Personal History

[rainy_day]

Can I just vent for a moment? I really, really, really dislike personal history/diversity essays.

It's not specifically the extra work involved in these essays (although that is annoying too), but I just don't think my personal history is any of their business.

You want to judge me based on the "kind of person" I am? Fine! That's what my LORs are for. You want to judge my commitment to diversity issues in my research? By all means. I've provided a lovely statement of purpose and writing sample. But my personal experience with diversity/hardhsip/etc? It's none of your business! And the fact that I have to trot out these very personal experiences to for others' judgement feels like a very serious invasion of my privacy and, ultimately, kind of offensive.

Am I alone in this thinking? How do other people feel about these personal history/diversity statements?

Edited December 13, 2011 by rainy_day

[xfgdfrmgpo332]

Agree completely. It's multiculturalism taken to an absurd extreme.

[sciencegirl]

I think many of them are for funding reasons, so my thought is that you could just opt out and not write them that "personally" -- are you referring to the UC ones? These I am sure are really only used for funding reasons. If you didn't experience any hardship, are well off and don't want to compete for the funding offered by diversity grants then don't answer the question. The statements are mostly a chance for students who have had hardship or feel marginalized have a space to express that. If you don't think it matters and you haven't faced much adversity, then don't answer it.

[rainy_day]

Hey Sciencegirl, Unfortunately the one that prompted this post is required. And it's exactly this idea that bothers me, that if I've felt hardship/been marginalized (which I have) that I would want to, would be happy to, express it. I don't mind the "option" of these essays at all, as I have just opted out. I specifically resent the required statements as an invasion of privacy.

Edited December 13, 2011 by rainy_day

[Timshel]

Yeah, schools like Cornell give it as an option, but the UC school I applied to required it.

[ecritdansleau]

Can I just vent for a moment? I really, really, really dislike personal history/diversity essays.

It's not specifically the extra work involved in these essays (although that is annoying too), but I just don't think my personal history is any of their business.

You want to judge me based on the "kind of person" I am? Fine! That's what my LORs are for. You want to judge my commitment to diversity issues in my research? By all means. I've provided a lovely statement of purpose and writing sample. But my personal experience with diversity/hardhsip/etc? It's none of your business! And the fact that I have to trot out these very personal experiences to for others' judgement feels like a very serious invasion of my privacy and, ultimately, kind of offensive.

Am I alone in this thinking? How do other people feel about these personal history/diversity statements?

I feel a similar unease--partly because..I feel as if the greatest hardships/most diverse identities I have/things I've experienced are precisely the ones that I'm hesitant to include in a professional application. Why? It's hard to explain. The strange thing about it is, basically, many of the things we "overcome" or the identities we carry around with us that can negatively impact our intellectual/academic careers are just the things we might not feel like emphasizing in our application presentations because of the potential negative associations with those identities. Even though obviously I understand that the last intention of the diversity statements is to discriminate, I feel like there end up being these grey areas. Take for instance, someone coming from an economically disadvantaged background. If this were a major aspect of my life/education, warranting me writing about it in a personal history statement...then how do I reconcile that with the other application I came across which said "If you do not require financial aid, this increases your chances of admission". Pair that with the infamous Chronicle article by Benton in which he suggests that choosing graduate school is (basically) a stupider choice for those who are NOT "independently wealthy." Or the reality that, if someone has to pay student loans back, money might be tighter during their PhD studies, which makes them less likely to finish in a shorter time, if at all.

I guess basically my point is that, the attitude of the personal history is "tell us everything; we understand and won't judge" but, *laugh* I've been through enough adversity to realize that certain people DO judge. It almost feels like there is a trick question to it, like in interviews when the interviewer intentionally acts unprofessional to test out how the interviewee reacts in that situation.

I think the main aspect of the original poster's feeling that I really agree with is the sense of privacy invaded...The reality is, one is an applicant--not an admitted student yet, so it feels invasive for them to ask about precisely the things that relate to one's sense of intellectual insecurity (not actual intellectual inferiority, but carrying an aspect of identity that is perceived that way by others). Ideally, diversity statements are something that will have a positive impact on admissions as a whole, but I part of me worries that certain adcoms don't personally have the same outlook on "diversity" as their institution does. I mean, I hope they do--but I worry. I'm paranoid. Obviously, there are going to be a decent number of applications in which the diversity statement will make a student stand out in a way that they rightly deserve. They should have the opportunity to make this part of their application--but perhaps it shouldn't be required for everyone.

[radioalfredio]

This thread makes me really really happy. It's so nice to see that others feel the same way. I'm a first-generation (and lower income) student, so I have plenty of diversity/personal history statement worthy material, but still, it makes me so uncomfortable to reveal myself in such a way to people who I'm trying to impress with my academic accomplishments, not my personal struggles. It also makes me feel insecure (and like a bit of an impostor) to dwell on these issues. I guess if I do end up receiving a diversity fellowship, I'll feel like the playing field has been leveled. Until then, I kind of feel like these essays are less of a chance for me to address the different challenges I've faced in a safe space and just another barrier to higher education.

OK - end rant.

[wintergirl]

I was thankful that at least Berkeley phrased their Diversity Statement in such a way that allowed for a response to pedagogical* and research interests/goals as well as personal challenges.

Due to time constraints (down-to-the-wire online submission), I had to forgo the diversity statement for UCLA, but their statement seemed more straightforward "tell us why you deserve the Costa-Robles Scholarship" or whatever it was that I didn't feel qualified for in the first place.

*ETA: meant to add that I'm currently writing a paper--due tomorrow!--about teaching race on a predominantly white campus. Oi vey. Utah. COME TO MAMA, DIVERSITY.

Edited December 13, 2011 by bespeckled