encountering spaces where celebrating my culture was encouraged and felt accepted as both a Korean and American for the first time. I served on the board of my school's Korean cultural organization for 2 years and organized many events for both Korean students at my school and also for Korean residents in the city.

Due to my experiences, I feel that I can relate to the numerous difficulties that immigrants face in America, part

2) I see... I thought that since it's a relatively rare major, I could use this space to talk about why I wanted to pursue both a technical degree and medical school after graduation. Do you think this topic would be better suited for some other essay (maybe talking about it in "anything else?" prompt for schools that have them)?

3) I grew up in a pretty fundamentalist church in Korea, and continued until college. I joined the fellowship partially because it offered a different perspective on religion than I had previously encountered, and I felt that it offered me freedom of thought and exploration. But I see your point on having to make the point more explicit.


Overall, with your feedback included I'm leaning towards topic #1. Do you think that I have enough to work with for the essay with that topic?

I think #1 is a good theme, and I think your lived experiences may provide multiple examples that relate to the topic. I have read many essays that focus on the adaptations one has to make when making one's favorite ethnic food in the US when you don't have the same items available from the home Asian country. Yours would not be the first "kimchi essay" in my experience, if you go there. Even the awkward Asian kid trying out for the competitive Texas high school football or basketball team... pops up occasionally. More interestingly is how your Asian peers in college may have helped catch you up about how other Asian Americans have coped with the challenge of belonging and code switching from "white" to "Asian/minority."

On #3, Christian fundamentalism is different in Asian communities versus traditional American (South) evangelism versus Black church evangelism. Each facet has a huge emphasis on community identity and support in a cultural sense. I don't want to put words in your mouth on this, but this is why I make the point for a more explicit experience or example.

 

[chilly_md]

2) I see... I thought that since it's a relatively rare major, I could use this space to talk about why I wanted to pursue both a technical degree and medical school after graduation. Do you think this topic would be better suited for some other essay (maybe talking about it in "anything else?" prompt for schools that have them)?

Please don't. It comes across as unnecessary information. Your major is listed on AMCAS. If it is of interest to an interviewer, they may bring it up then at that point.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I see, thank you for the feedback. So do you think emphasizing how I came to embrace my Korean heritage through experiences in college would be the best way to approach this?

Also, do you think I should mention an explicitly clinical experience that I had with helping immigrant families in college? I think it could be good to show growth from my own experiences adjusting to life in America to helping refugee families in my city navigate the healthcare system, but I already talked about it pretty heavily in my PS and MME, so it could be redundant.

Can you clarify if this is in this diversity essay or a different one? If you already mentioned it in different essays, I would hold off until interview unless there is a prompt where that fits.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Okay, that makes sense. Just out of curiosity, do you think the major would be of any particular interest to adcom?

No. Some of us go to great lengths to blind education history.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Would it be fine to have a diversity essay that doesn't touch on a clinical experience?

It should be. Not every essay needs to touch on a clinical experience or answer "why you want to be a doctor".

And should the essay still tie back to how my ethnic background contributes to my interest in medicine?

The prompt will tell you whether you "should." But don't force an answer to impress adcoms. Be authentic.