Mention Sexual Orientation in Secondary?

[terdei00]

---

Members do not see this ad.

...

 

[ur2l8]

.

 

[Lya]

There was another SDNer with great stats who mentioned that one of reasons I chose a certain school is because its state allows gays to have children and etc.

It's part of who you are. I respect that you're still in the closet. If you are comfortable talking about your upbringing and yourself, I think you should definitely think about including it in secondaries. That's a unique perspective that you can bring to medical schools.

 

[LizzyM]

While your application is technically "confidential", do consider that someone your family knows may see your application and you will be out to them. I saw the application of an acquaintance's daughter and learned something stigmatizing about the family that my friend would never have shared with me. I could never speak of it to my friend but I was embarrassed to have this information.

I would have no hesitation in telling someone who is "out" to include it in their diversity essay; we have several gay men and lesbians on the adcom and among the interviewers but if you aren't out, you will be outing yourself with your essays.

 

[ur2l8]

You're in luck at one school:

MCG secondary, question 10:

10. The Admissions Committee regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee strongly encourages you to share unique, personally important, and/or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, region of residence with respect to its health professional needs, ties to MCG Medical College of Georgia, culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or life and/or work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.

 

[terdei00]

...

 

[DokterMom]

.

 

[Tots]

Understood, but I'm not too worried about "outing" myself in my essays. I feel like medical school is a new start, so I'd be proud to share that information.

If its something you want to share and you would feel comfortable discussing, then share it! But realize that if you include it in your secondaries then people will ask you about your experiences during interviews. If it is still something you are coming to terms with then it might be better to discuss something else.

One huge benefit of being out on my application was the fact that a lot of schools went out of the way during the interview or after the acceptance to connect me to resources on campus for LGBT students. You could get connected to these resources without being out on your application, it would just take a little more effort on your part.

As far as diversity goes, your rural homeschooling is far more unique. There are a lot of gay applicants, so that's not adding something different. You could certainly weave an interesting tale about coming to terms with your sexuality in the context of your very constrained upbringing.

No one says he has to pick one thing that makes him diverse.

There was another SDNer with great stats who mentioned that one of reasons I chose a certain school is because its state allows gays to have children and etc.

It's part of who you are. I respect that you're still in the closet. If you are comfortable talking about your upbringing and yourself, I think you should definitely think about including it in secondaries. That's a unique perspective that you can bring to medical schools.

Lol that was to "Why this school" questions and I am not sure I really recommend that but yup.