diversity secondary topic idea

[crathnam]

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I've been having a hard time coming up with a diversity question idea. I am an asian male with extensive cultural experience but I talked about culture in my "challenge" question and don't want to keep focusing on culture for ALL my essays. SO, I came up with an idea for the diversity question dealing with my experiences and any feedback on it would be most appreciated.

My idea is to talk about how I always analyze things and look for either more efficient or ways to improve things that work but can work better. Whether it's with my computer's performance, a programming code I wrote (I like programming and computers LOL but this is addressed in other parts of my app), events that I throw as president of my organization, my diet/exercise plan (i want to gain some weight), advertising plans, etc.

Does this sound like a valid idea? It definitely is a different point of view since a lot of people see something that works and use it without caring if it can be more efficient. I like to study, let's say an event I'm throwing in this case, and see how i can make the event better than the same event in the past. How can i get more people to come, how can i make people have more fun, how can i better teach people about culture (if the event is a cultural event), and so on.

thanks for the help!

UPDATE: the diversity prompt I'm referring to is "what do you bring to our university"

 

[Monika12]

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[moisne]

I don't think any part of your idea addressed diversity. You mentioned your interests but that's it - which is... computers/programming?

Have you worked in a rural area? underserved area? worked with people of poverty? grown up in poverty? etc?

 

[crathnam]

I don't think any part of your idea addressed diversity. You mentioned your interests but that's it - which is... computers/programming?

Have you worked in a rural area? underserved area? worked with people of poverty? grown up in poverty? etc?

To update, the prompt is:

"What do you bring to our community"

So basically what makes you different from the other applicants. I interpreted it as I'm different because I have this different point of view. Thanks for the input

 

[Scribblers]

I'm not sure this viewpoint sets you apart as much as you think it does. Many, and probably most, of the people looking to enter medical school are interested not just in caring for individual patients as we already do now, but also finding ways to improve patient care. That goal by itself isn't really adding any diversity. If you were to focus on that, I think the actual diversity piece might come more from how you want to improve patient care and how your background and experiences have given you the motivation and skills to do so. It sounds like you might be able to spin your interest in computers/IT into something along these lines. Have you thought about developing that into a coherent motivation/interest area that you can talk about?

 

[crathnam]

I'm not sure this viewpoint sets you apart as much as you think it does. Many, and probably most, of the people looking to enter medical school are interested not just in caring for individual patients as we already do now, but also finding ways to improve patient care. That goal by itself isn't really adding any diversity. If you were to focus on that, I think the actual diversity piece might come more from how you want to improve patient care and how your background and experiences have given you the motivation and skills to do so. It sounds like you might be able to spin your interest in computers/IT into something along these lines. Have you thought about developing that into a coherent motivation/interest area that you can talk about?

So my personal statement already addressed the idea of finding a way to integrate computers and medicine so as to improve medical care. For other essays asking for my interest in a specific area of medicine, I wrote about how I am interested in medical informatics (using computers to map the brain, predict future diseases/illnesses based on patient data beyond just genetic information, etc.). My reservation about talking about combining computers and medicine again is being redundant with my personal statement and the "what area of medicine interests you" question. I definitely see where you are coming from. Many who applicants aim to improve the field of medicine but it is how they do it that makes them stand out.

The prompt is "What unique qualities or experiences do you possess and how I interpreted this prompt was: "What part of your character makes you unique?" And how I intend to respond is by saying that no matter what I do, I always see room for improvement. I believe that perfection isn't reachable but the belief that it isn't reachable is what motivates me to keep improving my work. I am never complacent with my feats but rather scrutinize them, looking for ways to do better. So I agree that most applicants will be high achievers but I'm not saying my quest for perfection is what distinguishes me; it is how I strive towards perfection even when I believe it can't be reached.

 

[crathnam]

scribblers, i've come to agree with you. That idea isn't exactly addressing the prompt and doesn't set me apart as much as I'd like to think so.

Another idea I came up with, tell me what you guys think:

In Hinduism, life is taken from a Dharmic view, where everyone has a role to fulfill in order to keep balance in the universe. This is why there is a caste system (not because people are beneath others but because people have different roles to play). It is not a system of hierarchy but more like Linnaeus's system of classification of organisms. Anyway, that was just context. In Dharmic views, poor people(beggars) have a role to play and there are many beggars in India. However, people who are orthodox Hindus (like my parents) see beggars and ignore them. This may seem cruel to almost everyone but from a different perspective, it's just how things are; it's a different way of life. Born and raised in the U.S., I was influenced by media, teachers, etc. to see that poverty is bad and it is something we need to change; my parents have also been influenced by American culture but still hold on to their Dharmic views as well. The diversity aspect is that I live knowing that these perspectives exist and I know that many issues that seem pretty obvious to many (like poverty is bad) actually have many facets to them. Growing up and seeing both sides of something that many people found so obvious showed me that even the biggest problems as viewed by one set of people isn't as "clear-cut" when viewed by another. So even things I might think are pretty obvious many not be as obvious to others so I have to approach every issue objectively and sensitively and understand the other person(s) views/beliefs before making any judgments.

ALL FEEDBACK IS HELPFUL. I've heard that this could be a controversial topic, but I'm not saying I take a side. I'm saying that I know the perspectives exist on these topics and my understanding is what makes me diverse.

P.S. I really really really really suck at the diversity prompts lol.