Faith in SOP help your chances?

[sacklunch]

I'm curious, do you think being of a certain faith helps your chances getting into a school? For instance, being from a smaller, less represented group, such as Jewish, Eastern-Catholic, ect...does this help you?

I'm also curious, if one identified as an atheist or agnostic, do you think this would help you at more liberal schools?

best

Edited December 5, 2010 by wagnern

[Bukharan]

I, obviously, don't know. But if I were to express my opinion on this I'd say that I do not see how this could play any role in admissions.

Also, would one state his/her faith in SOP? I just immediately think of many academics who would find something like this very strange, if not disturbing (unless stating your faith is somehow linked to your academic/research experience and therefore is justified). SOP is not a diversity statement.

[sacklunch]

My post didn't post...bah...anyways, I think it may be a bit different from history. Also, I'm referring to master level programs, not PhDs. I have friends who mentioned it (like I did) at top schools (Harvard, ND, ect), so I think it may be fairly common.

I agree there is no need to labor it into your statement, but a lot of the top schools seem to be into diversity, so having someone from a different background then what they are used to, I would think, might help you.

My roommates here at BC were just talking about this, so I figured I'd get some input from other folks.

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[sacklunch]

Also, I remember most, if not all, of the places I applied (10 total) had a religion drop menu on their application (all top schools). Of course this was optional, but I have been told by certain people that it might help you with admission.

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[Bukharan]

Right. Makes perfect sense!

As I've said I don't know much about this. Just said what I thought. I personally never came across 'Religion' on any of my applications. Or Sexual Orientation for that matter. Race - yes, on probably all of them, and it was an optional field.

Funnily enough, my religion probably (1) contributed to my current academic interests; (2) is somewhat relevant to what I want to study.

[eklavya]

Also, I remember most, if not all, of the places I applied (10 total) had a religion drop menu on their application (all top schools). Of course this was optional, but I have been told by certain people that it might help you with admission.

best

I remember reading your SoP. Perhaps you have these drop down menus for 'religion' because it applies to your program? When I applied to my programs (7 total, 4 of which are in the top 5), I was not asked about my religion. If I remember correctly, only 2 or 3 schools had asked about ethnicity, but that's all.

I don't think anyone's religion and/or nationality comes into play during the review process. They might be like 'Oh, an applicant from country ABC! Not many people from a predominantly Buddhist/Shinto/Confucianism/etc country apply to this program'. And that should be it. The review and decision process should solely rely on merit and potential of the applicants, and nothing regarding their race, religion and residence. While they might want some diversity in their program, I believe schools care more about the reputation of their program than increasing % of ethnicity and language represented. After all, what good is more diversity if the student cannot perform well and sets up failures for him/herself and the school?