Is being raised by a polyamorous lesbian considered "diverse"?

[brief lives]

having a tough time writing a personal statement, other options include taking care of suicidal women.

[zep]

not sure, but I'm curious what other gradcafe people will say...

[qbtacoma]

Well, what exactly is the field and/or prompting question? Is the application specifically asking if you are "diverse"? Do you have a separate personal statement and SOP, or is it one document? If a separate personal statement is not required, then you probably need to stick to your past work and proposed research in the SOP.

Many people suggest keeping one's SOP focused upon intellectual passions rather than personal background, except in rare cases. This is not because there aren't valid personal reasons for choosing a course of study (for example, if a person you loved died of X disease and now you want to study it) but because grad schools are trying to gauge intellectual ability, engagement, creativity, etc. The SOP's role in the application process (aside from demonstrating your experience and areas of interest) is to show that you can come up with interesting research proposals.

People from your field can give you better advice, however, as the extent to which sharing one's personal experience is acceptable varies by field. I imagine that both your upbringing and past work as a suicide counselor (?) would be helpful to add for certain public policy or social work programs. However, I am speculating.

[UnlikelyGrad]

Just out of curiosity, is this for a UC diversity essay?

I think the answer to your question is definitely yes, but if you included the information, you'd have to phrase the essay very, very carefully. Otherwise some adcomm members might say, "YIKES!! TMI!!"

[Calvin_xc1]

I would think it would qualify, if it's connected to your education and perspective in some way. Myself for example, I'm polyamorous, and included that in my SOP's, however I'm also interested in studying polyamorous populations, and I tied my personal experiences in with a summary of the existing data on the field to drive the point home that not only am I knowledgeable about my field, but I've got a personal interest in sticking with my field.

It really depends on how your experiences tie to your education. Does being raised by a poly lesbian give you a unique perspective in your field? Is that something you can leverage in your studies?

Just my 2c.