Diversity Question: Choose Between 2 or 3 options

[sbspftw]

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Hello guys,

Obviously there's the diversity question / how you enhance diversity / how you enhance our mission (which will always be related to medicine, science, betterment of humanity, scholarship, intellectual diversity).

I'm a brown woman with a bachelors in biology and two masters in science-y fields. I could talk about Indian cultural background but I kind of want something that is unique. I have some ideas, but sometimes struggle on how to bring it back to "enhance diversity' and "enhance mission". I would like some help in deciding what to write about:

1) I've really been into music and dance. I did Indian classical music and dance, along with korean pop dancing, and hip hop all throughout college and dedicated a decent amount of time. I feel like even though I'm Indian-American, there are more cultures in me that I've gained through getting a taste of the musical and performance-related art forms. I've also travelled a LOT.
How does this enhance diversity on campus: I'd be able to engage in different communities and different cultures.
Mission: i'm actually not sure about intellectually how this is related to science, but I hope to talk more about how being culturally competent is good for physicians and betterment of humanity.
Drawback: I talk a bit about music in my personal statement, but not specifically about the diversity of my musical and performance related endeavors. I'm having trouble bringing this back to a school's mission statement about how it enhances intellectual scholarship.

2) I have two masters one in bioinformatics from a university in US and in Genomic Medicine from Cambridge. I think this makes me unique somewhat and contributes to my diversity. I think not many people have experiences in clinical applications of sequencing data, and the future of health care is heading towards precision medicine I think it's important to have a background in this.
How do you enhance diversity: having abroad experiences, more coursework, how do I make this sound like I'm not some pompous dingus.
Mission: I think this is easier to say yes this contributes to the future of medicine and betterment of humanity

3) In undergrad I did three research projects: bioinformatics research, public health research, social science research. i think the centralized point is that research is important for discovery. But i used to think science was all that mattered, but realized through experiences in college, that perhaps research in other fields were also important.
Diversity: having a variety of research experiences that cover a wide-range of fields from epidemiology to molecular biology
Mission: I think a medical professional should have social science and biological science background, because they function at the intersection of science and society.

Thanks for the support guys!

 

[hubbsbubbs]

1 > 2 >>>3


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[lickerwhicker]

I like 2 a little more than 1! 🙂

 

[foucault]

I feel like #1 humanizes you better and more directly answers the question.

 

[Sharknad0]

1, 2, then 3

 

[sbspftw]

I see the overwhelming response to 1.

Could someone please comment on how I would answer the "mission" question? Like most questions want "how do you enhance our mission of like medical school (which is more about intellectual, thought, etc.) I find it a bit hard to connect cultural competency to intellectual vitality. I mean for example Uchicago's diversity question also asks about missions: 'dedicated to inspiring diverse students of exceptional promise to become leaders and innovators in science and medicine for the betterment of humanity'. How would I connect culture to science and medicine other than the cultural competency route? I mean is this fine? Are they looking for something more intellectual?

 

[Goro]

Hello guys,

Obviously there's the diversity question / how you enhance diversity / how you enhance our mission (which will always be related to medicine, science, betterment of humanity, scholarship, intellectual diversity).

I'm a brown woman with a bachelors in biology and two masters in science-y fields. I could talk about Indian cultural background but I kind of want something that is unique. I have some ideas, but sometimes struggle on how to bring it back to "enhance diversity' and "enhance mission". I would like some help in deciding what to write about:

1) I've really been into music and dance. I did Indian classical music and dance, along with korean pop dancing, and hip hop all throughout college and dedicated a decent amount of time. I feel like even though I'm Indian-American, there are more cultures in me that I've gained through getting a taste of the musical and performance-related art forms. I've also travelled a LOT.
How does this enhance diversity on campus: I'd be able to engage in different communities and different cultures.
Mission: i'm actually not sure about intellectually how this is related to science, but I hope to talk more about how being culturally competent is good for physicians and betterment of humanity.
Drawback: I talk a bit about music in my personal statement, but not specifically about the diversity of my musical and performance related endeavors. I'm having trouble bringing this back to a school's mission statement about how it enhances intellectual scholarship.

2) I have two masters one in bioinformatics from a university in US and in Genomic Medicine from Cambridge. I think this makes me unique somewhat and contributes to my diversity. I think not many people have experiences in clinical applications of sequencing data, and the future of health care is heading towards precision medicine I think it's important to have a background in this.
How do you enhance diversity: having abroad experiences, more coursework, how do I make this sound like I'm not some pompous dingus.
Mission: I think this is easier to say yes this contributes to the future of medicine and betterment of humanity

3) In undergrad I did three research projects: bioinformatics research, public health research, social science research. i think the centralized point is that research is important for discovery. But i used to think science was all that mattered, but realized through experiences in college, that perhaps research in other fields were also important.
Diversity: having a variety of research experiences that cover a wide-range of fields from epidemiology to molecular biology
Mission: I think a medical professional should have social science and biological science background, because they function at the intersection of science and society.

Thanks for the support guys!

For the zillionth time, the diversity prompt is not about ethnicity. As a word of advice for SDNers, being South Asian is quite common for med students. I estimate about ~15-20% of all med students are of South Asian heritage.

If you do 2 and 3, you'll get rejected. they do not make you cool.

Music and dance make you cool, OP.

 

[sbspftw]

Right on.

But I think the question remains that how do I connect this back to the "mission" of the school?

 

[mistafab]

I think that this question is the point of the diversity statement. Figure out how to connect your dance experience, how it has changed you, to the mission of your school. How has it changed how you think? How does it change how you interact with others? You sort of answered these questions already, just work on polishing it a little bit and putting a little more into them.

Right on.

But I think the question remains that how do I connect this back to the "mission" of the school?

 

[hat]

If you do 2 and 3, you'll get rejected.

Wow. I hope you don't get my app.

@sbspftw, if it were me I would relate it to the mission statement by generalizing traits and skills you've developed through these experiences and that you think would be useful for a physician/researcher. ie, how you developed curiosity, openness, adaptability, or whatever other skills you can authentically talk about in relation to these experiences and which you would apply to your future training/career. And being able to engage people in various communities does make you a more versatile and exceptional physician.

When it comes down to it most schools' mission statements are basically just "train great doctors and researchers," so I'm not sure you can be much more specific than that. Of course for schools that have a specific mission (ie. rural health) it would be good to more specifically connect it.

I'm not an expert or an adcom but this is how I would approach it, and how I'm approaching it for my diversity essays (which are considerably less interesting than yours).

 

[Goro]

It does not have to be related to the mission of the school although this is useful thing for the personal statement or even better, the why this school prompt.

The diversity prompts are "what do you bring to this class?"

I think that this question is the point of the diversity statement. Figure out how to connect your dance experience, how it has changed you, to the mission of your school. How has it changed how you think? How does it change how you interact with others? You sort of answered these questions already, just work on polishing it a little bit and putting a little more into them.

 

[sbspftw]

Okay guys, lot of good stuff here!

My hunch was #1 (hence why I wrote about it first) and it's great to have all of this feedback.

 

[Danny L]

For the zillionth time, the diversity prompt is not about ethnicity. As a word of advice for SDNers, being South Asian is quite common for med students. I estimate about ~15-20% of all med students are of South Asian heritage.

If you do 2 and 3, you'll get rejected. they do not make you cool.

Music and dance make you cool, OP.

It does not have to be related to the mission of the school although this is useful thing for the personal statement or even better, the why this school prompt.

The diversity prompts are "what do you bring to this class?"

What if all of your passions and interests are pretty common (ie sports, video games, etc). Could you distinguish yourself by focusing on the perspectives instead?

 

[Goro]

What if all of your passions and interests are pretty common (ie sports, video games, etc). Could you distinguish yourself by focusing on the perspectives instead?

It's OK to have a common passion. Just give it some spin as to why it's special.

What would your friends say about you that's cool?

 

[Danny L]

It's OK to have a common passion. Just give it some spin as to why it's special.

What would your friends say about you that's cool?

I think the perspectives gained make it special for me. That's part of the reason I'm so passionate about it, the insights have helped me out in every day life. It's not bad to focus a little more on the perspectives gained (and how they have manifested) than the actual passion itself right?

 

[Goro]

I think the perspectives gained make it special for me. That's part of the reason I'm so passionate about it, the insights have helped me out in every day life. It's not bad to focus a little more on the perspectives gained (and how they have manifested) than the actual passion itself right?

Those belong in your PS!!!

 

[Danny L]

Those belong in your PS!!!

Wait really? I thought the focus of the PS was why medicine. These perspectives were for things mostly outside of the reasons I wanted to go into medicine, but still have relevance to what I can bring as a medical student/add to the class community

 

[Goro]

Wait really? I thought the focus of the PS was why medicine. These perspectives were for things mostly outside of the reasons I wanted to go into medicine, but still have relevance to what I can bring as a medical student/add to the class community

The above was fair fodder for PS.

 

[Danny L]

The above was fair fodder for PS.

In what context should you talk about your interests/passions then? Or is it okay for content that's PS fodder to go into secondaries?

 

[Goro]

In what context should you talk about your interests/passions then? Or is it okay for content that's PS fodder to go into secondaries?

I'm getting a little tired of repeating myself. You figure it out.