Diversity Essay in Bullet Format?

[Got Em]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am a non-traditional applicant and I have 2 to 3 different areas that shows "diversity", but they are not related at all. I know the common advice is to just write the essay in paragraph form, but does anybody know if you can put this in a bullet format? This is in regards to the TMDSAS optional essay, which is pasted below.

Optional Essay 2:
Describe any personal characteristics and/or important or challenging experiences you have had that will contribute to the diversity (broadly defined) of/ or provide educational benefits to the student body.

Optional Essay 2 is limited to 2500 characters, including spaces.

 

[melonpop]

You can, but I just don't think it's a very wise thing to do. Just write an essay/narrative and try to make it flow as best as you can.

 

[Bro Dude]

I am a non-traditional applicant and I have 2 to 3 different areas that shows "diversity", but they are not related at all. I know the common advice is to just write the essay in paragraph form, but does anybody know if you can put this in a bullet format? This is in regards to the TMDSAS optional essay, which is pasted below.

Optional Essay 2:
Describe any personal characteristics and/or important or challenging experiences you have had that will contribute to the diversity (broadly defined) of/ or provide educational benefits to the student body.

Optional Essay 2 is limited to 2500 characters, including spaces.

I wouldn't. Note how it says describe rather than list. This implies that you expound upon the idea of diversity, i.e. the implications of your admission in this regard. A list wouldn't give the same insight as a well-crafted paragraph.

 

[sector9]

I wouldn't write one of your essays in bullet points. That sounds like a bad idea.

 

[hmockingbird]

I wouldn't do it. I don't know if this is true or not but whenever I see any application (medical school or not) requiring an essay, I always assume part of the reason they want it is so they can assess your writing and critical thinking skills. If they just wanted a list of activities (or experiences, etc.) they would have asked for that.

They do have a common theme, what makes you unique and how you will add to the campus. If these are experiences (vs. characteristics) you could keep it simple and just put them in chronological order and say something like "the following year" or rough dates to transition. Or just use transitions such as "another challenging experience I had was", "My experience (blank) would also add to the diversity of (medical school name)" or "I also blah blah". Sorry those are a little rough but you get the idea.

 

[JoshuaGuit]

 

[Got Em]

Thanks guys! I'll definitely write an essay instead of just listing stuff.

 

[Got Em]

Has anybody written just one paragraph for each experience? I'm thinking about putting 2 experiences in two different paragraphs instead of having a whole essay with an intro, body, and conclusion. Is this okay or the norm?

 

[candav]

Love this idea. How much less work would it be for both the applicant and the reviewer if the essays could be structured as such:

Diversity Essay by candav
I am:

• Asian
• An immigrant
• Gay
• Physically attractive (most definitely an underrepresented group in medicine)

Please let me in!

OP, in my experience these essays are so short that there is no reason to structure them as you would a traditional essay. Most of my essays didn't have a formal introduction or conclusion. If I remember correctly, I wrote an anecdote about my childhood for my diversity essays.

 

[NatrixCaelicola]

Love this idea. How much less work would it be for both the applicant and the reviewer if the essays could be structured as such:

Diversity Essay by candav
I am:

• Asian
• An immigrant
• Gay
• Physically attractive (most definitely an underrepresented group in medicine)

Please let me in!

OP, in my experience these essays are so short that there is no reason to structure them as you would a traditional essay. Most of my essays didn't have a formal introduction or conclusion. If I remember correctly, I wrote an anecdote about my childhood for my diversity essays.

I agree that they aren't necessarily structured like the traditional essay but I would say there are some points that you really do need to include. Start out right away with why you are diverse, explain the significance in your life, and then end with the why they should give a sh*&. Mine was essentially: I'm gay and have lived in the Middle East and Europe, this has taught me to see the disparities in medicine for the LGBTQ community and for minorities at large, and I will bring this knowledge and desire to change it to your school.