Diversity, Hardships, etc.

[breezyisaa]

I was talking to someone who attended Berkeley and they were saying that certain schools (like Berkeley) put weight on certain types of backgrounds, mostly diverse backgrounds that include hardships.  This person thought I should highlight these things, but I don't know.  I hate focusing on these type of things and it would feel like whining or an attempt at manipulation, but I'm not objective.  If I just look at my sorry background then I'm a multi-racial (white, asian, native hawaiian) female, first person to graduate from college in my family, daughter of an immigrant/veteran/laborer, grew up in a barrio with gang violence/shootings, and had a violent home with mental illness...yeah.   But do I really want to talk about these things?  Not really.  I guess I overcame some stuff, but like most people my life has not been so one-sided.  There were good things, too.  My biggest hurdle has really been being the first person to navigate college.  My parents thought it was great that I was going to college so they had no advice and no insights.   And no one else ever told me anything.  If I knew then what I know now, I would have done things differently (but who wouldn't?).  Anyhow, thoughts about this?  Any experience with this kind of thing?

[immunology_nonmodel]

You should definitely highlight these aspects that make you stand out as an applicant. You should keep the tone positive by presenting the unique challenges you have faced (yes, other people may have faced these challenges, but the large majority has not), and describing how you worked very hard to overcome these challenges to succeed. Your academic performance will be evaluated equally with peers, but if you are as academically competitive as your peers, and on top of that have overcome these challenges, you are a unique candidate better prepared than anyone else for a challenging professional life. 

 

 

To give you an idea, I am gay and fell in love with my husband, who is Chilean. At the time, DOMA was unchallenged, and there was no way for me to sponsor my husband’s green card to come to the U.S. with me, where I was ready to begin a Ph.D. (accepted with full stipend). I decided to decline the offer, move to my husband's country as an exile, and wait it out. When DOMA was overturned, I applied to grad school and got into one of my top choices, and am better positioned today to tackle a Ph.D. than I was before facing this difficult period of discrimination. I was also awarded the NSF GRFP in 2014, after having applied in the past unsuccessfully in 2008 and 2009.

 

 

I made my situation clear in all of my applications. I wrote supplementary extenuating circumstances or diversity essays for all of the applications. For some, I don't think they were impressed and they may have been turned off by the marriage aspect, but if they aren't interested in diversity then I don't want to join their team to begin with. If you have experienced a challenge that interrupted your education that can be explained in the context of diversity or adversity you can submit a separate extenuating circumstances essay. If you have had a continuous academic record, it may be best to mention these things in your personal statement in the context of how you are capable of meeting objectives despite experiencing a level of adversity unparalleled to your peers. Finally, describe how you will promote diversity as a future leader in your field. Those universities and departments that promote diversity through designated diversity staff and faculty will likely be receptive to a diversity-oriented essay, whether independent or part of a personal statement.

 

Embrace your diversity with pride, it makes you stronger and will positively influence your professional life. Apart from that, these universities are raking in loads of money from the goverment, and those universities that claim to promote diversity rake in even more. These claims are not idle, they are held accountable by demonstrating that in fact they are accepting diversity applicants into their programs, and if they aren't, then they will lose funding that was dedicated for students like you.  

Edited May 28, 2014 by immunology_nonmodel

[Fun_Cookie]

Using "gay" as a pity story. Sickening.

[immunology_nonmodel]

Yes, there are people who don't understand why diversity is important:

 

Using "gay" as a pity story. Sickening.

 

But, despite their views, it is up to the diversity of this country to speak up about how society has established uneven playing fields, and how we can grow to give all members of society equal opportunity to pursue happiness - whether that be personal or professional. I will not defend my choice to vocalize my point of you and my drive to promote diversity - what is sickening to some is the stark reality of others. 

[Vene]

To give you an idea, I am gay and fell in love with my husband, who is Chilean. At the time, DOMA was unchallenged, and there was no way for me to sponsor my husband’s green card to come to the U.S. with me, where I was ready to begin a Ph.D. (accepted with full stipend). I decided to decline the offer, move to my husband's country as an exile, and wait it out. When DOMA was overturned, I applied to grad school and got into one of my top choices, and am better positioned today to tackle a Ph.D. than I was before facing this difficult period of discrimination. I was also awarded the NSF GRFP in 2014, after having applied in the past unsuccessfully in 2008 and 2009

Congratulations on everything and I'm sorry that my home country was being so stupid with DOMA. Thankfully, we're slowly starting to see reason.

[astroyogi]

Breezyisaa, although our backgrounds are different I was in a similar situation of debating whether or not to highlight the unique challenges I overcame through college in my SOP; I decided to touch on them, but like immunology_nonmodel said, I kept the tone strictly positive and made sure each statement was tied back to the main point I was making about why I would be a good fit for the program or would appreciate the chances a fellowship would give me, etc.

 

I don't think I would make these topics the main points of any essay -- instead, I would use them as bonuses -- like for you, I would say something along the lines of 'look how great I am in this area and this area -- AND I overcame this and am tough as nails, giving me _____(positive attribute) which has helped me succeed in ___.' This strategy worked well for me this application season. 

 

As a warning against taking it too far in the direction of hardship/diversity being the main point of your statement, a friend of mine who was applying to the same programs I did crafted his whole SOP around a loss in his family which had affected his undergraduate career. This was obviously a very important thing to mention, but he did it in such a way that any person who read his SOP took away one message from it: "he had a loss in his family." This hurt him in his applications and he didn't end up where he had wanted to be. I think it's important to make sure that the take-away message of any SOP is "we want this person in our program" and not only "he/she went through a lot." It's a tricky balance to achieve, but certainly I think you should at least state that you have not had the cookie-cutter academic background, because it's clear you're a driven and exceptional individual to make it to where you are today! (congrats, btw.)

[immunology_nonmodel]

Here is the recent edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, highlighting how the importance diversity is emerging in academia: http://chronicle.com/section/Diversity-in-Academe-2014/799/

 

Access is restricted to subscribers, but if you have library access you can probably read it online through a proxy server.

[Lisa44201]

Here is the recent edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, highlighting how the importance diversity is emerging in academia: http://chronicle.com/section/Diversity-in-Academe-2014/799/

 

Access is restricted to subscribers, but if you have library access you can probably read it online through a proxy server.

I find it worth noting that many of the headlines in the Diversity special edition on Chronicle focus on gender and race, but do not include other markers of diversity (i.e., sexual orientation, physical diversity, neurodiversity, etc.), and only a handful mention SES.

[Sigaba]

But do I really want to talk about these things?  Not really.  

 

Ultimately, your comfort level should determine how much of your personal experiences you disclose.

 

However, I think your story is absolutely worth telling. It indicates that you have the type of character that can motivate others to think outside of themselves and to try harder to maximize their potential.

[victorydance]

Breezyisaa, although our backgrounds are different I was in a similar situation of debating whether or not to highlight the unique challenges I overcame through college in my SOP; I decided to touch on them, but like immunology_nonmodel said, I kept the tone strictly positive and made sure each statement was tied back to the main point I was making about why I would be a good fit for the program or would appreciate the chances a fellowship would give me, etc.

 

I don't think I would make these topics the main points of any essay -- instead, I would use them as bonuses -- like for you, I would say something along the lines of 'look how great I am in this area and this area -- AND I overcame this and am tough as nails, giving me _____(positive attribute) which has helped me succeed in ___.' This strategy worked well for me this application season. 

 

As a warning against taking it too far in the direction of hardship/diversity being the main point of your statement, a friend of mine who was applying to the same programs I did crafted his whole SOP around a loss in his family which had affected his undergraduate career. This was obviously a very important thing to mention, but he did it in such a way that any person who read his SOP took away one message from it: "he had a loss in his family." This hurt him in his applications and he didn't end up where he had wanted to be. I think it's important to make sure that the take-away message of any SOP is "we want this person in our program" and not only "he/she went through a lot." It's a tricky balance to achieve, but certainly I think you should at least state that you have not had the cookie-cutter academic background, because it's clear you're a driven and exceptional individual to make it to where you are today! (congrats, btw.)

 

 

Yeah but we're talking about a diversity essay, not a SOP. I wouldn't ever mention any of these things in my SOP (and I have had my fair share of struggles). But for a diversity essay, this is where you get a 'bonus' on these things and you try and drive it home. 

 

My advice, "own it." Don't make it a sob story or make it seem like you are exaggerating, but there is nothing to be too 'proud of.' You are trying to get accepted to Berkeley, take whatever measures you can to achieve it.

Edited May 31, 2014 by HopefulComparativist

[victorydance]

I find it worth noting that many of the headlines in the Diversity special edition on Chronicle focus on gender and race, but do not include other markers of diversity (i.e., sexual orientation, physical diversity, neurodiversity, etc.), and only a handful mention SES.

 

The very first one is first generation students. That is SES.

[Lisa44201]

The very first one is first generation students. That is SES.

Yep. That's one.

[immunology_nonmodel]

I find it worth noting that many of the headlines in the Diversity special edition on Chronicle focus on gender and race, but do not include other markers of diversity (i.e., sexual orientation, physical diversity, neurodiversity, etc.), and only a handful mention SES.

 

I have actually written a letter to the editor regarding this narrow view of diversity. It is worth noting that each year they focus on a different set of diversity issues - 2013 got a few articles on sexual orientation. 

[immunology_nonmodel]

http://chronicle.com/blogs/letters/academia-has-a-place-for-lgbt-scholars/

 

I have actually written a letter to the editor regarding this narrow view of diversity. It is worth noting that each year they focus on a different set of diversity issues - 2013 got a few articles on sexual orientation.