Using Physics Major for Diversity Essay?

[Taranis]

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So I have been having a bit of trouble thinking of ideas for my diversity essay for secondaries. I come from an upper-middle class background, am white, am a traditional applicant (never took any gap years), and have pretty much standard pre-med ECs (Volunteering, research, etc). The only thing that is unique for my is my course of study, physics (which is also the topic of my research). Do you guys think this would be an appropriate topic for a diversity essay?

 

[FrkyBgStok]

Hell no.

 

[Josh7]

hell no.

+1

 

[TheMightySmiter]

If you are not really diverse, it is usually best to approach this question by explaining a situation or experience in which you learned to appreciate diversity or had to come to terms with cultural differences.

 

[Doctor Strange]

No. Just no. There are probably thousands of applicants that are physics majors.

 

[lobo.solo]

Hell no.

Jejeje, hell to the no.

 

[Taranis]

If you are not really diverse, it is usually best to approach this question by explaining a situation or experience in which you learned to appreciate diversity or had to come to terms with cultural differences.

Would that even be answering the question though? They are asking how you can contribute to the diversity of the class, not for you to explain your appreciation for diversity.

 

[BigBlueBear]

Would that even be answering the question though? They are asking how you can contribute to the diversity of the class, not for you to explain your appreciation for diversity.

Make up some bull. (My solution to everything)

 

[Taranis]

So even if I included aspects outside of the my studies (i.e. research in physics, fascinaiton from a young age, etc) this would still be a bad idea? I know its not great, but I don't have much to work with. Even though I put a ton of hours into my ECs they aren't unique at all (hospital volunteering, research, medical first responder, international volunteering, orchestra club)

 

[Josh7]

So even if I included aspects outside of the my studies (i.e. research in physics, fascinaiton from a young age, etc) this would still be a bad idea? I know its not great, but I don't have much to work with. Even though I put a ton of hours into my ECs they aren't unique at all (hospital volunteering, research, medical first responder, international volunteering, orchestra club)

Orchestra club sounds somewhat unique

 

[are we ther yet]

Dude, you went to McGill; talk about living in a bilingual province that battled for language rights. Montreal is like no other city in Canada, and the culture there had to shape you and make you unique in someway. Talk about character and experiences, everyone is different, there has to be something that doesn't involve your major! Do you speak french? if not, did ever run into difficulties or were you ever treated differently for not speaking french? Did you learn anything from that experience? did you make a sign in only english and get fined 🙂. Something, but not physics.

 

[Ansar]

So even if I included aspects outside of the my studies (i.e. research in physics, fascinaiton from a young age, etc) this would still be a bad idea?

Yeah, it doesn't sound good...

Maybe I'm thinking of it wrong, but heck, if you start talking about how Physics is so awesome and stuff, AdComs might even wonder why you're applying to medical school, as you're so enthusiastic about physics

 

[von Matterhorn]

Just make something up. 80% of my application is a fabrication of reality. All of these essays on what makes me culturally competent and whatnot... I'm NOT. I'm like you - a white boy in an upper middle-class family in a normal town. There is nothing exceptionally diverse about me. If everyone told the absolute truth on med school applications, there would be a lot of unfilled seats. Just a fact of the matter.

 

[Bangersandmash]

Your DNA sequence is unique. You could talk about that.

 

[Nymphicus]

Dude, you went to McGill; talk about living in a bilingual province that battled for language rights. Montreal is like no other city in Canada, and the culture there had to shape you and make you unique in someway. Talk about character and experiences, everyone is different, there has to be something that doesn't involve your major! Do you speak french? if not, did ever run into difficulties or were you ever treated differently for not speaking french? Did you learn anything from that experience? did you make a sign in only english and get fined 🙂. Something, but not physics.

Beautiful 👍

 

[ShenanigansMD]

Dude, you don't want to discuss something that is already on your application, like your college major.

Bring something new to the table.

 

[grapepopsicle]

Dude, you don't want to discuss something that is already on your application, like your college major.

Bring something new to the table.

I disagree. We give a ton of information in our application. Why arbitrarily limit yourself to information not on it? Your race, foreign language(s), place of upbringing, socioeconomic status, other career(s), etc. are all perfectly acceptable topics that are listed in other parts of your app.

OP, here's a good quote from LizzyM:

What background and strengths do you have that will contribute to the class?

Think of it this way, when you get together to discuss a case, and another case, and another whether in a small group classroom setting or in a clinical care setting, what arcane knowledge do you bring to the table based on your upbringing and experiences?

Maybe you are familiar with training routines and injuries common to runners as well as some standard prevention tips. Same goes for musicians who play your instrument(s). That sort of "insider" information forms the basis for an informal curriculum shared among students.

If all you've done is take a bunch of physics classes, then there are probably better topics. (I really like the idea someone had about Montreal language politics) But if you have something more experiential to talk about it, then Physics isn't a bad topic. Remember, what you write about is much less important than how you present it.

 

[MrBrightside167]

your dna sequence is unique. You could talk about that.

 

[Yonko Shanks]

Just make something up. 80% of my application is a fabrication of reality. All of these essays on what makes me culturally competent and whatnot... I'm NOT. I'm like you - a white boy in an upper middle-class family in a normal town. There is nothing exceptionally diverse about me. If everyone told the absolute truth on med school applications, there would be a lot of unfilled seats. Just a fact of the matter.

lol.

Med school applications where lies are ok.

 

[Praefectus]

I'm sure you've interacted with some minority group at some point. Could you weasel out a story from that?

 

[mimelim]

There is a ton of mis-information in this thread. The fact that you are a Physics major does not make you 'diverse'. As someone else has pointed out, there are other Physics majors applying for medical school every cycle. But the same can be said for one's ethnic background, socio-economic upbringing etc. That isn't the point of the diversity questions in an application. Why are YOU unique? What makes you different from the other applicants that should make medical schools want you in their class? How are you going to bring something different to the table for the betterment of your classmates and your school?

You chose to do a Physics major. It is highly unlikely that you simply defaulted to Physics. (Unlike 90%+ of other undergraduates) Do you feel different than other pre-meds? Do YOU think that you have something different to offer? I think most Physics majors have two things they can talk about 1) The fact that they are wired differently and chose to pursue something different/unusual for someone also interested in medicine and 2) An undergraduate training focused on problem solving from day 1, not rote memorization. Obviously every person's undergraduate experience is different and not every Physics department/curriculum is the same. I can only guess, but the reason you are asking this question is because you feel like you have had a different experience growing up and doing a Physics major that most people can not claim. Do not focus on the fact that you did a Physics major. Focus on YOU and cite being a Physics major as simply being a manifestation of that. It is easy to express how that unique background will suit you well in medicine.

I think I was one of the best prepared in my medical school class largely because of my Physics background. A lot of pre-meds and people in general assume that because the raw content of your undergraduate classes isn't tested in medical school it won't help you. The reality is virtually none of the content you learn in undergrad helps. What helps are the skills that you pick up. Study habits, drive, interpersonal skills, ability to reason through problems etc. etc. I'm sure there are Physics majors that see what you major in as being "just a bunch of classes in a particular field", but they would be the minority. If you feel like you have something that most pre-meds are lacking, then bring it up and spotlight it. THAT is what adcoms are looking for.

 

[ur2l8]

there is a ton of mis-information in this thread. The fact that you are a physics major does not make you 'diverse'. As someone else has pointed out, there are other physics majors applying for medical school every cycle. But the same can be said for one's ethnic background, socio-economic upbringing etc. That isn't the point of the diversity questions in an application. Why are you unique? What makes you different from the other applicants that should make medical schools want you in their class? How are you going to bring something different to the table for the betterment of your classmates and your school?

You chose to do a physics major. It is highly unlikely that you simply defaulted to physics. (unlike 90%+ of other undergraduates) do you feel different than other pre-meds? Do you think that you have something different to offer? I think most physics majors have two things they can talk about 1) the fact that they are wired differently and chose to pursue something different/unusual for someone also interested in medicine and 2) an undergraduate training focused on problem solving from day 1, not rote memorization. Obviously every person's undergraduate experience is different and not every physics department/curriculum is the same. I can only guess, but the reason you are asking this question is because you feel like you have had a different experience growing up and doing a physics major that most people can not claim. Do not focus on the fact that you did a physics major. Focus on you and cite being a physics major as simply being a manifestation of that. It is easy to express how that unique background will suit you well in medicine.

I think i was one of the best prepared in my medical school class largely because of my physics background. A lot of pre-meds and people in general assume that because the raw content of your undergraduate classes isn't tested in medical school it won't help you. The reality is virtually none of the content you learn in undergrad helps. What helps are the skills that you pick up. Study habits, drive, interpersonal skills, ability to reason through problems etc. Etc. I'm sure there are physics majors that see what you major in as being "just a bunch of classes in a particular field", but they would be the minority. If you feel like you have something that most pre-meds are lacking, then bring it up and spotlight it. That is what adcoms are looking for.

+1

 

[KnuxNole]

lol.

Med school applications where lies are ok.

Applies to every other field too. There are stuff where people have to lie. Like thinking of hardships/greatest challenge: think of all the people that hasn't had one...they probably stretched the truth.

Not saying that lying is the way to go, but in a way, I can understand that some people don't have anything to put in the diversity part.

 

[wjs010]

lol.

Med school applications where lies are ok.

biggest liar of med school app detected.

 

[circulus vitios]

Just make something up. 80% of my application is a fabrication of reality. All of these essays on what makes me culturally competent and whatnot... I'm NOT. I'm like you - a white boy in an upper middle-class family in a normal town. There is nothing exceptionally diverse about me. If everyone told the absolute truth on med school applications, there would be a lot of unfilled seats. Just a fact of the matter.

👍

 

[PingPongPro]

They key is to be creative with these essay questions. I think people often make the mistake of thinking that diversity is asking only about your demographics.

Instead of asking yourself how you might be diverse, try rephrasing the question to say "what about you or your experiences set you apart from other applicants". If you are still unable to really think of something that makes you unique, then maybe the harsh reality is that other applicants are better suited to attend med school. This secondary is essentially asking you what qualities/background you possess that should merit an acceptance to their school. Being a physics major (more common than you probably think) alone does not make you diverse, but you can definitely use it as a focal point to talk about yourself.

For many applications, the diversity secondary is your best opportunity to set yourself apart from the field and sell yourself to the school. Keep in mind that your essay should center around you and not the specific quality/trait/experience that makes you diverse.

 

[circulus vitios]

They key is to be creative with these essay questions. I think people often make the mistake of thinking that diversity is asking only about your demographics.

Instead of asking yourself how you might be diverse, try rephrasing the question to say "what about you or your experiences set you apart from other applicants". If you are still unable to really think of something that makes you unique, then maybe the harsh reality is that other applicants are better suited to attend med school. This secondary is essentially asking you what qualities/background you possess that should merit an acceptance to their school. Being a physics major (more common than you probably think) alone does not make you diverse, but you can definitely use it as a focal point to talk about yourself.

For many applications, the diversity secondary is your best opportunity to set yourself apart from the field and sell yourself to the school. Keep in mind that your essay should center around you and not the specific quality/trait/experience that makes you diverse.

Is this what the application process has come to? We're not qualified to be physicians if we aren't unique in some idiotic way?

 

[PingPongPro]

Is this what the application process has come to? We're not qualified to be physicians if we aren't unique in some idiotic way?

I guess "unique" wasn't the best word to describe what I was trying to say. I meant to say that you need to state why a school should accept you over other candidates.

 

[mimelim]

Is this what the application process has come to? We're not qualified to be physicians if we aren't unique in some idiotic way?

It isn't about being qualified. There are a limited number of spots for a large number of applicants. Being a good student is a marker for being a good physician, which is why schools use grades and standardized tests as part of their process. But the reality is that being a good student is a small fraction of what is important for becoming a good physician. You can call it idiotic, but what he is saying is correct. Applicants are easily replaceable, there are tons of people with good grades and scores and in the end, the difference between a 3.5 and a 3.7 is minimal compared to the range of differences in a person's other characteristics which are much harder to quantify. It isn't about being unique. It is about being better suited for the spot.

 

[circulus vitios]

It isn't about being qualified. There are a limited number of spots for a large number of applicants. Being a good student is a marker for being a good physician, which is why schools use grades and standardized tests as part of their process. But the reality is that being a good student is a small fraction of what is important for becoming a good physician. You can call it idiotic, but what he is saying is correct. Applicants are easily replaceable, there are tons of people with good grades and scores and in the end, the difference between a 3.5 and a 3.7 is minimal compared to the range of differences in a person's other characteristics which are much harder to quantify. It isn't about being unique. It is about being better suited for the spot.

It's not about being better suited for anything. Lying our way through a diversity prompt is not indicative of any future success or failure as a medical student or physician. Admit that the admissions process is a bull****ter's game.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

I disagree. We give a ton of information in our application. Why arbitrarily limit yourself to information not on it? Your race, foreign language(s), place of upbringing, socioeconomic status, other career(s), etc. are all perfectly acceptable topics that are listed in other parts of your app.

Touche, but there are a good number of physics majors who apply.

 

[mimelim]

It's not about being better suited for anything. Lying our way through a diversity prompt is not indicative of any future success or failure as a medical student or physician. Admit that the admissions process is a bull****ter's game.

I never indicated that a person should lie about anything on their application. That is just about one of the stupidest things one can do. The problem for most pre-meds is that they think that the admissions process starts when they start working on their application. The reality is that it starts years earlier. The people who have a hard time coming up with things to write about/talk about are the ones that got good grades and did the minimum when it came to everything else. It isn't about spending the hours, it is about doing something productive with your time and truly engaging with activities. Pre-meds often fall into the trap about activity hours rather than doing productive things with their time. Look at SDN, how many hours threads do we have a week? If you don't think you are better suited to become a physician than the vast majority of the people around you, then why should you get one of the limited spots available?

I don't know about you, but when people up-talk activities and experiences it comes off as artificial and transparent. Obviously different people are better than others, but people who do worthwhile things with their time either don't have to explain because their results are obvious or explaining is trivial.

I am by no means implying that any admissions process is perfect. There are always things that shouldn't happen that happen. But it isn't a crap shoot by any means. The people that complain about medical admissions are the ones who complain about clerkship grading and the match. Luck and fortune are a part of any process, but it does not make or break anyone. The sooner you realize this, the better off you will be.

 

[circulus vitios]

I never indicated that a person should lie about anything on their application. That is just about one of the stupidest things one can do. The problem for most pre-meds is that they think that the admissions process starts when they start working on their application. The reality is that it starts years earlier. The people who have a hard time coming up with things to write about/talk about are the ones that got good grades and did the minimum when it came to everything else. It isn't about spending the hours, it is about doing something productive with your time and truly engaging with activities. Pre-meds often fall into the trap about activity hours rather than doing productive things with their time. Look at SDN, how many hours threads do we have a week? If you don't think you are better suited to become a physician than the vast majority of the people around you, then why should you get one of the limited spots available?

I don't know about you, but when people up-talk activities and experiences it comes off as artificial and transparent. Obviously different people are better than others, but people who do worthwhile things with their time either don't have to explain because their results are obvious or explaining is trivial.

I am by no means implying that any admissions process is perfect. There are always things that shouldn't happen that happen. But it isn't a crap shoot by any means. The people that complain about medical admissions are the ones who complain about clerkship grading and the match. Luck and fortune are a part of any process, but it does not make or break anyone. The sooner you realize this, the better off you will be.

I'm bitter because extracurricular activities are an unwritten rule, a point of judgement to make up for a poorly engineered and poorly executed admissions process. I don't like volunteerism, I don't enjoy volunteerism, I'm not passionate about volunteerism. People who hate volunteering -- that is, the vast majority of pre-meds and medical students, as evident by them giving up volunteering once they gain admission into medical school -- are forced to grind through hundreds of "meaningful" and "insightful" volunteering hours, so we can bull**** our way through diversity and service essays. Again, the hours, no matter how meaningful they are, add nothing. They're just another point of judgement.

 

[mimelim]

I'm bitter because extracurricular activities are an unwritten rule, a point of judgement to make up for a poorly engineered and poorly executed admissions process. I don't like volunteerism, I don't enjoy volunteerism, I'm not passionate about volunteerism. People who hate volunteering -- that is, the vast majority of pre-meds and medical students, as evident by them giving up volunteering once they gain admission into medical school -- are forced to grind through hundreds of "meaningful" and "insightful" volunteering hours, so we can bull**** our way through diversity and service essays. Again, the hours, no matter how meaningful they are, add nothing. They're just another point of judgement.

I would not consider volunteering alone to be worth much. Give me the person who made a non-profit more efficient over the person who volunteered at the non-profit for 1000+ hours. If all you get out of an activity is hours that can be put on an application, you shouldn't be doing it. To be honest, I can't remember what I had as volunteerism on my med school app, couldn't have been more than 40-50 hours of almost nothing. Residency I had zero. And I interviewed wherever I wanted for both processes. I'm not saying that volunteerism is bad or not looked at positively. What I'm saying is that there is a lot more that can be done as an undergrad or medical student than showing up at free clinics or working at a non-profit. It is more about improving yourself and proving that you can work effectively than it is about the raw number of hours you sat around doing something that virtually anyone could.

Take home point: there are 168 hours in a week, if you sleep 8 hours a day, that is 112 waking hours remaining. How do you fill those hours? Do you know how much can be produced in that time? If you can't find something that you did in the 3 years of undergrad before applying to medical school worth selling to adcoms, you have wasted your time.

 

[HughMyron]

As part of the essay? Yes.

As all of it? No.

 

[bearofthesnow]

OP, I am in a similar situation as you and my main "diverse" qualities are having a theater minor and being an officer in very different organizations. I spoke about lessons/skills I learned and how I will benefit the school as a medical student with my unique experiences.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Hell no.

If you are not really diverse, it is usually best to approach this question by explaining a situation or experience in which you learned to appreciate diversity or had to come to terms with cultural differences.

These are the best posts for ur situation, OP

 

[Taranis]

Ok thanks, alot of this information has been very helpful. I think I'm going to use my physics background as a portion of the essay, and make the focus on my special aptitude for problem solving (Also will mention how I built a functional scanning probe microscope nearly from scratch and talk about my thinking-intensive research). Honestly I think its the more diverse thing about me, and if it doesn't work out and the adcoms think it's terrible, it's only for 1 or 2 schools, so I don't think this is going to make or break my application cycle.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Ok thanks, alot of this information has been very helpful. I think I'm going to use my physics background as a portion of the essay, and make the focus on my special aptitude for problem solving (Also will mention how I built a functional scanning probe microscope nearly from scratch and talk about my thinking-intensive research). Honestly I think its the more diverse thing about me, and if it doesn't work out and the adcoms think it's terrible, it's only for 1 or 2 schools, so I don't think this is going to make or break my application cycle.

I wouldn't do that. Abilities are not diversity and simply should not be discussed in this portion of the application. The ADCOM wants you to demonstrate your understanding of the human condition. If you spout off a bunch of academic crap (regardless of how interesting or impressive) you are almost certainly asking to be handed a rejection. This is the opportunity for you to humanize yourself. Talk about that other stuff in the appropriate fields.

 

[mimelim]

I wouldn't do that. Abilities are not diversity and simply should not be discussed in this portion of the application. The ADCOM wants you to demonstrate your understanding of the human condition. If you spout off a bunch of academic crap (regardless of how interesting or impressive) you are almost certainly asking to be handed a rejection. This is the opportunity for you to humanize yourself. Talk about that other stuff in the appropriate fields.

Source or data to back this up in any way?

 

[SpecterGT260]

Source or data to back this up in any way?

If you aren't joking this is quite honestly the most ironic post I have ever seen. I tell the OP to put the sciencey stuff in the other sections and to be a person in this section, and you ask for data 🙄 Fine, have it your way - the diversity essay should be a breakdown of your ethnic, cultural, and religious influences by % to the 9th significant digit with error values for each. I would also include a table with normal demographics for matriculants and p values for any sub-categories in which you are significantly different from the norm. Science that bitch up, dawg!

Most of these essays state "describe something about yourself or an event in your life that gave you a better understanding of diversity" or some jive like that. It isn't asking "how are you more diverse" so writing about your problem solving skills or your cool microscope is only going to demonstrate to the adcom that you cannot read - such a response simply doesn't answer the question. Med admissions isn't the legal system and you cannot exploit loopholes in wording to sneak a crappy essay by them. They will sniff it out and put you in the "lets laugh about this over lunch later" pile.

I did mine about having family living in rural areas and growing up urban. It was pretty weak, but at least answered the question. The more honest answer would have been "Because I am a young white male from an upper-middle class background and affirmative action is making me and my people scarce in the professional landscape" but I think this would have fared only slightly worse than an answer about academics.

 

[mimelim]

My point is that it is purely your opinion that a section that asks about diversity refers to purely ethnic and socio-economic attributes, things that are largely outside the control of the applicant. As you pointed out, adcoms aren't stupid. Diversity of a medical school class is more than just those two things. They are looking for people with different backgrounds that will end up producing something if given the opportunity to go to medical school.

Have you ever served on an adcom committee? Ever asked one what they are looking for when it comes to diversity questions? I have. My data set is my opinion having reviewed these essays on committees focused on what kind of applicants a school should be looking for and conversations with a former HMS adcom that I'm close with. I asked the point blank question, "What does the middle-upper class white student with a good family and standard undergraduate experience write about for diversity?"

He told me that I was insulting him and other adcoms by assuming that they were looking for every applicant to write about cultural diversity in a generic diversity essay. They aren't stupid. They know that the vast majority of applicants did not have ethnic or socio-economic hardship growing up. Assuming that they care more about fitting a narrow view of diversity rather than trying to find a truly diverse student body is just silly.

Make no mistake. I have never indicated or claimed to have talked to every adcom in the country about this. There will be some variation. However, I think I have very good reason to believe that talking about what makes you a good addition to create a diverse student body in an essay will not be looked down on. Again, this is why I asked what your opinion was based on. If you said, well I asked a bunch of adcoms about it and when I participated as a medical student in adcom meetings that was the feeling I got. It might mean something...

 

[Taranis]

If you aren't joking this is quite honestly the most ironic post I have ever seen. I tell the OP to put the sciencey stuff in the other sections and to be a person in this section, and you ask for data 🙄 Fine, have it your way - the diversity essay should be a breakdown of your ethnic, cultural, and religious influences by % to the 9th significant digit with error values for each. I would also include a table with normal demographics for matriculants and p values for any sub-categories in which you are significantly different from the norm. Science that bitch up, dawg!

Most of these essays state "describe something about yourself or an event in your life that gave you a better understanding of diversity" or some jive like that. It isn't asking "how are you more diverse" so writing about your problem solving skills or your cool microscope is only going to demonstrate to the adcom that you cannot read - such a response simply doesn't answer the question. Med admissions isn't the legal system and you cannot exploit loopholes in wording to sneak a crappy essay by them. They will sniff it out and put you in the "lets laugh about this over lunch later" pile.

I did mine about having family living in rural areas and growing up urban. It was pretty weak, but at least answered the question. The more honest answer would have been "Because I am a young white male from an upper-middle class background and affirmative action is making me and my people scarce in the professional landscape" but I think this would have fared only slightly worse than an answer about academics.

The questions I am doing this for states: "What in your background or your experiences will uniquely contribute to this learning environment?", so I'm not sure if this is a true 'diversity' essay, I should have been more specific. I don't think there's anything that necessarily suggests that it should be about the human side of medicine (and I talked about that in other parts of my app), unless I am missing something.

 

[SpecterGT260]

My point is that it is purely your opinion that a section that asks about diversity refers to purely ethnic and socio-economic attributes, things that are largely outside the control of the applicant. As you pointed out, adcoms aren't stupid. Diversity of a medical school class is more than just those two things. They are looking for people with different backgrounds that will end up producing something if given the opportunity to go to medical school.

This is not what I said. I said this section is to be used to demonstrate that you are a person, not that you have experienced hardship. Otherwise yes, purely my opinion. I figured that part was obvious.

Have you ever served on an adcom committee? Ever asked one what they are looking for when it comes to diversity questions? I have. My data set is my opinion having reviewed these essays on committees focused on what kind of applicants a school should be looking for and conversations with a former HMS adcom that I'm close with. I asked the point blank question, "What does the middle-upper class white student with a good family and standard undergraduate experience write about for diversity?"

I have not been on an adcom myself (and to be honest, the upper class medical students who participate don't really contribute anything meaningful in my experience and opinion. It is a CV line filler at best - so depending on your school's admissions structure.....)

I have spoken with adcoms and gotten input on what they are looking for in essays. This was after 1 failed cycle followed by a successful cycle

He told me that I was insulting him and other adcoms by assuming that they were looking for every applicant to write about cultural diversity in a generic diversity essay. They aren't stupid. They know that the vast majority of applicants did not have ethnic or socio-economic hardship growing up. Assuming that they care more about fitting a narrow view of diversity rather than trying to find a truly diverse student body is just silly.

again, I made no indication that adcoms were adhering to some narrow definition of diversity. I simply said "talking about building your academic achievements is missing the point". Do you disagree?

Make no mistake. I have never indicated or claimed to have talked to every adcom in the country about this. There will be some variation. However, I think I have very good reason to believe that talking about what makes you a good addition to create a diverse student body in an essay will not be looked down on. Again, this is why I asked what your opinion was based on. If you said, well I asked a bunch of adcoms about it and when I participated as a medical student in adcom meetings that was the feeling I got. It might mean something...

simply from information gathered by talking to successful applicants, unsuccessful applicants (myself in both groups), adcoms, and a little common sense.

 

[SpecterGT260]

The questions I am doing this for states: "What in your background or your experiences will uniquely contribute to this learning environment?", so I'm not sure if this is a true 'diversity' essay, I should have been more specific. I don't think there's anything that necessarily suggests that it should be about the human side of medicine (and I talked about that in other parts of my app), unless I am missing something.

you may be able to get away with it - you haven't described a particularly strong essay in my opinion. Unless our harvard grad has any legitimate advice to give rather than critiques on advice given, I would say it is time to make the best decision you can with the information available and, good luck 👍

I don't know about you, but when people up-talk activities and experiences it comes off as artificial and transparent.

I am curious if you realize that my post was saying exactly this.....

 

[mimelim]

again, I made no indication that adcoms were adhering to some narrow definition of diversity. I simply said "talking about building your academic achievements is missing the point". Do you disagree?

I agree. You should not be simply describing your academic achievements in a diversity essay. Read my initial post in this thread, I do not advocate doing that at all. For many students what they bring to the table is demonstrated by their achievement in academics, sport, research, humanitarianism as well as non-modifiable experiences like growing up in a particular ethnic group or in socio-economic hardship. Describing any of those things in detail is a waste of space in a diversity essay or even your personal statement. What matters is how those things impacted you as a person and has put you in a position to enter medical school and succeed.

When I say up-talk I mean exaggerating one's impact or involvement. It isn't up-talking if you actually learned something or grew because of an experience, regardless of how small the experience actually was.

 

[12221989]

i agree. You should not be simply describing your academic achievements in a diversity essay. Read my initial post in this thread, i do not advocate doing that at all. For many students what they bring to the table is demonstrated by their achievement in academics, sport, research, humanitarianism as well as non-modifiable experiences like growing up in a particular ethnic group or in socio-economic hardship. Describing any of those things in detail is a waste of space in a diversity essay or even your personal statement. What matters is how those things impacted you as a person and has put you in a position to enter medical school and succeed.

When i say up-talk i mean exaggerating one's impact or involvement. It isn't up-talking if you actually learned something or grew because of an experience, regardless of how small the experience actually was.

+1 this

 

[gyngyn]

Admittedly,admissions is an imperfect art. It is not "volunteerism" that is required but evidence of a committment to service. The aspects of the application process that cause you such pain are intended to help identify qualities that are desired by both patients and peers, such as: integrity and ethics, reliability and dependability, service orientation, social and interpersonal skills, capacity for improvement, resilience and adaptability, inclusion, and teamwork.

"Volunteering" is not required. It is just a marker for the desired qualities. Show the committee how you have them in abundance and you are golden.

Bitterness is a particularly undesired characteristic, by the way.

 

[circulus vitios]

Admittedly,admissions is an imperfect art. It is not "volunteerism" that is required but evidence of a committment to service. The aspects of the application process that cause you such pain are intended to help identify qualities that are desired by both patients and peers, such as: integrity and ethics, reliability and dependability, service orientation, social and interpersonal skills, capacity for improvement, resilience and adaptability, inclusion, and teamwork.

"Volunteering" is not required. It is just a marker for the desired qualities. Show the committee how you have them in abundance and you are golden.

Bitterness is a particularly undesired characteristic, by the way.

Retail work experiences would exemplify most of the qualities, yet it is not a valid experience. Clinical volunteerism isn't required, yet >85% of matriculants have volunteering experience. I'm forced to volunteer.

Volunteering -- working for free -- sucks. Bitterness should be expected.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Retail work experiences would exemplify most of the qualities, yet it is not a valid experience. Clinical volunteerism isn't required, yet >85% of matriculants have volunteering experience. I'm forced to volunteer.

Volunteering -- working for free -- sucks. Bitterness should be expected.

and hidden 😉