Personal history at NYU GSAS - tone?

[dreid]

Hello everyone,

My question is a somewhat...particular one, so apologies in advance if this seems like it is wasting anyone's time!

I am in the process of applying to Comparative Literature at NYU, and there is the option to include a personal history statement to explain how "your background will add to the diversity of our school". I am British, with experience living abroad, studying languages and volunteering/participating in community outreach initiatives, so I think I will try and work some of those things into the statement.

However, I also come from a pretty chaotic working-class background - without going into too much detail, my family is enormous, my mother is a baker and my father is a butcher, and the whole situation made applying for undergraduate programs a bit of a challenge (you try writing a coherent college essay in a house full of twelve noisy people, with cakes covering every available surface and half the village trooping through the kitchen!). I am considering including this aspect of my background in the statement, but whenever I try to articulate it, it just sounds  comical - which, to be fair, it is. So I guess my question is, how do I go about this? I know that NYU is a very liberal place, so maybe explaining the bizarre eccentricities of my upbringing would work in my favor (I don't know if it makes me a more "diverse" candidate, but it might make me a more memorable one!). But, then again, it also might make me come across as someone who isn't taking the application seriously.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom to help me out with navigating this? Thank you so much!

[klavierstucke]

In fact, I think GSAS would be more interested in that background than the earlier things you mention (though by all means talk about those too). I would imagine this is a unique background among those applying to grad school, so it would definitely make you a more "diverse" candidate. I would recommend not focusing too much on the little details, you will want to discuss more the bigger picture--how your experience living in a huge working-class household affected your ability to succeed, informed your decision to pursue grad school, your research interests. Don't  excise all the humor from it, but be frank and direct about it, and I am sure it will come across appropriately.

I just submitted my app to NYU GSAS. For my personal statement I included about one page single-spaced that just mentions a few things I thought were important. In any case, I've read everywhere the personal statement can only help you. Good luck!

Edited November 29, 2018 by klavierstucke

[dreid]

@klavierstucke wow, that’s incredibly helpful! Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. Wishing you the very best of luck with your applications too!