diversity essay for graduate school

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How To Craft a Diversity Statement for Graduate School Application

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In recent years, more and more institutions of higher education are requesting applicants to graduate programs to write a statement of diversity. A diversity statement, also sometimes referred to as a personal history statement, is used by these institutions to gauge how their future student population will contribute to their ongoing efforts to promote and maintain a culture of equity and inclusion.

Typically, diversity statements are one-page double-spaced documents that highlight how you, as a future student, will foster diversity within the community. The narrative tends to be more personal than that in a statement of purpose, with particular emphasis on cultural competence and understanding of current issues and efforts surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion.  In composing such an essay, it might be helpful to include some of the following elements:

• Statements of values  as they relate to your understanding of historical barriers to diversity, inclusion, equity, and/or justice in higher education and your commitment towards dismantling those barriers. If you belong to a minority population, you can discuss how that experience shaped your outlook on life and your willingness to champion others who are in similar circumstances.
• Examples   of experiences  that highlight your efforts in promoting the success of underrepresented students, peers, and staff and supporting various viewpoints in the classroom, lab, campus, or community. For example, if you have taught a class, how did you ensure equitable learning in that environment? If you have volunteered in underrepresented communities, what did you learn from those interactions? Try to include at least 2-3 relevant experiences, and for any of those be sure to emphasize what you did to promote diverse perspectives.
• Relevant projects and coursework that address topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion. For example, if you have sat in on a workshop on how to address intrinsic or extrinsic bias, you could convey how you incorporated what you learned into your daily living. If you have undertaken a project for a class that touched on issues surrounding diversity, you could highlight that as well.
• Future plans  for continuing to advance inclusive excellence, diversity, or equity in your research, teaching, and service to the campus community. You can also talk about your personal growth as you continue to educate yourself on issues surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion. Be genuine in your narrative and present yourself as a person who is willing to learn and adapt to change.

Should You Self-Disclose Elements of Your Personal Identity?

Although most people are willing to share elements of their personal background and upbringing in their actual statement, it is ok if you do not. Nevertheless, if you do identify as a member of an underrepresented group, reflecting on your personal circumstance might provide context to the values that you articulate in your statement. Additionally, be sure to focus on your own experiences and accomplishments rather than those of your family or loved ones. If you have questions and/or concerns regarding any aspect of the diversity statement, do not hesitate to reach out to your mentors or pre-grad advisors to ask for

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• How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples

How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples

Published on November 1, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Table of contents

What is a diversity essay, identify how you will enrich the campus community, share stories about your lived experience, explain how your background or identity has affected your life, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Diversity essays ask students to highlight an important aspect of their identity, background, culture, experience, viewpoints, beliefs, skills, passions, goals, etc.

Diversity essays can come in many forms. Some scholarships are offered specifically for students who come from an underrepresented background or identity in higher education. At highly competitive schools, supplemental diversity essays require students to address how they will enhance the student body with a unique perspective, identity, or background.

In the Common Application and applications for several other colleges, some main essay prompts ask about how your background, identity, or experience has affected you.

Why schools want a diversity essay

Many universities believe a student body representing different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community.

Through the diversity essay, admissions officers want students to articulate the following:

• What makes them different from other applicants
• Stories related to their background, identity, or experience
• How their unique lived experience has affected their outlook, activities, and goals

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Think about what aspects of your identity or background make you unique, and choose one that has significantly impacted your life.

For some students, it may be easy to identify what sets them apart from their peers. But if you’re having trouble identifying what makes you different from other applicants, consider your life from an outsider’s perspective. Don’t presume your lived experiences are normal or boring just because you’re used to them.

Some examples of identities or experiences that you might write about include the following:

• Race/ethnicity
• Gender identity
• Sexual orientation
• Nationality
• Socioeconomic status
• Immigration background
• Religion/belief system
• Place of residence
• Family circumstances
• Extracurricular activities related to diversity

Include vulnerable, authentic stories about your lived experiences. Maintain focus on your experience rather than going into too much detail comparing yourself to others or describing their experiences.

Keep the focus on you

Tell a story about how your background, identity, or experience has impacted you. While you can briefly mention another person’s experience to provide context, be sure to keep the essay focused on you. Admissions officers are mostly interested in learning about your lived experience, not anyone else’s.

When I was a baby, my grandmother took me in, even though that meant postponing her retirement and continuing to work full-time at the local hairdresser. Even working every shift she could, she never missed a single school play or soccer game.

She and I had a really special bond, even creating our own special language to leave each other secret notes and messages. She always pushed me to succeed in school, and celebrated every academic achievement like it was worthy of a Nobel Prize. Every month, any leftover tip money she received at work went to a special 509 savings plan for my college education.

When I was in the 10th grade, my grandmother was diagnosed with ALS. We didn’t have health insurance, and what began with quitting soccer eventually led to dropping out of school as her condition worsened. In between her doctor’s appointments, keeping the house tidy, and keeping her comfortable, I took advantage of those few free moments to study for the GED.

In school pictures at Raleigh Elementary School, you could immediately spot me as “that Asian girl.” At lunch, I used to bring leftover fun see noodles, but after my classmates remarked how they smelled disgusting, I begged my mom to make a “regular” lunch of sliced bread, mayonnaise, and deli meat.

Although born and raised in North Carolina, I felt a cultural obligation to learn my “mother tongue” and reconnect with my “homeland.” After two years of all-day Saturday Chinese school, I finally visited Beijing for the first time, expecting I would finally belong. While my face initially assured locals of my Chinese identity, the moment I spoke, my cover was blown. My Chinese was littered with tonal errors, and I was instantly labeled as an “ABC,” American-born Chinese.

I felt culturally homeless.

Speak from your own experience

Highlight your actions, difficulties, and feelings rather than comparing yourself to others. While it may be tempting to write about how you have been more or less fortunate than those around you, keep the focus on you and your unique experiences, as shown below.

I began to despair when the FAFSA website once again filled with red error messages.

I had been at the local library for hours and hadn’t even been able to finish the form, much less the other to-do items for my application.

I am the first person in my family to even consider going to college. My parents work two jobs each, but even then, it’s sometimes very hard to make ends meet. Rather than playing soccer or competing in speech and debate, I help my family by taking care of my younger siblings after school and on the weekends.

“We only speak one language here. Speak proper English!” roared a store owner when I had attempted to buy bread and accidentally used the wrong preposition.

In middle school, I had relentlessly studied English grammar textbooks and received the highest marks.

Leaving Seoul was hard, but living in West Orange, New Jersey was much harder一especially navigating everyday communication with Americans.

After sharing relevant personal stories, make sure to provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your perspective, activities, and goals. You should also explain how your background led you to apply to this university and why you’re a good fit.

Include your outlook, actions, and goals

Conclude your essay with an insight about how your background or identity has affected your outlook, actions, and goals. You should include specific actions and activities that you have done as a result of your insight.

One night, before the midnight premiere of Avengers: Endgame , I stopped by my best friend Maria’s house. Her mother prepared tamales, churros, and Mexican hot chocolate, packing them all neatly in an Igloo lunch box. As we sat in the line snaking around the AMC theater, I thought back to when Maria and I took salsa classes together and when we belted out Selena’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” at karaoke. In that moment, as I munched on a chicken tamale, I realized how much I admired the beauty, complexity, and joy in Maria’s culture but had suppressed and devalued my own.

The following semester, I joined Model UN. Since then, I have learned how to proudly represent other countries and have gained cultural perspectives other than my own. I now understand that all cultures, including my own, are equal. I still struggle with small triggers, like when I go through airport security and feel a suspicious glance toward me, or when I feel self-conscious for bringing kabsa to school lunch. But in the future, I hope to study and work in international relations to continue learning about other cultures and impart a positive impression of Saudi culture to the world.

The smell of the early morning dew and the welcoming whinnies of my family’s horses are some of my most treasured childhood memories. To this day, our farm remains so rural that we do not have broadband access, and we’re too far away from the closest town for the postal service to reach us.

Going to school regularly was always a struggle: between the unceasing demands of the farm and our lack of connectivity, it was hard to keep up with my studies. Despite being a voracious reader, avid amateur chemist, and active participant in the classroom, emergencies and unforeseen events at the farm meant that I had a lot of unexcused absences.

Although it had challenges, my upbringing taught me resilience, the value of hard work, and the importance of family. Staying up all night to watch a foal being born, successfully saving the animals from a minor fire, and finding ways to soothe a nervous mare afraid of thunder have led to an unbreakable family bond.

Our farm is my family’s birthright and our livelihood, and I am eager to learn how to ensure the farm’s financial and technological success for future generations. In college, I am looking forward to joining a chapter of Future Farmers of America and studying agricultural business to carry my family’s legacy forward.

Tailor your answer to the university

After explaining how your identity or background will enrich the university’s existing student body, you can mention the university organizations, groups, or courses in which you’re interested.

Maybe a larger public school setting will allow you to broaden your community, or a small liberal arts college has a specialized program that will give you space to discover your voice and identity. Perhaps this particular university has an active affinity group you’d like to join.

Demonstrating how a university’s specific programs or clubs are relevant to you can show that you’ve done your research and would be a great addition to the university.

At the University of Michigan Engineering, I want to study engineering not only to emulate my mother’s achievements and strength, but also to forge my own path as an engineer with disabilities. I appreciate the University of Michigan’s long-standing dedication to supporting students with disabilities in ways ranging from accessible housing to assistive technology. At the University of Michigan Engineering, I want to receive a top-notch education and use it to inspire others to strive for their best, regardless of their circumstances.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

• Writing process
• Transition words
• Passive voice
• Paraphrasing

 Communication

• How to end an email
• Ms, mrs, miss
• How to start an email
• I hope this email finds you well
• Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

• Personal pronouns
• Conjunctions

In addition to your main college essay , some schools and scholarships may ask for a supplementary essay focused on an aspect of your identity or background. This is sometimes called a diversity essay .

Many universities believe a student body composed of different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community, which is why they assign a diversity essay .

To write an effective diversity essay , include vulnerable, authentic stories about your unique identity, background, or perspective. Provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your outlook, activities, and goals. If relevant, you should also mention how your background has led you to apply for this university and why you’re a good fit.

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May 8, 2024

The Diversity Essay: How to Write an Excellent Diversity Essay

What is a diversity essay in a school application? And why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? Most importantly, how should you go about writing such an essay?

Diversity is of supreme value in higher education, and schools want to know how every student will contribute to the diversity on their campus. A diversity essay gives applicants with disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, an unusual education, a distinctive experience, or a unique family history an opportunity to write about how these elements of their background have prepared them to play a useful role in increasing and encouraging diversity among their target program’s student body and broader community.

The purpose of all application essays is to help the adcom better understand who an applicant is and what they care about. Your essays are your chance to share your voice and humanize your application. This is especially true for the diversity essay, which aims to reveal your unique perspectives and experiences, as well as the ways in which you might contribute to a college community.

In this post, we’ll discuss what exactly a diversity essay is, look at examples of actual prompts and a sample essay, and offer tips for writing a standout essay. 

In this post, you’ll find the following: 

What a diversity essay covers

How to show you can add to a school’s diversity, why diversity matters to schools.

• Seven examples that reveal diversity

Sample diversity essay prompts

How to write about your diversity.

• A diversity essay example

Upon hearing the word “diversity” in relation to an application essay, many people assume that they will have to write about gender, sexuality, class, or race. To many, this can feel overly personal or irrelevant, and some students might worry that their identity isn’t unique or interesting enough. In reality, the diversity essay is much broader than many people realize.

Identity means different things to different people. The important thing is that you demonstrate your uniqueness and what matters to you. In addition to writing about one of the traditional identity features we just mentioned (gender, sexuality, class, race), you could consider writing about a more unusual feature of yourself or your life – or even the intersection of two or more identities.

Consider these questions as you think about what to include in your diversity essay:

• Do you have a unique or unusual talent or skill?
• Do you have beliefs or values that are markedly different from those of the people around you? 
• Do you have a hobby or interest that sets you apart from your peers? 
• Have you done or experienced something that few people have? Note that if you choose to write about a single event as a diverse identity feature, that event needs to have had a pretty substantial impact on you and your life. For example, perhaps you’re part of the 0.2% of the world’s population that has run a marathon, or you’ve had the chance to watch wolves hunt in the wild.
• Do you have a role in life that gives you a special outlook on the world? For example, maybe one of your siblings has a rare disability, or you grew up in a town with fewer than 500 inhabitants.

If you are an immigrant to the United States, the child of immigrants, or someone whose ethnicity is underrepresented in the States, your response to “How will you add to the diversity of our class/community?” and similar questions might help your application efforts. Why? Because you have the opportunity to show the adcom how your background will contribute a distinctive perspective to the program you are applying to.

Of course, if you’re not underrepresented in your field or part of a disadvantaged group, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to write about in a diversity essay.

For example, you might have an unusual or special experience to share, such as serving in the military, being a member of a dance troupe, or caring for a disabled relative. These and other distinctive experiences can convey how you will contribute to the diversity of the school’s campus.

Maybe you are the first member of your family to apply to college or the first person in your household to learn English. Perhaps you have worked your way through college or helped raise your siblings. You might also have been an ally to those who are underrepresented, disadvantaged, or marginalized in your community, at your school, or in a work setting. 

As you can see, diversity is not limited to one’s religion, ethnicity, culture, language, or sexual orientation. It refers to whatever element of your identity distinguishes you from others and shows that you, too, value diversity.

The diversity essay provides colleges the chance to build a student body that includes different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, backgrounds, interests, and so on. Applicants are asked to illuminate what sets them apart so that the adcoms can see what kind of diverse views and opinions they can bring to the campus.

Admissions officers believe that diversity in the classroom improves the educational experience of all the students involved. They also believe that having a diverse workforce better serves society as a whole.

The more diverse perspectives found in the classroom, throughout the dorms, in the dining halls, and mixed into study groups, the richer people’s discussions will be.

Plus, learning and growing in this kind of multicultural environment will prepare students for working in our increasingly multicultural and global world.

In medicine, for example, a heterogeneous workforce benefits people from previously underrepresented cultures. Businesses realize that they will market more effectively if they can speak to different audiences, which is possible when members of their workforce come from various backgrounds and cultures. Schools simply want to prepare graduates for the 21st century job market.

Seven examples that reveal diversity

Adcoms want to know about the diverse elements of your character and how these have helped you develop particular  personality traits , as well as about any unusual experiences that have shaped you.

Here are seven examples an applicant could write about:

1. They grew up in an environment with a strong emphasis on respecting their elders, attending family events, and/or learning their parents’ native language and culture.

2. They are close to their grandparents and extended family members who have taught them how teamwork can help everyone thrive.

3. They have had to face difficulties that stem from their parents’ values being in conflict with theirs or those of their peers.

4. Teachers have not always understood the elements of their culture or lifestyle and how those elements influence their performance.

5. They have suffered discrimination and succeeded despite it because of their grit, values, and character.

6. They learned skills from a lifestyle that is outside the norm (e.g., living in foreign countries as the child of a diplomat or contractor; performing professionally in theater, dance, music, or sports; having a deaf sibling).

7. They’ve encountered racism or other prejudice (either toward themselves or others) and responded by actively promoting diverse, tolerant values.

And remember, diversity is not about who your parents are.  It’s about who you are  – at the core.

Your background, influences, religious observances, native language, ideas, work environment, community experiences – all these factors come together to create a unique individual, one who will contribute to a varied class of distinct individuals taking their place in a diverse world.

The best-known diversity essay prompt is from the  Common App . It states:

“Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”

Some schools have individual diversity essay prompts. For example, this one is from  Duke University :

“We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.” 

And the  Rice University application includes the following prompt:

“Rice is strengthened by its diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders and change agents across the spectrum of human endeavor. What perspectives shaped by your background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity inspire you to join our community of change agents at Rice?”

In all instances, colleges want you to demonstrate how and what you’ll contribute to their communities.

Your answer to a school’s diversity essay question should focus on how your experiences have built your empathy for others, your embrace of differences, your resilience, your character, and your perspective.

The school might ask how you think of diversity or how you will bring or add to the diversity of the school, your chosen profession, or your community. Make sure you answer the specific question posed by highlighting distinctive elements of your profile that will add to the class mosaic every adcom is trying to create. You don’t want to blend in; you want to stand out in a positive way while also complementing the school’s canvas.

Here’s a simple, three-part framework that will help you think of diversity more broadly:

Who are you? What has contributed to your identity? How do you distinguish yourself? Your identity can include any of the following: gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, nontraditional work experience, nontraditional educational background, multicultural background, and family’s educational level.

What have you done? What have you accomplished? This could include any of the following: achievements inside and/or outside your field of study, leadership opportunities, community service, internship or professional experience, research opportunities, hobbies, and travel. Any or all of these could be unique. Also, what life-derailing, throw-you-for-a-loop challenges have you faced and overcome?

How do you think? How do you approach things? What drives you? What influences you? Are you the person who can break up a tense meeting with some well-timed humor? Are you the one who intuitively sees how to bring people together? 

Read more about this three-part framework in Episode 193 of Accepted’s Admissions Straight Talk podcast or listen wherever you get your favorite podcast s.

Think about each question within this framework and how you could apply your diversity elements to your target school’s classroom or community. Any of these elements can serve as the framework for your essay.

Don’t worry if you can’t think of something totally “out there.” You don’t need to be a tightrope walker living in the Andes or a Buddhist monk from Japan to be able to contribute to a school’s diversity!

And please remember, the examples we have offered here are not exhaustive. There are many other ways to show diversity!

All you need to do to be able to write successfully about how you will contribute to the diversity of your target school’s community is examine your identity, deeds, and ideas, with an eye toward your personal distinctiveness and individuality. There is only one  you .

Take a look at the sample diversity essay in the next section of this post, and pay attention to how the writer underscores their appreciation for, and experience with, diversity. 

A diversity essay sample

When I was starting 11th grade, my dad, an agricultural scientist, was assigned to a 3-month research project in a farm village in Niigata (northwest Honshu in Japan). Rather than stay behind with my mom and siblings, I begged to go with him. As a straight-A student, I convinced my parents and the principal that I could handle my schoolwork remotely (pre-COVID) for that stretch. It was time to leap beyond my comfortable suburban Wisconsin life—and my Western orientation, reinforced by travel to Europe the year before. 

We roomed in a sprawling farmhouse with a family participating in my dad’s study. I thought I’d experience an “English-free zone,” but the high school students all studied and wanted to practice English, so I did meet peers even though I didn’t attend their school. Of the many eye-opening, influential, cultural experiences, the one that resonates most powerfully to me is experiencing their community. It was a living, organic whole. Elementary school kids spent time helping with the rice harvest. People who foraged for seasonal wild edibles gave them to acquaintances throughout the town. In fact, there was a constant sharing of food among residents—garden veggies carried in straw baskets, fish or meat in coolers. The pharmacist would drive prescriptions to people who couldn’t easily get out—new mothers, the elderly—not as a business service but as a good neighbor. If rain suddenly threatened, neighbors would bring in each other’s drying laundry. When an empty-nest 50-year-old woman had to be hospitalized suddenly for a near-fatal snakebite, neighbors maintained her veggie patch until she returned. The community embodied constant awareness of others’ needs and circumstances. The community flowed!

Yet, people there lamented that this lifestyle was vanishing; more young people left than stayed or came. And it wasn’t idyllic: I heard about ubiquitous gossip, long-standing personal enmities, busybody-ness. But these very human foibles didn’t dam the flow. This dynamic community organism couldn’t have been more different from my suburban life back home, with its insular nuclear families. We nod hello to neighbors in passing. 

This wonderful experience contained a personal challenge. Blond and blue-eyed, I became “the other” for the first time. Except for my dad, I saw no Westerner there. Curious eyes followed me. Stepping into a market or walking down the street, I drew gazes. People swiftly looked away if they accidentally caught my eye. It was not at all hostile, I knew, but I felt like an object. I began making extra sure to appear “presentable” before going outside. The sense of being watched sometimes generated mild stress or resentment. Returning to my lovely tatami room, I would decompress, grateful to be alone. I realized this challenge was a minute fraction of what others experience in my own country. The toll that feeling—and being— “other” takes on non-white and visibly different people in the US can be extremely painful. Experiencing it firsthand, albeit briefly, benignly, and in relative comfort, I got it.

Unlike the organic Niigata community, work teams, and the workplace itself, have externally driven purposes. Within this different environment, I will strive to exemplify the ongoing mutual awareness that fueled the community life in Niigata. Does it benefit the bottom line, improve the results? I don’t know. But it helps me be the mature, engaged person I want to be, and to appreciate the individuals who are my colleagues and who comprise my professional community. I am now far more conscious of people feeling their “otherness”—even when it’s not in response to negative treatment, it can arise simply from awareness of being in some way different.

What did you think of this essay? Does this middle class Midwesterner have the unique experience of being different from the surrounding majority, something she had not experienced in the United States? Did she encounter diversity from the perspective of “the other”? 

Here a few things to note about why this diversity essay works so well:

1. The writer comes from “a comfortable, suburban, Wisconsin life,” suggesting that her background might not be ethnically, racially, or in any other way diverse.

2. The diversity “points” scored all come from her fascinating experience of having lived in a Japanese farm village, where she immersed herself in a totally different culture.

3. The lessons learned about the meaning of community are what broaden and deepen the writer’s perspective about life, about a purpose-driven life, and about the concept of “otherness.” 

By writing about a time when you experienced diversity in one of its many forms, you can write a memorable and meaningful diversity essay.

Working on your diversity essay?

Want to ensure that your application demonstrates the diversity that your dream school is seeking?  Work with one of our admissions experts . This checklist includes more than 30 different ways to think about diversity to jump-start your creative engine.

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications, and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Sundas has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! 

Related Resources:

• Different Dimensions of Diversity , podcast Episode 193
• What Should You Do If You Belong to an Overrepresented MBA Applicant Group?
• Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions , a free guide

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Diversity Statement 101: An Essay Guide for Champions

• By Jordan Dotson
• Updated: March 1, 2023

The Diversity Statement, and its close cousins the Personal History and Personal Contributions essays, might be the hardest part of graduate applications. The prompts are so vague and open-ended. They often make applicants shudder.

What am I supposed to write about?

What if I’m not a minority?

Is it okay if I write about my illness and how this lowered my GPA?

For many students who belong to underrepresented populations, these essays often seem patronizing. “How dare you use my identity to pad your demographic stats,” they think. And they’re not entirely wrong. There is a degree of stat-padding involved, though the intentions are noble.

For other students, those who have dealt with physical illness or personal tragedies during their undergrad careers, these essays are an opportunity to show what they’re truly capable of. “I am not defined by my tragedies,” they say, “but how I overcame them.”

For other students, those who sailed through their youth without calamity, these essays can be daunting. They read that word “diversity” and think it doesn’t apply to them. They focus on the apparent socio-political narrative, without recognizing how they’ve positively contributed to communities in which they belong.

For all of these students, the Diversity Statement can be a tricky monster.

Luckily, the Diversity Statement is still an act of storytelling. And as the timeless lessons of narrative structure teach us, all monsters can be conquered by a champion.

This is the key to your Diversity Statement and other personal essays: you must become a champion.

It’s not the story of how difficult or disadvantaged your life has been. It’s not a pity party or an excuse for your (perceived) failures. It’s the story of how you took the resources you’ve been given, and became a champion who makes the world (and university campuses) a better place to live.

Let’s find the champion in you, friend.

What Does “Diversity” Mean?

If you want to succeed with your grad applications, your diversity statement will have little to do with race, gender, religion, or sexuality labels . Instead, it will have everything to do with the ways you’ve chosen, as an individual, to make the world better.

This is why these essays are sometimes called “Personal Contribution” statements. They’re about how you grew and changed and succeeded and made your community different .

Think that simply being a Buddhist orphan will help you get into grad school? Wrong. (Though it might help you get into a monastery.)

But what if you’re a Buddhist orphan who’s taught meditation on campus for three years, who sweeps the steps of Los Angeles’s Hsi Lai Temple every summer, and who mentors other orphans in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, all while earning a 3.7 GPA in Neuroscience and working two years in a lab researching the effects of mindfulness on depression?

One of these is different from the other.

One says, “This is who I am.”

The other says, “This is what I do.”

The funny thing is, the impact of this story has little to do with our fictional student’s demographic label. Instead, it has everything to do with what she’s accomplished. As a thought exercise, imagine that instead of a Buddhist orphan from Los Angeles, she’s a white, heterosexual son of Baptist doctors from Austin, Texas.

This doctors’ son surely has a story. Perhaps it was an impactful teacher. Perhaps his parents resented him for it. But either way, this young man became a certified meditation teacher, worked in his community for years, mentored disadvantaged children, and studied hard while conducting meaningful research.

As long as the stories are heartfelt and real (and not the gimmick of a child of privilege seeking an advantage), the admissions committee will recognize it. They’ll know one thing for certain about either student: they’ll make a beautifully positive impact on a new graduate campus.

Just remember this:

If you want to write about identity labels in your Diversity Statement, it’s not about whether you are diverse. It’s about whether you’ve contributed to a more diverse world.

The Adversity Elephant in the Room

Students with “adversity stories” often get ridiculously good admissions results…but only if they’ve truly excelled in school. Why?

Consider two NYU classmates. Both have 3.8 GPAs and equal GRE scores. Both have published Political Science papers and submit excellent LORs. Both have years of volunteer work in public advocacy. Both apply to the same grad schools.

One, however, comes from an upper class NYC family. She went to a ritzy private high school. Her father is a Columbia professor and her mother an investment banker. The other student was a political asylee from Egypt. As a child, she saw family members murdered at gunpoint. She fled to America with her siblings, never saw her father again, lived in poverty, and learned English in public school.

Yet, both students achieved the same results. Different inputs, exact same output. Both are magnificent scholars. Both will get into grad school and succeed. One, however, had to work a lot harder to get those results, and for this, she will be rewarded.

When we talk about diversity, it’s not our applicant’s label as an immigrant first-generation college student that makes her special. It’s that she succeeded when all the odds were against her. We know that both of these students will succeed. But one of them, we know, is absolutely invincible.

Now, if our political asylee friend had a 3.4 GPA and no publications, would she get the same admissions results? Almost certainly not. She’ll still get admitted, but not at the most rigorous and competitive programs, or at least not all of them. In this case, the inputs are different, but so are the outputs. The NYC girl starts to look more capable of succeeding in intense graduate-level work.

It’s a complex issue with lots of nuance, and admissions committees take great pains to consider the true potential of every applicant. For this, we should be thankful for the opportunity to tell our story in a Diversity Statement or Personal History. But in the end, it’s a matter of how our “story” compares to the stories of others with similar academic success.

The “Upward Trending GPA” Trap

Many applicants use the Diversity Statement or Personal History to explain obstacles in their pasts that led to less-than-perfect academic performance. Perhaps they dealt with mental illness for one bleak semester. Perhaps they’re a member of the LGBT in an antagonistic religious community. Perhaps they grew up with abusive parents or a misogynist lab colleague made their life a living hell.

Often, when these applicants seek help online, they receive heartwarming advice:

Own your story. It’s who you are and doesn’t reflect your future. But be sure to show the upward trend in your GPA over time. This shows you have overcome those obstacles.

While this advice is correct, many students focus on the first part and make mistakes with the second.

For applicants who maybe have a modest 3.2 GPA, it’s tempting to blame adversity for our lack of success. “This doesn’t reflect my true potential,” they imply . “If I wasn’t a victim, I’d have achieved so much more.” Then they promise that they’ll do better if admitted to the utopia of graduate school.

Yet, this is only a promise. It provides no proof that the future will be different. While admissions committees will certainly sympathize with these candidates, we can’t ignore reality: grad schools aren’t charity organizations. This is still a student with a lower GPA who hasn’t yet proven that he can succeed in the greater challenges of grad school. After all, the GPA is the only verifiable info in the essay.

By using your adversity to justify a lower GPA, you force the reader to focus on the GPA as the final result. You make them double-check your transcripts to see how bad it really is.

Instead of showing yourself to be a champion, you’ve shown yourself to be someone who needs to be saved. In this case, the grad school is the hero, and you’re begging them to save your life.

It’s not a good look.

Thus, the key to being a champion is to never focus on the bad stuff at all . Seriously. Never describe it in any detail. Never paint yourself as a victim. Instead, tell the story of how adversity transformed you into someone who’s made a real and verifiable contribution to the world .

Compare the following two students:

“During sophomore year, I chose to abandon my orthodox Muslim upbringing. The struggle was unbearable, I separated from my family, and depression caused me to earn a 2.4 GPA for two semesters. However, I am proud to have made this decision. Now, I am confident that my GPA does not define who I am, and I feel ready and eager to achieve my full potential.”

“As someone who faced the trauma of severing ties with a deeply orthodox family, I am proud to have spent so many weekends volunteering with Recovering from Religion. In the last three years, I have spent countless hours with young women like me. We have shed tears together. We have provided counseling, academic tutoring, and job placement services. Today, as I graduate on the Dean’s List, I do so alongside an army of strong women who have taken back their lives and found faith in one another.”

One of these students is a champion. The other seems like she might be a tad overconfident.

As one dear friend of mine put it on Reddit , people love Batman for his crime-fighting skills, not because of how much it sucks to be an orphan.

Pro Tip:  Leave the GPA stuff in your SOP. But even there, only mention your much higher major GPA or the GPA from your final, better semesters. As professional salespeople teach us: “Never give them a reason to say ‘no.’”

But isn’t this just an essay about volunteer work?

No. Not always.

For students who’ve gone through difficult episodes that lowered their academic performance, they don’t need years of volunteer work to prove themselves a champion. Instead, they need to focus on the results of their transformation , and how it’s made them a better scholar.

(You know all heroes must go through a transformation, right?)

Once, I worked with an uber-successful Engineering applicant. He was admitted to multiple top master’s programs despite a period during undergrad when he was hospitalized due to serious mental illness and saw a massive drop in his GPA.

We know that mental illness is a “ Kiss of Death ” in grad applications, right? We also know that cataclysmic grades are usually the ultimate kiss of death. So, how did this student succeed?

In his Personal History, the student was very careful in describing his issue. It wasn’t a “mental illness,” but a “personal health challenge.” When he mentioned this, he didn’t give it more than a few words . He didn’t want the committee focusing on his problem, nor on the two bad semesters it caused. Instead, he wanted them focusing on what came after.

He said this temporary setback allowed him to concentrate on what he could control …his academic career. He described the rigorous time-management methods he learned. He described the egregious amount of time he spent in his professors’ office hours. He explained how he developed the habit of referencing course materials against other textbooks, often unassigned, and how this led him to the curious discovery of his thesis topic. Most importantly, he pointed out how these skills made him a Dean’s List student for his final four semesters, with a perfect 4.0 in Engineering courses .

In the end, he wasn’t a student recovering from a traumatic episode. He’d already recovered. Now, he was a 4.0 engineer who was obviously ready to succeed even further. His traumatic episode didn’t make him a victim. It was an early chapter in the story of how he transformed into a champion.

The 3 Sections of a Champion Diversity Statement

• Inciting Event or Status Quo (1 paragraph)
• Gradual Journey Forward and Transformation (2-4 paragraphs)
• Living as a Champion Today (1 paragraph)

The key to becoming a champion is to show your transformation occurring gradually over time. This never happens immediately. There is never one fierce decision to change.

If a student says, “the day my father died was the day I decided to become a cancer researcher,” then we don’t believe them. It’s childish. No one can just decide to become a cancer researcher. That takes a thousand small self-discoveries and decisions over years. First they must decide to study medicine. Then they take a cancer-focused class with an inspiring teacher. Then they discover a talent for biostatistics. Then they join a lab where they begin to realize they can truly be a professional researcher.

This slow, gradual transformation is the real story of your essay. By encapsulating this journey in a frame narrative, one that provides a theme for the story and ends by emphasizing your successes and preparedness for the future, you craft an essay that will resonate deeply in the minds of the admissions reader.

1. Inciting Event or Status Quo (1 paragraph)

In this brief, one-paragraph section, you establish the world in which you’ve transformed (and perhaps helped others transform as well). You might describe a tragedy in your life. You might describe the difficulties of growing up in an immigrant family, with parents who never went to college. You might not have experienced major difficulties yourself, but perhaps you’ve witnessed the difficulties others faced, and did what you could to make things better. In a professional, straightforward, mature, unemotional, and completely non-melodramatic tone , you describe that world here.

Appalachia is a beautiful place, though not everyone agrees. This is something I often discussed with my father, a coal miner in Eastern Kentucky, after my mother died. Where we maintain a quiet pride in our landscape and culture, the world outside often paints a different picture. They point to the opioid epidemic. They call our people hostile and uneducated. And in some ways, they are correct. Like many locales throughout the nation, the twenty-five million inhabitants of Appalachia have their own problems. Yet, these problems do not reflect the world in which I was raised.

2. Gradual Journey Forward and Transformation (2-4 paragraphs)

This section will make up the bulk of your essay. Even though I hate “autobiography” SOPs , this longer section of your Diversity Statement will show a chronological journey through time. For most students, this is easy. You don’t need to worry about fancy structures or writing techniques. You just tell your story, all the while remembering the overarching theme. In the example above, we know that the author is going to tell us a story about growing up in rural Kentucky, and how the difficulties gave him strengths that make him a scholar with incredible potential today.

When I left home to attend Georgetown University, I often felt dismayed by how freely my educated classmates mimicked my accent, mouthed a banjo melody, or asked if I grew up in a trailer. (I did.) Occasionally, a classmate with a proclivity for hiking would speak beautifully of the Appalachian Trail, a sentiment I share, though the AT lies three hours away in Virginia. No one ever mentioned the way hundreds of people will stand for hours at the church steps on a hot Saturday, waiting to pay respects to the wife of a fellow miner who has died. No one knew that in my high school, African-American, Latino, Indian, Filipino, Native American, and Korean students roam the halls (as well as one Californian who was the true fish out of water). Few knew that the banjo evolved from the stringed West African akonting.

In many ways, these misunderstandings inspired me to work even harder these past three years, though hard work has never been a problem for me. After spending two summers toiling full-time in the same coal mine as my father, Biostatistics final exams, lab work, and waiting tables on weekends are a pleasure. In fact, it sometimes makes me feel guilty. While I collect tips or compare effects of FLASH radiation therapy, I know my father is ignoring his bad back and arthritic knees, on the night shift, but will still rise to attend church in the morning. What have I done compared to this?

3. Living as a Champion Today (1 paragraph)

In this final section, we arrive at “the point” of your Diversity Statement: that everything you’ve done in life, all you’ve been through, has made you a better candidate for graduate school. You aren’t lamenting the difficulties of your life. You aren’t simply labelling yourself as a member of a disadvantaged community. You’re proving that all this has made you better. Here, you might describe community service and how you’ve given back to the world. But, most importantly, you’ll state why these efforts will help you succeed in your master’s or PhD.

Yet as difficult as these realities can be, I know that they will only make me a better student and lab partner at Harvard. I have been fortunate to work as a community ambassador for cancer awareness in both Eastern Kentucky and Northern Virginia. The people with whom I work come from a range of backgrounds, but all share the same struggle, the same one that killed my own mother eight years ago. None of them ever care about my accent. They only appreciate that I am there to serve, just as I will in the classrooms and laboratories at Harvard. Today, I am certain of my readiness to stand alongside researchers of any culture or social class, in pursuit of the scientific goals that most benefit the community around us. In doing this, I will honor my mother, my father, my university, and the land in which I was raised.

A Note on Tone

As I said earlier, you will write in a professional, straightforward, mature, unemotional, and completely non-melodramatic tone . This isn’t a creative writing exercise. It’s not a screenplay. It’s an exercise in clarity and honesty. Don’t paint pictures of the difficult scenes in your life. By telling the story straight, you’ll sound more confident – more like a graduate scholar.

A Note on Time

If the Statement of Purpose is about the future , the Diversity Statement is about the past .

Most universities only want to know what you’ll accomplish in the future. They only ask for an SOP, which is 100% academic, a logical argument for why you’ll make a great chemist, data scientist, or financial engineer.

But those universities who ask for a Diversity Statement or Personal History…they do want to know about your past. This helps them contextualize your future. By seeing how well you understand yourself, they can better determine how valuable you’ll be as a member of their community.

When considering how these two essays work together, think of them like this:

Conclusion on the Diversity Statement

Whatever we call them – Diversity Statements or Personal Contributions – these essays are tricky for everyone. As you begin writing yours, please don’t think you need to fit into some kind of precut mold. Don’t think that grad schools only seek students who fill a demographic quota. Instead, see this as an opportunity to let your individuality and contributions shine. You aren’t beholden to identity labels or the community in which you grew up. You aren’t a failure because of a few dark days, nor are you less attractive as a scholar because your life has been comparatively smooth.

We all have issues to work out. We all have an identity formed in the crucible of our unique experiences. What matters is only that you changed, grew, evolved, transformed, and have now become someone who’s capable of making a wonderful impact on the world. Someone who’s willing to be a champion. Even if your efforts are quiet, even if the best you can do is remain open-hearted and respectful to everyone you encounter in the classroom or lab, you can be on the side of the champions, and there will be a spot in grad school for you.

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How to write a compelling diversity essay for graduate school?

• May 5, 2022
• GRADUATE ADMISSIONS

What is a diversity statement?

A diversity essay for graduate school is a one-page document explaining your experiences and commitments to diversity.

You can safely assume that any university that requests one is very committed to inclusivity and supporting their diverse population, so they are looking for someone who would support that mission.

Much like a teaching statement, what you include will vary depending on what you believe or have done.

Diversity statements aren’t just for organizations or for faculty job postings. Many law schools and some graduate programs may ask applicants to provide a short statement about their background and potential contributions to the school or program.  

Students can feel overwhelmed by these prompts – especially if they are optional – but these can provide an excellent opportunity to showcase your individuality and contributions to your future program. 

Most of the time, diversity statement will be optional in your grad school application.

The Graduate committee might ask for a diversity statement as a qualifications evaluation for scholarships or funding. This is the most common reason to ask for a diversity essay for graduate school.

It’s an opportunity for you to talk about any hardship and/or barriers you’ve overcome.

For example, you may have overcome something challenging, but that may not have been relevant to your SOP(Statement of purpose) or your personal statement.

What does diversity means?

This can refer to a variety of things.

This can be your personal diversity regarding your racial-ethnic background or socioeconomic status.

The best diversity essay for graduate school is the one that is unique to you. So try to make the best out of the previous experiences you had.

As an example, it could be where you grew up, your sexual orientation, any physical disabilities, educational debility disabilities or mental health struggles that you’ve gone through.

This could also be having dealt with systems or institutions that may have been challenging, such as foster care or having an incarcerated family.

Also, it might be a good idea to talk about diversity in a way that makes sense to you.

It would help the reader to understand the values you might bring to the table.

Sometimes, your personal background would not be as diverse, but you might have experience working in a diverse work environment. You can talk about such experiences.

You also can focus on the intersectionality of many different pieces of your life that make you diverse or bring in unique perspectives.

You can also think about unique challenges that you faced or overcut came.

Suppose you were in a situation where you were the only person with a different perspective about things, in terms of pollical orientation or cultural orientations.

In that case, you can mention such experiences in your diversity essay.

To summarize, three areas that might be included in a diversity statement are,

• Your values regarding diversity,
• Your experience dealing with a variety of people
• Your plans for the future in terms of inclusion.

Questions for Drafting a Statement

It will take some time to write a diversity statement. Answer these questions as a basis for drafting your diversity statement.

• How do you view diversity, equity, and inclusion as an individual?
• Why is diversity important to you?
• How will you ensure to keep the fundamental values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in your work environment?
• Do you provide any services or work with underrepresented or diverse populations? If so, what?
• Is your research relevant to efforts to promote diversity? If so, how?
• Do you have any personal attributes relevant to your work? Were you, for example, a first-generation student or a woman in STEM working to promote opportunities for these groups?
• What do you want to do to promote diversity and equity in future?

Tips on Writing a Diversity Essay for Graduate School

Be subjective.

Consider what diversity could mean for that program. They may define diversity in general in the website, but you may also do some research by looking at the facts and information for that institution or program to learn more about the student body.

Let’s say you’re not sure if you’re physically or culturally diverse. What sets you apart from your peers or the school’s culture? Do you have any experiences that may help you gain a new perspective on the school or program’s community?

Don’t repeat what you’ve already said; instead, focus on providing new facts for the review committee to evaluate. You will almost certainly be requested to submit a separate personal statement explaining why you apply to the programme.

Include your personal experiences

When it comes to variety, no two people will have the same experience. Don’t be frightened to showcase your individuality.

If you are uncomfortable with sharing all of your personal information, you are not obliged to do so.

However, it might be helpful to share these experiences, especially if they provide a unique perspective on dealing with a specific community.

However, any mention of mental health issues that would make you appear incapable of handling the work responsibilities should be avoided.

Be more specific

Diversity essay for graduate school, like teaching statements, are more assertive if you can be particular rather than vague. Come up with a story.

Without specifics, statements tend to seem more like vague clichés. Unique and specific stories will bolster your claim and provide the reader with something solid to picture when they consider who you are.

A school with a large Hispanic and African American population may value diversity in slightly different ways than a school with fewer ethnically diverse students but many first-generation or religiously diverse students. Prepare to think explicitly about the students at those schools, especially in terms of any future programmes you might want to undertake.

Follow the word limit. If you don’t have one, try and keep the statement to 500-800 words.

Check your document at least three times, and have some of your colleagues double-check it once you’ve checked it.

Images courtesy: Photo by African lady photo created by cookie_studio – www.freepik.com , Students group vector created by redgreystock – www.freepik.com

Aruna Kumarasiri

Founder at Proactive Grad, Materials Engineer, Researcher, and turned author. In 2019, he started his professional carrier as a materials engineer with the continuation of his research studies. His exposure to both academic and industrial worlds has provided many opportunities for him to give back to young professionals.

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How to Write a Diversity Statement Essay for Grad School

• November 17, 2022
• College Admission Guidance , Parents Must Read , Student Admission , Study Abroad

Before we proceed with the “ diversity essay ”, let us first understand the real meaning of the term Diversity. Diversity is what makes each of us unique and includes our backgrounds, personality, life experiences, and beliefs; all of the things that make us who we are. It is a combination of our differences that form our view of the world, our perspective, and our approach. In this post, we will walk you through how to write a diversity statement essay for graduate school.

What is a Diversity Statement Essay?

A diversity essay speaks of you as an individual and the relationship you hold with a specific community. The purpose is to disclose what makes you different from others, focusing on unique challenges or hurdles you have faced, and your contribution to or learning from a specific community of people.

Not all colleges ask for diversity essays. Again, they are optional at some colleges and if so, we recommend that you write one. Here you will write about your background, values, community, and experiences, mainly what makes  you  special.

What to Write in a Diversity Statement Essay?

The diversity college essay is used to encourage diversity in the student body. The limit of this essay is pretty large. Applicants can write about any community or experience. Given below are some examples:

• Your cultural group
• Race or ethnicity
• Extended family
• Your social and economic background, i.e. The family income
• Sex or gender
• Your sexual orientation
• Gender identity
• Your values or opinions
• Your experiences
• Home country or hometown
• Your school
• The area you live in/your neighborhood
• A club or an organization wherein you are an active member

Diversity essay is not limited to grad school or masters but even undergraduate programs require this essay from applicants. 

Why do Universities ask for Diversity Statment Essays?

Through diversity essays, the admission officers get to know the potential applicant individually. By describing your personal background, you tell your decision to pursue a graduate degree.

Inclusion of educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, community service, outreach activities, residency and citizenship, first-generation college status, or opportunities related to your academic journey; how your life experiences can contribute to the social, intellectual, or cultural diversity in a student campus and your selected field.

This essay should not be a duplicate of the Statement of purpose but complement it.

We not only belong to different communities but also share different geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Therefore choose the community you belong to and describe that community and your place in it.

We in our individual world are defined by our families and communities. By community we mean your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Narrate the world you come from and how you as an individual of the community can add to the diversity of the college. Colleges aim to create a community of students strongly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values, and viewpoints.

Why does diversity matter at school?

The admission committee believes diversity in the classroom improves the educational experience of all students. With more diverse students found in the classroom, the dorms, the dining halls, and mixed study groups, the discussions will be richer and the team will become more creative. Thus, learning and growing in a multicultural environment will help students work in a multicultural and global world.

Different examples to show your diversity which you can write about: 

• The environment you grew up in that taught you to respect your elders, attend family events, and learn your parents’ native language and culture.
• Your closeness to grandparents and extended family who have taught you the value of how teamwork can help everyone progress. The difficulties you had to face that arise from your parents’ values in conflict with yours or your peers.
• Teachers have failed to understand your culture or lifestyle and how it influenced your performance.
• Where you suffered from discrimination and yet got achievement because of your strong values, and character.
• The extra skills you learned like performing professionally in theater, dance, music, or sports; or even communicating with a deaf sibling.
• You have been a victim of racism or other prejudice; either towards yourself or others and the way you handled it by your tolerant values.

Remember that it is not all about who your parents are but about who you are – from within .  Narrate the most notable challenge you have faced and the steps taken by you to overcome this challenge.

The impact this challenge had on your academic achievement.

When we talk about challenges, it could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Mention the reason why the challenge is notable to you.

It is perhaps the best time to talk of the obstacles you have faced and the lesson learned from the experience; also mention whether you had support from someone else or did you handle it all by yourself.

Recommended Reading: Diversity statements: what to avoid and what to include

Conclusion: Writing Diversity Statement Essay for Grad School

For college admission, a diversity essay looks at applicants’ backgrounds and identities, particularly in the context of a particular community. By community, we mean race or ethnicity, income level, neighborhood, school, gender, sexual orientation, etc. the main aim of the college is to use the diversity essay to continue diversity in their student bodies. For some schools, it is mandatory, whereas others accept it as optional.

It’s okay if you’re not an under-represented minority and/or don’t fall into other categories. It doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to write about.

For example, you may have an unusual or special experience to share, like taking care of your grandparents, being a member of a dance troupe, or caring for a disabled sibling. These and other distinctive experiences convey how you will bring diversity to the school’s campus.

You could be the first member of your family to apply to college or the first to learn English in your household; you could have worked your way through college or helped raise your siblings.

Diversity is not limited to one’s religion, ethnicity, culture, language, or sexual orientation. It’s whatever element of your identity distinguishes you from others. Linda Abraham

Keep in mind these points while writing a diversity statement essay

• Think about what makes you unique —point out an experience or opinion that separates you from the rest of the crowd in an interesting, positive way.
• Be honest and authentic —do not exaggerate or lie about your feelings and experiences. The key to writing a successful diversity essay depends on its authenticity. Schools require an honest essay about yourself and your background. Admissions committees read  hundreds of  applications every day and can easily spot a fake story.
• Write clearly, correctly, and convincingly —edit, proofread and get someone else to look over your essay.
• Take your time —start early, so you can have more time to make changes and get feedback from others.

The Diversity Essay exists because colleges want a student body that has different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, backgrounds, interests, etc. The essay is meant to ask students to clarify what sets them apart from others, so enables admissions committees to see the kind of diverse views and opinions they can bring to the campus

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How do I write a diversity statement?

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Many graduate school programs require or give the option to include a diversity statement in your graduate school application. Including an optional diversity statement can make you a more competitive applicant and offer an opportunity for you to stand out through your individuality, experiences, and potential contributions to the program.

One common misconception is that diversity statements are only written by applicants who identify as a member of an underrepresented group. Anybody can write a diversity statement. Within, you will want to communicate how you can contribute to the program and your views on topics like diversity, inclusion, and institutional racism. Reviewing the program and school’s student demographics, program features, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives can be a great place to start.

Be sure to address any specific questions or prompts the program’s application provides. The diversity statement is an opportunity to highlight new information about you, your identity, your personal and/or academic background and experiences, and how you can contribute to the program.

When there is little to no guidance given on what content to include, you can address these topics:

• Your background (family, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors)
• Lessons you’ve learned from unique experiences (how you have applied them or will apply them in the future)
• First-generation college student
• International work, school, or travel
• Community engagement
• Hardships you have overcome

Sample diversity statement prompts:

• How will you contribute to the program’s or school’s diversity?
• What experience have you had that set you apart from peers or the culture of the school?
• How has your background influenced your worldview?
• How will you contribute to a culture of inclusion?
• Describe your thoughts on systemic racism

Whether you need help getting started, are wondering what information you should disclose, or need someone to review your final draft, Greene Center career advisors are available to meet with you to brainstorm and discuss your diversity statement.

How to Write an Effective Diversity Statement for Graduate School

By ProFellow Founder, Dr. Vicki Johnson

I mentor many graduate school applicants in my Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program who are seeking to enter fully funded PhD and master’s programs. A trend I have seen in recent years is the request for a required or optional “diversity statement” as part of the graduate school application. This essay is distinct from the personal statement, which is a document that describes your personal and academic background, your goals and your motivations for graduate study. The diversity statement typically prompts you to respond to questions about how you will contribute to the diversity of the student population. When graduate schools say “diversity”, they mean characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, academic and professional backgrounds, political beliefs, and geographic region, to name a few.

Why graduate schools ask for a Diversity Statement

The purpose of a diversity statement is to help universities form a student body that includes people of different demographic backgrounds and experiences – particularly one that is more inclusive of people from groups that have faced institutionalized discrimination and oppression. It is also a measure used to uphold the institution’s mission to achieve greater diversity, equity, and inclusion, which may be a relatively new value set that was established in response to social injustice in academia and wider society.

Before preparing your diversity statement, it can be helpful to understand the history and meaning of the university’s mission statement and values. Often, universities don’t want only to achieve a more diverse student body; they also want to select students who themselves are committed to addressing inequity and forms of historical and institutional discrimination, no matter what background they come from.

Because of this, it’s important to take the diversity statement just as seriously as the other components of your application. The diversity statement gives admissions committees a window into what you will uniquely bring to the university beyond your academic work and how you will engage in the university’s mission to achieve greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in society as a student and alumnus.

How to address Diversity Statement questions

Questions about diversity can be overwhelming. However, they all boil down to two objectives: 1) demonstrate the diversity you would bring to the student body and 2) explain how you address diversity, equity, and inclusion in your own life.

For the first part, you’ll want to discuss the diversity that you would add in the traditional sense, such as race, gender, socio-economic background, and identity. Diversity can also be expressed through your personal experiences, such as being a first-generation college student or an international student, having a military or service background, being a part of a religious minority, losing a parent at a young age, having a disability, being a single parent, having a medical diagnosis, or having a unique upbringing. Don’t assume that you have nothing to bring in terms of diversity – think about what unique experiences you have had, and you will almost certainly find something to highlight.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that your diversity statement is not a place to detail traumatizing experiences of discrimination and injustice. Instead, it is a place to discuss what you learned from these experiences and how those experiences have influenced and inspired your own social impact work. Application committees are seeking to understand the worldview you hold and identify if that worldview is aligned with their values and mission. Frame your personal experiences of diversity, equity, and inclusion with this in mind so that the application committee feels inspired by your story , rather than wondering if you’ll be committed to helping them further their mission of greater diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus.

The second part of the diversity statement is showing how you are actively creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society through professional and personal pursuits. Here are a few questions you can speak to:

• Where do you volunteer?
• Who do you mentor, professionally or casually?
• What are you doing to promote policies that create greater equity and access to opportunities at school and work and in your community?
• What issues have you fundraised or advocated for?

The best diversity statements use specific examples to show a personal commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Demonstrate your compassion for those suffering injustice – and then show how that compassion informs your research, teaching, professional work, activism, and community involvement.

Final tip: Educate yourself

As you write your diversity statement, be sure to acknowledge your privilege if you have benefited from advantages beyond your control – whether that is white privilege , socio-economic privilege, educational privilege or other types of privilege. Privilege can be described as “benefits that belong to people because they fit into a specific social group or have certain dimensions to their identity.” If you feel ignorant to concepts of privilege, now is a good time to educate yourself ! This piece of your application is an exercise to test if you understand the true costs and impacts of social inequity in the world.

Applying to graduate school and seeking funding opportunities? Get our FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards here!

Dr. Vicki Johnson is Founder and CEO of ProFellow, the world’s leading online resource for professional and academic fellowships. She is a four-time fellow, top Ph.D. scholar, Fulbright recipient and an award-winning social entrepreneur. She is the Creator and Director of  Fully Funded , an award-winning online course and mentorship program for graduate school applicants seeking to find and win full funding. 

© ProFellow, LLC / Vicki Johnson 2021, all rights reserved.

Related Posts:

• Register Now: Personal Statement Bootcamp with Dr. Vicki Johnson
• 5 Myths About Grad School Personal Statements
• What Makes a Great Personal Statement?
• How to a Write Personal Statement for Graduate School
• #6: Prepare a Compelling Personal Statement

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6 Medical School Diversity Essay Examples (Ranked Best to Worst!)

Most medical school diversity essay prompts give little away when it comes to helping you with ideas on what to write. Without seeing examples? It’s incredibly difficult to know where to get started!

As a medical student with an undergrad in English, I thought I’d run my eye over some of the web’s popular medical school diversity essay examples.

Ranking these six examples from best to worst, I’ll give a critique of each along the way.

All with the hope of better helping you craft your own diversity essays with a bit more ease and expertise!

Ready to get started? Let’s go.

Want some quick writing tips first? Check out this article;  How To Write An Awesome Diversity Essay In Medical School (5 Quick Tips) .

I’ll be ranking each of these from, what I feel, is the worst to best.

Note : It’s not my intention to be disparaging (having any one of these examples is a huge plus), but rather entertaining. I hope it’ll be fun figuring out what I’d look for if I was part of a Med School Admissions Team!

Medical School Diversity Essay Examples

Make sure you click through the links on each of these essays. Not only does this help give credit to other people’s work, but you’ll also benefit from their own explanations and critique!

6. Diverse Backgrounds – Chronicles of a Medical Student

My father gave me two things when I was young: early exposure to diverse people and a strong desire to learn to work cross-culturally. But the most important thing he taught me was to be a life-long learner through interaction with people from diverse backgrounds. Our house was always a second home for international students studying at nearby universities. I can remember playing Jenga with Russian engineering students or seeing our kitchen taken over by Korean music students. During college, I continued to learn to relate to people from many backgrounds through an internship to Southeast Asia in 2006. I found that humility and a genuine desire to learn about someone’s culture opened doors to relationships that would have remained closed. If students fail to interact with people of different cultures, preferring to cluster where they are comfortable, the benefit of a diverse campus is lost. My cross-cultural experiences have prepared me to learn to embrace ethnic and cultural diversity. – Chronicles of a Medical Student

This is by no means a bad essay – and there’s a lot of personal relevance that shines through – it’s just that it misses the mark a little when it comes to drawing parallels between the past and the future.

Although the student shows they’ve had a range of experiences that’s brought them into contact with diverse peoples and cultures, it doesn’t really answer how this lends itself to medicine.

Personally, I find myself wanting to know more about how these experiences have shaped this person’s desire to become a doctor!

5. Connecting Through Cultures – BeMo

I am extremely fortunate to have a strong connection to my roots. Spending time in Italy throughout my life has allowed me to see how the ideology of this culture differs from that in the United States. The Italian society is often marred by the stereotype that they are lazy, or not willing to work. I believe that if one truly sees the society from an objective lens, they will see a society that derives their happiness less from material objects and more from love and companionship. Resultantly, there is a monumental emphasis placed on the health and well-being of others. There is always time for a family meal, a coffee with a friend, or an evening walk to clear one’s mind. Growing up my family always made sure everyone had enough to eat, and someone to talk to. I believe in this ideology and view the healthcare field as the opportunity to help others live a full, and fruitful life pursuing their own happiness. Throughout my life, healthcare professionals have consistently given my loved ones the ability to live autonomously and be present in my life. It is a service and a gift that they have given me and a gift I wish to spend my life giving others. My culture, upbringing, and life experiences have fostered my desire to purse medicine and my holistic approach to life. I will bring these elements of empathy and holistic care not only as a training physician, but as a fellow classmate who is there for others through the rigors of medical school.  – BeMo

There’s a lot to like about this essay, especially the way they talk about a different culture (Italy) and how it fuels that desire to become a physician.

Where I feel it could be lacking is in drawing upon specific experiences (extracurriculars) diverse enough to pair well with an application.

They perhaps waste the second paragraph a little by repeating a similar sentiment; “a desire to pursue medicine and a holistic approach to life.”

It’s maybe just a bit too unspecific and uncreative.

4. Sharing Passions – Shemassian Consulting

There are many things a girl could be self-conscious about growing up, such as facial hair, body odor, or weight gain. Growing up with a few extra pounds than my peers, I was usually chosen last for team sports and struggled to run a 10-minute mile during P.E. classes. As I started to despise school athletics, I turned towards other hobbies, such as cooking and Armenian dance, which helped me start anew with a healthier lifestyle. Since then, I have channeled my passions for nutrition and exercise into my volunteering activities, such as leading culinary workshops for low-income residents of Los Angeles, organizing community farmer’s markets, or conducting dance sessions with elderly patients. I appreciate not only being able to bring together a range of people, varying in age, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity, but also helping instill a sense of confidence and excitement that comes with making better lifestyle decisions. I have enjoyed encouraging kids in the inner city to combat similar issues of weight gain and low self-esteem through after-school gardening and physical activity lessons. Now, I hope to share my love for culinary nutrition and fitness with fellow medical students at UCLA. As students, we can become better physicians by passing on health and nutrition information to future patients, improving quality of life for ourselves and others. – Shemassian Consulting

This is an example of just how creative you can get when it comes to essay writing – especially when you might not consider yourself “typically diverse” too!

The experiences of this applicant are ones that most of us, growing up in the West, are familiar with. Yet they expertly turn these “standard problems” into something personal that communicates to the reader why they got involved with volunteering and community projects in the first place (i.e. not just because med school admissions teams told them they had to!)

Even if the bottom line is a little generic; “passing on health and nutrition information to future patients”; it’s that honesty at the beginning that makes it seem like a genuine essay.

The way it addresses the school specifically is another nice touch.

3. Multiple Identities – Motivate MD

In Peace Corps training, we learned a metaphor for our service.  If our home, America, was a circle, our new community could be described as a square. We, as volunteers, were triangles. The point? We were part of each; not quite one, nor the other, but able to recognize both as valid ways of being. Most of us have multiple identities. I also bring practice of inhabiting the middle; the boat in a channel between islands. In one of my favorite novels, Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, the story of international diplomats held hostage at a party, the translator plays a central role. It is he who must interpret and communicate; give voice to space between characters. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, oldest child, and part of a mixed-race family, I’ve had many opportunities to translate; on behalf of my siblings (to my parents), my parents (to my siblings), Belizean villagers, & others in my health advocacy work. My “triangular” identity helps me approach problems differently. _______Medical School is a place for visionary thinking; a community of innovators. I want to be part of curiosity-driven inquiry; translating differences & supporting evidence based solutions to health problems. I see my role as one that can only be attempted through willingness to understand others. My greatest contribution to the medical school community at _________will be my ability to stand in two places, ears & heart open, facilitating dialogue & sharing my perspective from a place of collaborative appreciation. Growth cannot occur in a silo. It begins in learning from & with other people, recognizing the value of all identities. – Motivate MD

This is a really awesome example that’s formatted perfectly.

Compact, punchy, and making great use of metaphor, this does so many right things when it comes to putting together a strong diversity essay.

What I like most about it is the way it plays on the cultural background of the applicant to explain how they will contribute to the school’s community moving forward.

This is a really important thing to consider!

But what’s also neat is the way they link reading and literature to their own cross-cultural role. That’s a nice creative flourish.

2. Diversity Through Faith – University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

In the sweating discomfort of the summertime heat, I walked through Philadelphia International Airport with several overweight bags, tired eyes, and a bad case of Shigella. Approaching Customs, I noticed the intensity and seriousness on the faces of the customs officers whose responsibility were to check passports and question passengers. As I moved closer to the front of the line, I noticed someone reading a foreign newspaper. The man was reading about the Middle Eastern conflict, a clash fueled by religious intolerance. What a sharp contrast to Ghana, I thought. I had just spent three weeks in Ghana. While there I worked, studied their religions, ate their food, traveled and contracted malaria. Despite all of Ghana’s economic hardships, the blending of Christianity, Islam, and traditional religion did not affect the health of the country. When I reached the front of the line, the customs officer glanced at my backpack and with authoritative curiosity asked me, “What are you studying?” I responded in a fatigued, yet polite voice, “Religious studies with a pre-med track.” Surprised, the officer replied rhetorically, “Science and religion, interesting, how does that work?” This was not the first time I had encountered the bewildered facial expression or this doubtful rhetorical question. I took a moment to think and process the question and answered, “With balance.” Throughout my young life I have made an effort to be well-rounded, improve in all facets of my personal life, and find a balance between my personal interests and my social responsibility. In my quest to understand where I fit into society, I used service to provide a link between science and my faith. Science and religion are fundamentally different; science is governed by the ability to provide evidence to prove the truth while religion’s truth is grounded on the concept of faith. Physicians are constantly balancing the reality of a person’s humanity and the illness in which they are caring for. The physicians I have found to be most memorable and effective were those who were equally as sensitive and perceptive of my spirits as they were of my symptoms. Therefore, my desire to become a physician has always been validated, not contradicted by my belief system. In serving, a person must sacrifice and give altruistically. When one serves they sacrifice their self for others benefit. Being a servant is characterized by leading by example and striving to be an advocate for equity. As a seventh grade math and science teacher in the Philadelphia public school system, everyday is about sacrifice and service. I sacrifice my time before, during and after-school; tutoring, mentoring and coaching my students. I serve with vigor and purpose so that my students can have opportunities that many students from similar backgrounds do not have. However, without a balance my effectiveness as a teacher is compromised. In February, I was hospitalized twice for a series of asthma attacks. Although I had been diagnosed with asthma, I had not had an attack since I was in middle school. Consequently, the physicians attributed my attacks to high stress, lack of sleep, and poor eating habits. It had become clear to me that my unrelenting drive to provide my students with a sound math and science education without properly balancing teaching and my personal life negatively impacted my ability to serve my students. I believe this experience taught me a lesson that will prove to be invaluable as a physician. Establishing an equilibrium between my service and my personal life as a physician will allow me to remain connected to the human experience; thus enabling me to serve my patients with more compassion and effectiveness. Throughout my travels and experiences I have seen the unfortunate consequences of not having equitable, quality health care both domestically and abroad. While many take having good health for granted, the financial, emotional, mental, and physical effects illnesses have on individuals and families can have a profound affect on them and the greater society. Illness marks a point in many people’s lives where they are most vulnerable, thus making a patient’s faith and health care providers vital to their healing process. My pursuit to blend the roles of science and religion formulate my firm belief that health care providers are caretakers of God’s children and have a responsibility to all of humanity. Nevertheless, I realize my effectiveness and success as a physician will be predicated mostly on my ability to harmonize my ambition with my purpose. Therefore, I will always answer bewildered looks with the assurance that my faith and my abilities will allow me to serve my patients and achieve what I have always strived for and firmly believe in, balance. – University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

First things first, you’re incredibly unlikely to get the chance to write this much for a diversity essay.

Most of the prompts you’ll see from med schools are in the 500 words range. As evidenced in the following article…

Related : Medical School Diversity Essay Prompts (21 Examples)

What I love about this example here however is the narrative. This essay really paints a picture. And has an awesome hook in its opening about the writer experiencing shigellosis!

Other things it does excellently include discussing diverse experiences (teaching, preaching, illness, etc.) and showing a firm understanding of the roles doctors play across societies and cultures.

It shows real passion and drive, as well as someone struggling on a more personal level to make sense of their own journey.

I imagine this would stand out well from the crowd.

1. Exploring Narratives – Morgan (The Crimson)

I started writing in 8th grade when a friend showed me her poetry about self-discovery and finding a voice. I was captivated by the way she used language to bring her experiences to life. We began writing together in our free time, trying to better understand ourselves by putting a pen to paper and attempting to paint a picture with words. I felt my style shift over time as I grappled with challenges that seemed to defy language. My poems became unstructured narratives, where I would use stories of events happening around me to convey my thoughts and emotions. In one of my earliest pieces, I wrote about a local boy’s suicide to try to better understand my visceral response. I discussed my frustration with the teenage social hierarchy, reflecting upon my social interactions while exploring the harms of peer pressure. In college, as I continued to experiment with this narrative form, I discovered medical narratives. I have read everything from Manheimer’s Bellevue to Gawande’s Checklist and from Nuland’s observations about the way we die to Kalanithi’s struggle with his own decline. I even experimented with this approach recently, writing a piece about my grandfather’s emphysema. Writing allowed me to move beyond the content of our relationship and attempt to investigate the ways time and youth distort our memories of the ones we love. I have augmented these narrative excursions with a clinical bioethics internship. In working with an interdisciplinary team of ethics consultants, I have learned by doing by participating in care team meetings, synthesizing discussions and paths forward in patient charts, and contributing to an ongoing legislative debate addressing the challenges of end-of-life care. I have also seen the ways ineffective intra-team communication and inter-personal conflicts of beliefs can compromise patient care. By assessing these difficult situations from all relevant perspectives and working to integrate the knowledge I’ve gained from exploring narratives, I have begun to reflect upon the impact the humanities can have on medical care. In a world that has become increasingly data-driven, where patients can so easily devolve into lists of numbers and be forced into algorithmic boxes in search of an exact diagnosis, my synergistic narrative and bioethical backgrounds have taught me the importance of considering the many dimensions of the human condition. I am driven to become a physician who deeply considers a patient’s goal of care and goals of life. I want to learn to build and lead patient care teams that are oriented toward fulfilling these goals, creating an environment where family and clinician conflict can be addressed efficiently and respectfully. Above all, I look forward to using these approaches to keep the person beneath my patients in focus at each stage of my medical training, as I begin the task of translating complex basic science into excellent clinical care – Morgan, Harvard Med Matriculant; The Crimson

You can see why this student successfully made it into Harvard Med!

Again, they tell a story. They hook us in curiously with a statement that we want to know the answer to. And we continue reading while the greater narrative unfurls.

What this example does perfectly is interweaving the personal with the playful while showing a diversity of thought (writing about a local boy’s suicide etc) and a commitment to expanding her perspective.

Showing (not telling) how this pastime has enriched her staple extracurriculars (internships, research, clinical experience, etc.), it shows real thought as to the future of medicine and exactly where this future physician wants to take it.

The level of detail and specificity shows that she’s really thought about how she wants to develop her career based on her existing clinical experience.

This is the type of diversity essay I’d aspire to write!

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, in ranking these examples and discussing their finer points, you have some better ideas about how you might want to approach writing your own diversity essays.

While it’s impossible to really comment on the appropriateness of each example, namely because we don’t know the exact prompt, they still give plenty of food for thought.

Just remember to follow your own prompts where possible, and make sure to go over your school’s mission statements to help tailor your own essays.

I’m pretty confident you can write essays as effective as these!

Related Articles

• How To Conclude Your Medical School Personal Statement

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more .

Career Center

Writing a Diversity Statement

A Diversity Statement may be required for some graduate and professional school applications, as part of the primary application process or as part of the supplemental or secondary application questions. This can be a great way to stand out and to emphasize aspects of your qualifications that may not be as evident through other parts of your application. It can be an opportunity to highlight unique strengths, experiences, and perspectives you bring, and also to show how you value the diversity that others bring to the program, your chosen field or profession, and to our global society.

The main purpose s of a diversity statement are to demonstrate how you will contribute to the diversity of the program and/or the profession, and to acknowledge your identities and views on topics like diversity, inclusion, and institutional racism. It is your opportunity to discuss what about you may be unique from other applicants. It is also an opportunity to discuss how you will genuinely contribute to creating an atmosphere of inclusion in your program, your career, and communities in general. It is important to be genuine and express your life experiences and beliefs related to diversity. Be sure to check your program/institution of interest for any prompts or specific questions they want you to address. 

Writing a Diversity Statement can be a challenging, thought-provoking, and often rewarding experience. Often students have questions on where to even start, what to include, or what they feel comfortable disclosing. We are here to support you through this process! You can meet with a career counselor at any stage of the process from discussing ideas or questions you have, all the way up to polishing your final document for submission. You can also submit your draft(s) for online review . 

It is important to address any specific questions provided by your program. If the statement question is not specifically defined for you, generally speaking here are some areas to explore/consider:

+ Potential topics to address in a diversity statement

• family background
• unique perspectives or experiences
• multilingual abilities
• geographic diversity (urban, rural, international)
• authentic community involvement and contributions
• non-traditional characteristics for a field/profession
• special talents, strengths, skills, qualities
• international work, schooling, or travel
• socioeconomic factors
• first-generation college student
• hardships you have overcome
• any other unique contribution to the program and/or profession

+ General tips & suggestions

• Personalize it through your own views, experiences, and examples
• Make your diversity statement distinctive from your personal statement
• Focus on your life and not solely your academic or research interests
• Acknowledge your privileged and/or marginalized identities and intersectionality of identities 
• Write about topics through the lens of your personal knowledge or experience
• If you don’t have personal experience on a topic, reflect on why
• Demonstrate learning and growth, taking ownership of past mistakes if needed
• Tell your story

+ Some possible diversity statement prompts

• Describe how you would add diversity to the program.
• Describe your experience with diversity and diverse populations.
• How has your background influenced your worldviews?
• How will you contribute to a culture of inclusion?
• Describe your thoughts on systemic racism.

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How to Write a Diversity Statement for Graduate School?

EssayEdge > Blog > How to Write a Diversity Statement for Graduate School?

The diversity statement is an important part of the application process. There are many things to consider and keep in mind when thinking about how to write a diversity statement as a part of your grad school admissions process. At first, it may seem overwhelming, but in actuality, a diversity statement is really just another opportunity to showcase to admissions officers who you are as an applicant as well as what you can bring to the university. With that in mind, here are some guidelines for how to begin the diversity statement brainstorming process to determine what kinds of things should be included in your diversity statement as you work on your application.

Table of Contents:

How To Start Your Brainstorm For Your Diversity Statement For Your Grad School Application:

• Maybe you’ve lived in the same place your entire life up until this point, or maybe you grew up in a lot of different places, moving around with your family. The experiences we have growing up shape who we are and who we become. With that in mind, consider what your unique and personal experiences were growing up. Whether you grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone or a racially diverse, thriving metropolitan area, these experiences are potentially worth including in a diversity statement for graduate school.
• Maybe you’ve traveled all around the world. Maybe you’ve never left the state where you were born. No two peoples’ journeys are the same, and so it contributes to your unique perspective. This is also a great opportunity to brainstorm about extracurricular experiences, research experiences, and work experiences that have opened your mind to new ideas or introduced new aspects of the world to you for inclusion in your grad school diversity statement.
• Brainstorm where and when you have been able to be around people who are different from you. Remember, diversity can mean racial diversity, gender diversity, age diversity, and more. Some people have a great deal of diversity within their own families. Others may have been exposed to people who are different from they are much later in life. All of these things contribute to who you are and why you are a unique applicant, so it’s worth thinking outside the box to what your own experience has been as you brainstorm for your graduate school diversity statement.
• Diversity of ideas is very important and can open our minds to new ways of life and new dreams and aspirations—even new things we may want to study at the graduate or undergraduate levels! Where have you had the opportunity to expand your mind? Who has helped expand it? Are there specific places you’ve been that have allowed opportunity to really think in a new and different way? These are areas that can help enhance a grad school diversity statement as well.

Need help? Check out EssayEdge editing services:

What is a Diversity Statement?

Now that you’ve started the process of brainstorming what might be included in your diversity statement for your application, you may be wondering, “What is a diversity statement for graduate school, exactly?” It’s exactly what it sounds like—a statement of diversity experiences that you have had. Sometimes people write diversity statements for grad school applications that are focused on what they think that grad school admissions officers want to hear, and so they try to shoehorn in “diverse” experiences into their applications that are marginal or not vital components of their life experiences. Diversity can include a lot of things, whether that is a diversity of people, diversity of thought, diversity of opportunity or more. The most important thing when brainstorming for your diversity statement is to make sure that your experiences are truthful, relevant, and important to who you are.

Below are some topics from our EssayEdge editors that can be included in a diversity statement as a part of your grad school application process, or even undergraduate application, to craft a truly personal, relevant diversity statement:

• The diversity statement should focus on not just where you come from, but what is your personal background has contributed to your view of the world. Your grad school diversity statement can be focused on your life itself as opposed to your academic experiences.
• If this is a diversity statement for a graduate application, this is a great opportunity to talk about how your undergrad experiences have shaped your views and experiences. If this happens to be a part of an undergraduate application, your high school experiences are relevant. Ultimately, the courses you took, the programs you studied in, and the environment of your school itself can all be very relevant for a diversity statement.
• At this moment in time, in particular, you should feel free to articulate how you self-identify if that feels relevant here and feels like it contributes to the way you experience the world. Whether it’s your racial identity, your gender identity, or something else, your identity impacts how you experience the world and how you see, interact with, and shape the world around you, which is all extremely relevant to a diversity statement for grad school.
• Perhaps you’ve had difficulty interacting with certain environments and you’ve learned how to manage that. Perhaps navigating certain circumstances comes naturally to you. Including this information in your diversity statement will help admissions committees have a better understanding of how you can fit into and have a positive impact on a university’s community, which is the goal of the grad school diversity statement.
• Perhaps you have a unique reason from your own life for why you are choosing to pursue the graduate program you’re pursuing. The diversity statement as a part of your grad school application would be an opportunity to share this kind of information.

Diversity Statement: Summary

In conclusion, the diversity statement is a great opportunity to really showcase who you are and make your application for admission really stand out. While sometimes the diversity statement is not required in an application—it can sometimes be listed as optional—it is a unique component of your graduate school application, as long as you use it as an opportunity to talk about who you really are and how your experiences so far have impacted your view of the world. Ultimately, you want to use your grad school diversity statement to talk about new experiences and things that aren’t necessarily a part of your application elsewhere, or, if they are, the diversity statement is a chance to provide a new perspective on it where the admissions committee can see your experiences and who you are through a different lens. The diversity statement is an important part of your graduate admissions process and can really help your application stand out.

An admission essay is the biggest fear of any applicant until they know about a diversity statement. This guide tried to answer all the questions one can face when writing. A proper approach to brainstorming and writing will lead you to success. If you want to play if safe, place an order on our graduate school essay editing service , and we’ll review your draft.

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• Career Advice

The Effective Diversity Statement

By  Tanya Golash-Boza

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Inside Higher Ed

Faculty job postings are increasingly asking for diversity statements, in addition to research and teaching statements. According to the University of California at San Diego website , “the purpose of the statement is to identify candidates who have professional skills, experience and/or willingness to engage in activities that would enhance campus diversity and equity efforts ” (emphasis added). In general, these statements are an opportunity for applicants to explain to a search committee the distinct experiences and commitment they bring to the table.

So, how do you write an effective diversity statement? If you are a job candidate who actually cares about diversity and equity, how do you convey that commitment to a search committee? (Note that if you do not care about diversity and equity and do not want to be in a department that does, don’t waste your time crafting a strong diversity statement -- and you need not read any farther in this essay.)

My first piece of advice is: do not write a throwaway diversity statement. Some job applicants think that writing a diversity statement that shows they actually care about diversity and equity may be too political. Thus, they write a blasé statement about, for example, how they encourage students to come to class in pajamas if they feel comfortable. That is not an effective strategy, because it does not show a genuine commitment to diversity and equity.

Of course, it is true that many faculty members overtly reject campus efforts to enhance diversity and equity. However, it is also true that search committee members who do not care about diversity do not read diversity statements. Just like search committee members who do not care about teaching gloss over teaching statements, those who do not care about diversity gloss over diversity statements. So, don’t bother writing a statement directed at faculty members who do not care about diversity. Write one for those faculty members who will take the time to read your statement carefully.

I can assure you that many faculty members truly care about diversity and equity and will read your statement closely. I have been in the room when the diversity statement of every single finalist for a job search was scrutinized. The candidates who submitted strong statements wrote about their experiences teaching first-generation college students, their involvement with LGBTQ student groups, their experiences teaching in inner-city high schools and their awareness of how systemic inequalities affect students’ ability to excel. Applicants mentioned their teaching and activism and highlighted their commitment to diversity and equity in higher education.

Here are seven additional suggestions to consider as you write your diversity statement.

• Tell your story. If you have overcome obstacles to get to where you are, point those out. If, in contrast, you are privileged, acknowledge that. If you grew up walking uphill to school carrying two 20-pound sacks of rice on your back, by all means, tell that story. If you were raised with a silver spoon in your mouth, acknowledge your privilege. Either way, use your story to explain how you can empathize with students who confront challenges on their way to achieving their educational goals.
• Focus on commonly accepted understandings of diversity and equity. Concentrate on issues such as race, gender, social class and sexual orientation. Don’t try to tone down your statement by writing about how it is hard to be a Kansan in Missouri, for example. Instead, write about racial oppression, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism or some other commonly recognized form of oppression.
• Avoid false parallels. By that I mean do not equate the exclusion you faced due to being a Kansan in Missouri with the exclusion an African-American faces at a primarily white institution. You do not have to be an African-American to have insight into the challenges they face, but if you do not have experiential knowledge of racism, then do not claim it. Instead, focus on writing about what you do know. If you feel comfortable getting personal, you can write about your own experiences of privilege or oppression. But you don’t have to get personal; you can cite statistics or studies to make your points.
• Write about specific things you have done to help students from underrepresented backgrounds succeed. If you have never done anything to help anyone, then go out and do something. Sign up to be a tutor at an underperforming school, build a house with Habitat for Humanity or incorporate antiracist pedagogy into your teaching. In addition to having a rewarding experience, you can write about it in your diversity statement.
• Highlight any programs for underrepresented students you’ve participated in. If you have had any involvement with such programs (e.g., McNair Scholars Program), describe that involvement in your statement. This involvement can either be as a former participant or as a mentor or adviser to someone who has participated. These kinds of specific examples show that you understand what effective programs look like and how they work.
• Write about your commitment to working toward achieving equity and enhancing diversity. Describe specific ways you are willing to contribute. You can mention your willingness to contribute to pre-existing programs on the campus or you can express interest in creating new programs based on models at other campuses.
• Modify your statement based on where you are sending it. Your statement for a land-grant institution in the rural South should not be the exact same one you send to an elite institution in urban California. Look up the demographics of the institution to which you are applying and mention those demographics in your statement. For example, if the university you are applying to is a Hispanic-serving institution, you should be aware of that. Or if it has a well-known scholarship program for underrepresented minorities, you should mention that program.

Diversity statements are a relatively new addition to the job application packet. Thus, search committees are still developing assessment tools for such statements, and many campuses lack clear guidelines. Nevertheless, you can use this novelty to your advantage by writing a stellar statement that emphasizes your record of contributions to diversity and equity as well as your commitment to future efforts

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How to Write a Diversity Essay: 4 Key Tips

College Essays

If you're applying to college, you've probably heard the phrase "diversity essay" once or twice. This type of essay is a little different from your typical "Why this college?" essay . Instead of focusing on why you've chosen a certain school, you'll write about your background, values, community, and experiences—basically, what makes you special.

In this guide, I explain what a diversity college essay is, what schools are looking for in this essay, and what you can do to ensure your diversity essay stands out.

What Is a Diversity Essay for College?

A diversity essay is a college admissions essay that focuses on you as an individual and your relationship with a specific community. The purpose of this essay is to reveal what makes you different from other applicants, including what unique challenges or barriers you've faced and how you've contributed to or learned from a specific community of people.

Generally speaking, the diversity college essay is used to promote diversity in the student body . As a result, the parameters of this essay are typically quite broad. Applicants may write about any relevant community or experience. Here are some examples of communities you could discuss:

• Your cultural group
• Your race or ethnicity
• Your extended family
• Your religion
• Your socioeconomic background (such as your family's income)
• Your sex or gender
• Your sexual orientation
• Your gender identity
• Your values or opinions
• Your experiences
• Your home country or hometown
• Your school
• The area you live in or your neighborhood
• A club or organization of which you're an active member

Although the diversity essay is a common admissions requirement at many colleges, most schools do not specifically refer to this essay as a diversity essay . At some schools, the diversity essay is simply your personal statement , whereas at others, it's a supplemental essay or short answer.

It's also important to note that the diversity essay is not limited to undergraduate programs . Many graduate programs also require diversity essays from applicants. So if you're planning to eventually apply to graduate school, be aware that you might have to write another diversity statement!

Diversity Essay Sample Prompts From Colleges

Now that you understand what diversity essays for college are, let's take a look at some diversity essay sample prompts from actual college applications.

University of Michigan

At the University of Michigan , the diversity college essay is a required supplemental essay for all freshman applicants.

Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.

University of Washington

Like UM, the University of Washington asks students for a short-answer (300 words) diversity essay. UW also offers advice on how to answer the prompt.

Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the University of Washington.

Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values, and viewpoints.

University of California System

The UC system requires freshman applicants to choose four out of eight prompts (or personal insight questions ) and submit short essays of up to 350 words each . Two of these are diversity essay prompts that heavily emphasize community, personal challenges, and background.

For each prompt, the UC system offers tips on what to write about and how to craft a compelling essay.

5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you've faced and what you've learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?

If you're currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, "How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends, or with my family?"

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team, or place—like your high school, hometown, or home. You can define community as you see fit; just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?

Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community, or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community?

Think about your community: How has it helped you? What have you done for it?

University of Oklahoma

First-year applicants to the University of Oklahoma who want to qualify for a leader, community service, or major-based scholarship must answer two optional, additional writing prompts , one of which tackles diversity. The word count for this prompt is 650 words or less.

The University of Oklahoma is the home of a vibrant, diverse, and compassionate university community that is often referred to as “the OU family.” Please describe your cultural and community service activities and why you chose to participate in them.

Duke University

In addition to having to answer the Common Application or Coalition Application essay prompts, applicants to Duke University may (but do not have to) submit short answers to two prompts, four of which are diversity college essay prompts . The maximum word count for each is 250 words.

We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community .

We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about?

We recognize that “fitting in” in all the contexts we live in can sometimes be difficult. Duke values all kinds of differences and believes they make our community better. Feel free to tell us any ways in which you’re different, and how that has affected you or what it means to you.

Duke’s commitment to inclusion and belonging includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Feel free to share with us more about how your identity in this context has meaning for you as an individual or as a member of a community .

Pitzer College

At Pitzer, freshman applicants must use the Common Application and answer one supplemental essay prompt. One of these prompts is a diversity essay prompt that asks you to write about your community.

At Pitzer, five core values distinguish our approach to education: social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, student engagement, and environmental sustainability. As agents of change, our students utilize these values to create solutions to our world's challenges. Reflecting on your involvement throughout high school or within the community, how have you engaged with one of Pitzer's core values?

The Common Application

Many colleges and universities, such as Purdue University , use the Common Application and its essay prompts.

One of its essay prompts is for a diversity essay, which can be anywhere from 250 to 650 words. This prompt has a strong focus on the applicant's identity, interests, and background.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful, they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

ApplyTexas is similar to the Common Application but is only used by public colleges and universities in the state of Texas. The application contains multiple essay prompts, one of which is a diversity college essay prompt that asks you to elaborate on who you are based on a particular identity, a passion you have, or a particular skill that you've cultivated.

Essay B: Some students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. If you are one of these students, then tell us about yourself.

In a diversity essay, focus on an aspect of your identity or cultural background that defines you and makes you stand out.

What Do Colleges Look for in a Diversity Essay?

With the diversity essay, what colleges usually want most is to learn more about you , including what experiences have made you the person you are today and what unique insights you can offer the school. But what kinds of specific qualities do schools look for in a diversity essay?

To answer this, let's look at what schools themselves have said about college essays. Although not many colleges give advice specific to the diversity essay, many provide tips for how to write an effective college essay in general .

For example, here is what Dickinson College hopes to see in applicants' college essays:

Tell your story.

It may be trite advice, but it's also true. Admissions counselors develop a sixth sense about essay writers who are authentic. You'll score points for being earnest and faithful to yourself.

Authenticity is key to writing an effective diversity essay. Schools want you to be honest about who you are and where you come from; don't exaggerate or make up stories to make yourself sound "cooler" or more interesting—99% of the time, admissions committees will see right through it! Remember: admissions committees read thousands of applications, so they can spot a fake story a mile away.

Next, here's what Wellesley College says about the purpose of college essays:

Let the Board of Admission discover:

• More about you as a person.
• The side of you not shown by SATs and grades.
• Your history, attitudes, interests, and creativity.
• Your values and goals—what sets you apart.

It's important to not only be authentic but to also showcase "what sets you apart" from other applicants—that is, what makes you you . This is especially important when you consider how many applications admissions committees go through each year. If you don't stand out in some positive way, you'll likely end up in the crapshoot , significantly reducing or even eliminating your chances of admission .

And finally, here's some advice from the University of Michigan on writing essays for college:

Your college essay will be one of nearly 50,000 that we'll be reading in admissions—use this opportunity to your advantage. Your essay gives us insights into your personality; it helps us determine if your relationship with the school will be mutually beneficial.

So tell us what faculty you'd like to work with, or what research you're interested in. Tell us why you're a leader—or how you overcame adversity in your life. Tell us why this is the school for you. Tell us your story.

Overall, the most important characteristic colleges are looking for in the diversity essay (as well as in any college essay you submit) is authenticity. Colleges want to know who you are and how you got here; they also want to see what makes you memorable and what you can bring to the school.

An excellent diversity essay will represent some aspect of your identity in a sincere, authentic way.

How to Write an Effective Diversity Essay: Four Tips

Here are some tips to help you write a great diversity college essay and increase your chances of admission to college.

#1: Think About What Makes You Unique

One of the main purposes of the diversity essay is to present your uniqueness and explain how you will bring a new perspective to the student body and school as a whole. Therefore, for your essay, be sure to choose a topic that will help you stand apart from other applicants .

For example, instead of writing about your ability to play the piano (which a lot of applicants can do, no doubt), it'd be far more interesting to elaborate on how your experience growing up in Austria led you to become interested in classical music.

Try to think of defining experiences in your life. These don't have to be obvious life-altering events, but they should have had a lasting impact on you and helped shape your identity.

#2: Be Honest and Authentic

Ah, there's that word again: authentic . Although it's important to showcase how unique you are, you also want to make sure you're staying true to who you are. What experiences have made you the person you are today? What kind of impact did these have on your identity, accomplishments, and future goals?

Being honest also means not exaggerating (or lying about) your experiences or views. It's OK if you don't remember every little detail of an event or conversation. Just try to be as honest about your feelings as possible. Don't say something changed your life if it really had zero impact on you.

Ultimately, you want to write in a way that's true to your voice . Don't be afraid to throw in a little humor or a personal anecdote. What matters most is that your diversity essay accurately represents you and your intellectual potential.

#3: Write Clearly, Correctly, and Cogently

This next tip is of a more mechanical nature. As is the case with any college essay, it's critical that your diversity essay is well written . After all, the purpose of this essay is not only to help schools get to know you better but also to demonstrate a refined writing ability—a skill that's necessary for doing well in college, regardless of your major.

A diversity essay that's littered with typos and grammatical errors will fail to tell a smooth, compelling, and coherent story about you. It will also make you look unprofessional and won't convince admissions committees that you're serious about college and your future.

So what should you do? First, separate your essay into clear, well-organized paragraphs. Next, edit your essay several times. As you further tweak your draft, continue to proofread it. If possible, get an adult—such as a teacher, tutor, or parent—to look it over for you as well.

#4: Take Your Time

Our final tip is to give yourself plenty of time to actually write your diversity essay. Usually, college applications are due around December or January , so it's a good idea to start your essay early, ideally in the summer before your senior year (and before classes and homework begin eating up your time).

Starting early also lets you gain some perspective on your diversity essay . Here's how to do this: once you've written a rough draft or even just a couple of paragraphs of your essay, put it away for a few days. Once this time passes, take out your essay again and reread it with a fresh perspective. Try to determine whether it still has the impact you wanted it to have. Ask yourself, "Does this essay sound like the real me or someone else? Are some areas a little too cheesy? Could I add more or less detail to certain paragraphs?"

Finally, giving yourself lots of time to write your diversity essay means you can have more people read it and offer comments and edits on it . This is crucial for producing an effective diversity college essay.

Conclusion: Writing Diversity Essays for College

A diversity essay is a college admissions essay that r evolves around an applicant's background and identity, usually within the context of a particular community. This community can refer to race or ethnicity, income level, neighborhood, school, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc.

Many colleges—such as the University of Michigan, the University of Washington, and Duke—use the diversity essay to ensure diversity in their student bodies . Some schools require the essay; others accept it as an optional application component.

If you'll be writing diversity essays for college, be sure to do the following when writing your essay to give yourself a higher chance of admission:

• Think about what makes you unique: Try to pinpoint an experience or opinion you have that'll separate you from the rest of the crowd in an interesting, positive way.
• Be honest and authentic:  Avoid exaggerating or lying about your feelings and experiences.
• Write clearly, correctly, and cogently:  Edit, proofread, and get someone else to look over your essay.
• Take your time: Start early, preferably during the summer before your senior year, so you can have more time to make changes and get feedback from others.

With that, I wish you the best of luck on your diversity essay!

What's Next?

You understand how to write a diversity essay— but what about a "Why this college?" essay ? What about a general personal statement ? Our guides explain what these essays are and how you can produce amazing responses for your applications.

Want more samples of college essay prompts? Read dozens of real prompts with our guide and learn how to answer them effectively.

Curious about what a good college essay actually looks like? Then check out our analysis of 100+ college essays and what makes them memorable .

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Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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Writing an Effective Diversity Statement

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The diversity statement asks graduate school applicants to identify and discuss their demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. While a diversity statement is not required for all graduate school applications, it is becoming increasingly common. Prompts can vary widely across institutions and can change yearly. They are not always available on a program’s website and are often encountered once you have opened an application for that school. Below are a few examples of prompts from recent years. Notice the difference and similarities in what applicants are being asked to address.  

• UC Santa Cruz is interested in a diverse and inclusive graduate student population. In an essay, discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree. (2022)
• Supporting the development of a diverse student body is central to the University of Minnesota’s mission. This mission is enacted by the inclusion of academically excellent students with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and/or a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Please write a statement that identifies the distinctive characteristics and/or life experiences, such as successfully overcoming obstacles or hardships, that you would bring to your graduate program and how that could contribute to the education and enhanced perspective of fellow students at the University of Minnesota. (2022)
• Yale Chemistry is dedicated to attracting qualified students with diverse backgrounds and experiences. In 300 words or less, applicants should briefly describe their perspectives on diversity, why it is important, and how they have contributed to or will contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion. (2022)
• Applicants may submit a statement with their application, briefly describing how their academic interests, background, or life experiences would advance Princeton’s commitment to diversity within the Graduate School and to training individuals in an increasingly diverse society. Please submit a succinct statement of no more than 500 words. (2022)

  A helpful starting point is to consider definitions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. Dafina-Lazarus Stewart’s definitions are particularly useful because they disentangle the nuances of the language:  

  “ Diversity celebrates increases in numbers that still reflect minoritized status on campus and incremental growth. Equity celebrates reductions in harm, revisions to abusive systems and increases in supports for people’s life changes as reported by those who have been targeted. Inclusion celebrates awards for initiatives and credits itself for having a diverse candidate pool. Justice celebrates getting rid of practices and policies that were having disparate impacts on minoritized groups” (Stewart, 2017).  

  Brainstorming Questions  

• What are your experiences with diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice? How have you contributed to these initiatives? How have you created, maintained, or prompted diverse/equitable/inclusive spaces and communities?  
• What experiences come to your mind? Some examples include extra-curriculars, clubs, coursework, campaigns, work, research, volunteer activities, mentoring activities, etc.  
• Why were these experiences meaningful? What did you learn from them? How did they extend your understanding of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice?   
• Are there aspects of your identity that inform your approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice? What would you be comfortable sharing with an admissions committee?  
•   Are there aspects of your identity, or life experiences you’ve had, that help you approach academic work in an uncommon way?  
•  D oes the prompt encourage you to think about your future engagements in diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice? If so, what do you want to include? How will you engage in such work as a graduate student, in your research, outreach, or beyond graduate school?  
•   Do your responses answer the prompt?   
•   Should you zero in on one or more of these experiences? Or will you take a more comprehensive approach in discussing your experiences? In deciding which approach to take in organizing your diversity statement, refer back to the prompt and the other materials in your application.  

Additional Resources    

• Arizona State University Graduate College
• Stewart, Dafina-Lazarus. (30 Mar 2017). Language of Appeasement . Inside Higher Ed.
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Office of Graduate Studies
• University of Minnesota Career Services

This resource was developed in collaboration with Grinnell College’s Writing, Reading, and Speaking Center

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6 Diversity College Essay Examples

What’s covered:, how to write the diversity essay after the end of affirmative action, essay #1: jewish identity, essay #2: being bangladeshi-american, essay #3: marvel vs dc, essay #4: leadership as a first-gen american, essay #5: protecting the earth, essay #6: music and accents, where to get your diversity essays edited, what is the diversity essay.

While working on your college applications, you may come across essays that focus on diversity , culture, or values. The purpose of these essays is to highlight any diverse views or opinions that you may bring to campus. Colleges want a diverse student body that’s made up of different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and interests. These essay prompts are a way for them to see what students can bring to their school.

In this post, we will share six essays written by real students that cover the topic of culture and diversity. We’ll also include what each essay did well and where there is room for improvement. Hopefully, this will be a useful resource to inspire your own diversity essay.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. That said, you should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and they will not have a favorable view of students who have plagiarized.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of race in college admissions was unconstitutional. In other words, they struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions . This will affect college-bound students of color in a number of ways, including lowering their chances of acceptance and reducing the amount of direct outreach they’ll receive from colleges. Another change to consider is the ways in which students should tackle their diversity essays.

Although colleges can no longer directly factor race into admissions, students aren’t prohibited from discussing their racial backgrounds in supplemental application essays. If your racial background is important to you, seriously consider writing about it in your diversity essays. If you don’t, admissions officers are extremely limited in their ability to consider your race when making an admission decision.

As in the essays listed below, discussing your race is an excellent tool for showing admissions officers the person behind the grades and test scores. Beyond that, it provides admissions officers with an opportunity to put themselves in your shoes—showing them how your background has presented challenges to overcome, helped build important life skills, and taught you valuable lessons.

Diversity Essay Examples

I was thirsty. In my wallet was a lone $10 bill, ultimately useless at my school’s vending machine. Tasked with scrounging together the $1 cost of a water bottle, I fished out and arranged the spare change that normally hid in the bottom of my backpack in neat piles of nickels and dimes on my desk. I swept them into a spare Ziploc and began to leave when a classmate snatched the bag and held it above my head.

“Want your money back, Jew?” she chanted, waving the coins around. I had forgotten the Star-of-David around my neck, but quickly realized she must have seen it and connected it to the stacks of coins. I am no stranger to experiencing and confronting antisemitism, but I had never been targeted in my school before. I grabbed my bag and sternly told her to leave. Although she sauntered away, the impact remained.

This incident serves as an example of the adversity I have and will continue to face from those who only see me as a stereotype. Ironically, however, these experiences of discrimination have only increased my pride as a member of the Jewish Community. Continuing to wear the Star-of-David connects me to my history and my family. I find meaning and direction in my community’s values, such as pride, education, and giving—and I am eager to transfer these values to my new community: the Duke community.

What the Essay Did Well

Writing about discrimination can be difficult, but if you are comfortable doing it, it can make for a powerful story. Although this essay is short and focused on one small interaction, it represents a much larger struggle for this student, and for that reason it makes the essay very impactful.

The author takes her time at the beginning of the essay to build the scene for the audience, which allows us to feel like we are there with her, making the hateful comments even more jarring later on. If she had just told us her classmate teased her with harmful stereotypes, we wouldn’t feel the same sense of anger as we do knowing that she was just trying to get a drink and ended up being harassed.

This essay does another important thing—it includes self-reflection on the experience and on the student’s identity. Without elaborating on the emotional impact of a situation, an essay about discrimination would make admission officers feel bad for the student, but they wouldn’t be compelled to admit the student. By describing how experiences like these drive her and make her more determined to embody positive values, this student reveals her character to the readers.

What Could Be Improved

While including emotional reflection in the latter half of the essay is important, the actual sentences could be tightened up a bit to leave a stronger impression. The student does a nice job of showing us her experience with antisemitism, but she just tells us about the impact it has on her. If she instead showed us what the impact looked like, the essay would be even better.

For example, rather than telling us “Continuing to wear the Star-of-David connects me to my history and my family,” she could have shown that connection: “My Star-of-David necklace thumps against my heart with every step I take, reminding me of my great-grandparents who had to hide their stars, my grandma’s spindly fingers lighting the menorah each Hanukkah, and my uncle’s homemade challah bread.” This new sentence reveals so much more than the existing sentence about the student and the deep connection she feels with her family and religion.

Life before was good: verdant forests, sumptuous curries, and a devoted family.

Then, my family abandoned our comfortable life in Bangladesh for a chance at the American dream in Los Angeles. Within our first year, my father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He lost his battle three weeks before my sixth birthday. Facing a new country without the steady presence of my father, we were vulnerable—prisoners of hardship in the land of the free.

We resettled in the Bronx, in my uncle’s renovated basement. It was meant to be our refuge, but I felt more displaced than ever. Gone were the high-rise condos of West L.A.; instead, government projects towered over the neighborhood. Pedestrians no longer smiled and greeted me; the atmosphere was hostile, even toxic. Schoolkids were quick to pick on those they saw as weak or foreign, hurling harsh words I’d never heard before.

Meanwhile, my family began integrating into the local Bangladeshi community. I struggled to understand those who shared my heritage. Bangladeshi mothers stayed home while fathers drove cabs and sold fruit by the roadside—painful societal positions. Riding on crosstown buses or walking home from school, I began to internalize these disparities.

During my fleeting encounters with affluent Upper East Siders, I saw kids my age with nannies, parents who wore suits to work, and luxurious apartments with spectacular views. Most took cabs to their destinations: cabs that Bangladeshis drove. I watched the mundane moments of their lives with longing, aching to plant myself in their shoes. Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day.

As I grappled with my relationship with the Bangladeshi community, I turned my attention to helping my Bronx community by pursuing an internship with Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda. I handled desk work and took calls, spending the bulk of my time actively listening to the hardships constituents faced—everything from a veteran stripped of his benefits to a grandmother unable to support her bedridden grandchild.

I’d never exposed myself to stories like these, and now I was the first to hear them. As an intern, I could only assist in what felt like the small ways—pointing out local job offerings, printing information on free ESL classes, reaching out to non-profits. But to a community facing an onslaught of intense struggles, I realized that something as small as these actions could have vast impacts.

Seeing the immediate consequences of my actions inspired me. Throughout that summer, I internalized my community’s daily challenges in a new light. I began to see the prevalent underemployment and cramped living quarters less as sources of shame. Instead, I saw them as realities that had to be acknowledged, but that could ultimately be remedied.

I also realized the benefits of the Bangladeshi culture I had been so ashamed of. My Bangla language skills were an asset to the office, and my understanding of Bangladeshi etiquette allowed for smooth communication between office staff and the office’s constituents. As I helped my neighbors navigate city services, I saw my heritage with pride—a perspective I never expected to have.

I can now appreciate the value of my unique culture and background, and the value of living with less. This perspective offers room for progress, community integration, and a future worth fighting for. My time with Assemblyman Sepulveda’s office taught me that I can be an agent of change who can enable this progression. Far from being ashamed of my community, I want to someday return to local politics in the Bronx to continue helping others access the American Dream. I hope to help my community appreciate the opportunity to make progress together. By embracing reality, I learned to live it. Along the way, I discovered one thing: life is good, but we can make it better.

This student’s passion for social justice and civic duty shines through in this essay because of how honest it is. Sharing their personal experience with immigrating, moving around, being an outsider, and finding a community allows us to see the hardships this student has faced and builds empathy towards their situation.

However, what really makes it strong is that the student goes beyond describing the difficulties they faced and explains the mental impact it had on them as a child: “Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day.” The rejection of their culture presented at the beginning of the essay creates a nice juxtaposition with the student’s view in the latter half of the essay, and helps demonstrate how they have matured.

They then use their experience interning as a way to delve into a change in their thought process about their culture. This experience also serves as a way to show how their passion for social justice began. Using this experience as a mechanism to explore their thoughts and feelings is an excellent example of how items that are included elsewhere on your application should be incorporated into your essay.

This essay prioritizes emotions and personal views over specific anecdotes. Although there are details and certain moments incorporated throughout to emphasize the author’s points, the main focus remains on the student and how they grapple with their culture and identity.

One area for improvement is the conclusion. Although the forward-looking approach is a nice way to end an essay focused on social justice, it would be nice to include more details and imagery in the conclusion. How does the student want to help their community? What government position do they see themselves holding one day?

A more impactful ending might describe the student walking into their office at the New York City Housing Authority in 15 years. This future student might be looking at the plans to build a new development in the Bronx just blocks away from where they grew up that would provide quality housing to people in their Bangladeshi community. They would smile while thinking about how far they have come from that young kid who used to be ashamed of their culture.

Superhero cinema is an oligopoly consisting of two prominent, towering brands: Marvel and DC. I’m a religious supporter of Marvel, but last year, I discovered that my friend, Tom, was a DC fan. After a vociferous 20-minute quarrel about which was better, we decided to allocate one day to have a professional debate, using carefully assembled and coherent arguments.

One week later, we both brought pages of notes and evidence cards (I also had my Iron-Man bobblehead for moral support). Our impartial moderator—a Disney fan—sat in the middle with a stopwatch, open-policy style. I began the debate by discussing how Marvel accentuated the humanity of the storyline—such as in Tony Stark’s transformation from an egotistical billionaire to a compassionate father—which drew in a broader audience, because more people resonated with certain aspects of the characters. Tom rebutted this by capitalizing on how Deadpool was a duplicate of Deathstroke, how Vision copied Red Tornado, and how DC sold more comics than Marvel.

40 minutes later, we reached an impasse. We were out of cards, and we both made excellent points, so our moderator was unable to declare a winner. Difficult conversations aren’t necessarily always the ones that make political headlines. Instead, a difficult discussion involves any topic with which people share an emotional connection.

Over the years, I became so emotionally invested in Marvel that my mind erected an impenetrable shield, blocking out all other possibilities. Even today, we haven’t decided which franchise was better, but I realized that I was undermining DC for no reason other than my own ignorance.

The inevitability of diversity suggests that it is our responsibility to understand the other person and what they believe in. We may not always experience a change in opinion, but we can grant ourselves the opportunity to expand our global perspective. I strive to continue this adventure to increase my awareness as a superhero aficionado, activist, and student, by engaging in conversations that require me to think beyond what I believe and to view the world from others’ perspectives.

And yes, Tom is still my friend.

Diversity doesn’t always have to be about culture or heritage; diversity exists all around us, even in our comic book preferences. The cleverness of this essay lies in the way the student flipped the traditional diversity prompt on its head and instead discussed his diverse perspective on a topic he is passionate about. If you don’t have a cultural connection you are compelled to write about, this is a nifty approach to a diversity prompt—if it’s handled appropriately.

While this student has a non-traditional topic, he still presents it in a way that pays respect to the key aspects of a diversity essay: depicting his perspective and recognizing the importance of diverse views. Just as someone who is writing about a culture that is possibly unfamiliar to the reader, the student describes what makes Marvel and DC unique and important to him and his friend, respectively. He also expands on how a lack of diversity in superhero consumption led to his feeling of ignorance, and how it now makes him appreciate the need for diversity in all aspects of his life.

This student is unapologetically himself in this essay, which is ultimately why this unorthodox topic is able to work. He committed to his passion for Marvel by sharing analytical takes on characters and demonstrating how the franchise was so important to his identity that it momentarily threatened a friendship. The inclusion of humor through his personal voice—e.g., referring to the argument as a professional debate and telling us that the friendship lived on—contributes to the essay feeling deeply personal.

Choosing an unconventional topic for a diversity essay requires extra care and attention to ensure that you are still addressing the core of the prompt. That being said, if you accomplish it successfully, it makes for an incredibly memorable essay that could easily set you apart!

While this is a great essay as is, the idea of diversity could have been addressed a little bit earlier in the piece to make it absolutely clear the student is writing about his diverse perspective. He positions Marvel and DC as two behemoths in the superhero movie industry, but in the event that his reader is unfamiliar with these two brands, there is little context about the cultural impact each has on its fans.

To this student, Marvel is more than just a movie franchise; it’s a crucial part of his identity, just as someone’s race or religion might be. In order for the reader to fully understand the weight of his perspective, there should be further elaboration—towards the beginning—on how important Marvel is to this student.

Leadership was thrust upon me at a young age. When I was six years old, my abusive father abandoned my family, leaving me to step up as the “man” of the house. From having to watch over my little sister to cooking dinner three nights a week, I never lived an ideal suburban life. I didn’t enjoy the luxuries of joining after-school activities, getting driven to school or friends’ houses, or taking weekend trips to the movies or bowling alley. Instead, I spent my childhood navigating legal hurdles, shouldering family responsibilities, and begrudgingly attending court-mandated therapy sessions.

At the same time, I tried to get decent grades and maintain my Colombian roots and Spanish fluency enough to at least partially communicate with my grandparents, both of whom speak little English. Although my childhood had its bright and joyful moments, much of it was weighty and would have been exhausting for any child to bear. In short, I grew up fast. However, the responsibilities I took on at home prepared me to be a leader and to work diligently, setting me up to use these skills later in life.

I didn’t have much time to explore my interests until high school, where I developed my knack for government and for serving others. Being cast in a lead role in my school’s fall production as a freshman was the first thing to give me the confidence I needed to pursue other activities: namely, student government. Shortly after being cast, I was elected Freshman Vice-President, a role that put me in charge of promoting events, delegating daily office tasks, collaborating with the administration on new school initiatives, and planning trips and fundraisers.

While my new position demanded a significant amount of responsibility, my childhood of helping my mom manage our household prepared me to be successful in the role. When I saw the happy faces of my classmates after a big event, I felt proud to know that I had made even a small difference to them. Seeing projects through to a successful outcome was thrilling. I enjoyed my time and responsibilities so much that I served all four years of high school, going on to become Executive Vice-President.

As I found success in high school, my mother and grandparents began speaking more about the life they faced prior to emigrating from Colombia. To better connect with them, I took a series of Spanish language classes to regain my fluency. After a practice run through my presentation on Bendíceme, Ultima ( Bless me, Ultima ) by Rudolofo Anaya, with my grandmother, she squeezed my hand and told me the story of how my family was forced from their home in order to live free of religious persecution. Though my grandparents have often expressed how much better their lives and their children’s lives have been in America, I have often struggled with my identity. I felt that much of it was erased with my loss of our native language.

In elementary school, I learned English best because in class I was surrounded by it. Spanish was more difficult to grasp without a formal education, and my family urged me to become fluent in English so I could be of better help to them in places as disparate as government agencies and grocery stores. When I was old enough to recognize the large part of my identity still rooted in being Colombian, it was challenging to connect these two sides of who I was.

Over time I have been able to reconcile the two in the context of my aspirations. I found purpose and fulfillment through student council, and I knew that I could help other families like my own if I worked in local government. By working through city offices that address housing, education, and support for survivors of childhood abuse, I could give others the same liberties and opportunities my family has enjoyed in this country. Doing so would also help me honor my roots as a first-generation American.

I have been a leader my entire life. Both at Harvard and after graduation, I want to continue that trend. I hope to volunteer with organizations that share my goals. I want to advise policy-making politicians on ways to make children and new immigrants safer and more secure. When my family was at their worst, my community gave back. I hope to give that gift to future generations. A career in local, city-based public service is not a rashly made decision; it is a reflection of where I’ve already been in life, and where I want to be in the future.

Although this essay begins on a somber note, it goes on to show this student’s determination and the joy he found. Importantly, it also ends with a positive, forward-looking perspective. This is a great example of how including your hardship can bolster an essay as long as it is not the essay’s main focus.

Explaining the challenges this student faced from a young age—becoming the man of the house, dealing with legal matters, maintaining good grades, etc.—builds sympathy for his situation. However, the first paragraph is even more impactful because he explains the emotional toll these actions had on him. We understand how he lost the innocence of his childhood and how he struggled to remain connected to his Colombian heritage with all his other responsibilities. Including these details truly allows the reader to see this student’s struggle, making us all the more joyful when he comes out stronger in the end.

Pivoting to discuss positive experiences with student government and Spanish classes for the rest of the essay demonstrates that this student has a positive approach to life and is willing to push through challenges. The tone of the essay shifts from heavy to uplifting. He explains the joy he got out of helping his classmates and connecting with his grandparents, once again providing emotional reflection to make the reader care more.

Overall, this essay does a nice job of demonstrating how this student approaches challenges and negative experiences. Admitting that the responsibilities of his childhood had a silver lining shows his maturity and how he will be able to succeed in government one day. The essay strikes a healthy balance between challenge and hope, leaving us with a positive view of a student with such emotional maturity.

Although the content of this essay is very strong, it struggles with redundancy and disorganized information. He mentions his passion for government at the beginning of the student government paragraph, then again addresses government in the paragraph focused on his Colombian heritage, and concludes by talking about how he wants to get into government once more. Similarly, in the first paragraph, he discusses the struggle of maintaining his Colombian identity and then fully delves into that topic in the third paragraph.

The repetition of ideas and lack of a streamlined organization of this student’s thoughts diminishes some of the emotional impact of the story. The reader is left trying to piece together a swirling mass of information on their own, rather than having a focused, sequential order to follow.

This could be fixed if the student rearranged details to make each paragraph focused on a singular idea. For example, the first paragraph could be about his childhood. The second could be about how student government sparked his interest in government and what he hopes to do one day. The third could be about how he reconnected with his Colombian roots through his Spanish classes, after years of struggling with his identity. And the final paragraph could tie everything together by explaining how everything led to him wanting to pursue a future serving others, particularly immigrants like his family.

Alternatively, the essay could follow a sequential order that would start with his childhood, then explain his struggle with his identity, then show how student government and Spanish classes helped him find himself, and finally, conclude with what he hopes to accomplish by pursuing government.

I never understood the power of community until I left home to join seven strangers in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Although we flew in from distant corners of the U.S., we shared a common purpose: immersing ourselves in our passion for protecting the natural world.

Back home in my predominantly conservative suburb, my neighbors had brushed off environmental concerns. My classmates debated the feasibility of Trump’s wall, not the deteriorating state of our planet. Contrastingly, these seven strangers delighted in bird-watching, brightened at the mention of medicinal tree sap, and understood why I once ran across a four-lane highway to retrieve discarded beer cans.

Their histories barely resembled mine, yet our values aligned intimately. We did not hesitate to joke about bullet ants, gush about the versatility of tree bark, or discuss the destructive consequences of materialism. Together, we let our inner tree-huggers run free.

In the short life of our little community, we did what we thought was impossible. By feeding on each other’s infectious tenacity, we cultivated an atmosphere that deepened our commitment to our values and empowered us to speak out on behalf of the environment. After a week of stimulating conversations and introspective revelations about engaging people from our hometowns in environmental advocacy, we developed a shared determination to devote our lives to this cause.

As we shared a goodbye hug, my new friend whispered, “The world needs saving. Someone’s gotta do it.” For the first time, I believed that that someone could be me.

This student is expressing their diversity through their involvement in a particular community—another nice approach if you don’t want to write about culture or ethnicity. We all have unique things that we geek out over. This student expresses the joy that they derived from finding a community where they could express their love for the environment. Passion is fundamental to university life and generally finds its way into any successful application.

The essay finds strength in the fact that readers feel for the student. We get a little bit of backstory about where they come from and how they felt silenced— “Back home in my predominantly conservative suburb, my neighbors had brushed off environmental concerns” —so it’s easy to feel joy for them when they get set free and finally find their community.

This student displays clear values: community, ecoconsciousness, dedication, and compassion. An admissions officer who reads a diversity essay is looking for students with strong values who will enrich the university community with their unique perspective—that sounds just like this student!

One area of weakness in this essay is the introduction. The opening line— “I never understood the power of community until I left home to join seven strangers in the Ecuadorian rainforest” —is a bit clichéd. Introductions should be captivating and build excitement and suspense for what is to come. Simply telling the reader about how your experience made you understand the power of community reveals the main takeaway of your essay without the reader needing to go any further.

Instead of starting this essay with a summary of what the essay is about, the student should have made their hook part of the story. Whether that looks like them being exasperated with comments their classmates made about politics, or them looking around apprehensively at the seven strangers in their program as they all boarded their flight, the student should start off in the action.

India holds a permanent place in my heart and ears. Whenever I returned on a trip or vacation, I would show my grandmother how to play Monopoly and she would let me tie her sari. I would teach my grandfather English idioms—which he would repeat to random people and fishmongers on the streets—and he would teach me Telugu phrases.

It was a curious exchange of worlds that I am reminded of every time I listen to Indian music. It was these tunes that helped me reconnect with my heritage and ground my meandering identity. Indian music, unlike the stereotype I’d long been imbued with, was not just a one-and-done Bollywood dance number! Each region and language was like an island with its own unique sonic identity. I’m grateful for my discovery of Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil tunes, for these discoveries have opened me up to the incredible smorgasbord of diversity, depth, and complexity within the subcontinent I was born in.

Here’s an entirely-different sonic identity for you: Texan slang. “Couldya pass the Mango seltzer, please, hon?” asked my Houstonian neighbor, Rae Ann—her syllables melding together like the sticky cake batter we were making.

Rae Ann and her twang were real curiosities to me. Once, she invited my family to a traditional Texan barbecue with the rest of our neighbors. As Hindus, we didn’t eat beef, so we showed up with chicken kebabs, instead. Rather than looking at us bizarrely, she gladly accepted the dish, lining it up beside grilled loins and hamburger patties.

Her gesture was a small but very well-accepted one and I quickly became convinced she was the human manifestation of “Southern hospitality”—something reflected in each of her viscous, honey-dripping phrases. “Watch out for the skeeters!” was an excellent example. It was always funny at first, but conveyed a simple message: We’ve got each other’s backs and together, we can overcome the blood-sucking mosquitoes of the Houstonian summer! I began to see how her words built bridges, not boundaries.

I believe that sounds—whether it’s music or accents—can make a difference in the ways we perceive and accept individuals from other backgrounds. But sound is about listening too. In Rice’s residential college, I would be the type of person to strike up a conversation with an international student and ask for one of their Airpods (you’d be surprised how many different genres and languages of music I’ve picked up in this way!).

As both an international student and Houstonian at heart, I hope to bridge the gap between Rice’s domestic and international populations. Whether it’s organizing cultural events or simply taking the time to get to know a student whose first language isn’t English, I look forward to listening to the stories that only a fellow wanderer can tell.

This essay does an excellent job of addressing two aspects of this student’s identity. Looking at diversity through sound is a very creative way to descriptively depict their Indian and Texan cultures. Essays are always more successful when they stimulate the senses, so framing the entire response around sound automatically opens the door for vivid imagery.

The quotes from this student’s quirky neighbor bring a sense of realism to the essay. We can feel ourselves at the barbecue and hear her thick Texan accent coming through. The way people communicate is a huge part of their culture and identity, so the way that this student perfectly captures the essence of their Texan identity with accented phrases is skillfully done.

This essay does such a great job of making the sounds of Texas jump off the page, so it is a bit disappointing that it wasn’t able to accomplish the same for India. The student describes the different Indian languages and music styles, but doesn’t bring them to life with quotes or onomatopoeia in the manner that they did for the sounds of Texas.

They could have described the buzz of the sitar or the lyrical pattern of the Telugu phrases their grandfather taught them. Telling us about the diversity of sounds in Indian music is fine, but if the reader can’t appreciate what those sounds resemble, it makes it harder to understand the Indian half of the author’s identity. Especially since this student emulated the sounds and essence of Texas so well, it’s important that India is given the same treatment so we can fully appreciate both sides of this essay.

More Supplemental Essay Tips

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How to Write a Stellar Extracurricular Activity College Essay

Do you want feedback on your diversity essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Diversity Essay - School of Industrial Engineering - Purdue University

Diversity Essay

**for graduates of u.s. high schools only**.

Many graduate programs use the diversity essay as a criterion when determining recommendations for fellowships. The diversity essay should be 500 words or less responding to the following statement: Describe your leadership, work experience, service experience, or other significant involvement with racial, ethnic, socio-economic, or educational communities that have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education, and how these experiences would promote a diversity of views, experiences, and ideas in the pursuit of research, scholarship, and creative excellence. The Purdue University Doctoral Fellowship, David M. Knox Fellowship, or George Washington Carver Fellowship, all require the submission of the diversity essay. Potential recipients of these fellowships are students who have received a degree from an accredited U.S. high school (include name of U.S. High School, City, State, and Zip code in your essay) and demonstrate superior academic achievements and abilities.

See  FAQ  for additional questions.

Center for Career Development

Diversity Statements

The purpose of this guide is to provide a foundation for thinking about your own diversity statement(s). This guide is general and does not provide discipline- or position-specific guidance.   The Center for Career Development offers one-on-one appointments to review and discuss your diversity statement. We also encourage you to reach out to recent faculty hires in your department or discipline to discuss their diversity statements as they are most likely to have good examples of what committees may find compelling.

What is a diversity statement and what is its purpose?

In recent years, many colleges and universities started prioritizing diversifying their faculty, staff and student bodies. Institutions are interested in hiring faculty with lived experiences, competencies, or insights that can foster an inclusive environment. Your diversity statement is the first way a committee will assess your ability to navigate these topics.   A diversity statement outlines how a candidate will contribute to an institution's approach to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). It's an opportunity for you to highlight the ways you would advance an institution's DEI work. It's also a chance for you to discuss your understanding of the varied experiences of people from minoritized and/or underrepresented groups. You can also outline your lived experiences or your experiences meeting the needs of a diverse group during your graduate training and beyond. It is also appropriate to outline a vision of how you, as a faculty member, would make contributions to DEI in the future.   Your statement will likely have at least some of these elements:

• A statement of your perspective or values: Articulate your understanding of DEI within higher education
• Personal examples or experience: Provide evidence of your commitment to DEI by describing what you've done in the past
• Future plans: Explain what you will do as a faculty member to advance DEI

What topics might I cover?

Diversity statements vary widely in terms of what people choose to highlight depending on their own identities, experiences and backgrounds. You should include content that you think addresses how you have approached diversity in the past or may approach it in your new position. The following list is intended to serve as a starting point and is not exhaustive.

As with any piece of writing, it's helpful for a reader if you provide a framework. To orient your reader, you may want to discuss difficulties people from certain backgrounds face in your field.

You may also want to discuss your lived experiences navigating some of those very difficulties. However, for legal, personal or political reasons, you may choose not to include information about your identity. Either approach is fine.

If you are conducting research that focuses on people of diverse backgrounds or that offers theoretical or practical insights into underserved groups, be sure to highlight that in your diversity statement. It should also appear in your research statement.

You could also discuss ways you are going to support students of diverse backgrounds who may work with you as research assistants or thesis students.

If you have teaching experience, you may consider discussing how you incorporate DEI in your courses. For example, you could discuss inclusive teaching practices or how you have approached teaching diverse groups.

Mentorship is another form of teaching, so if you have experience working with students from minoritized or under-represented backgrounds, you can also highlight that.

It is also acceptable to generate ideas about how you would approach teaching as a new faculty member through the lens of DEI. Topics you include in your diversity statement related to teaching should complement what you talk about in your teaching statement.

If you hold positions within your department, on campus, or your professional associations related to DEI, you can discuss how those will shape your approach as a faculty member.

You can also discuss any outreach you may do in the community, especially related to marginalized groups.

Getting started

Writing a diversity statement is like writing other academic job materials (e.g., teaching or research statements). Because of that, many of the steps for a successful diversity statement are similar to other documents.

It may seem obvious, but ask yourself, “What do I mean by DEI? What does the institution mean?” These questions are critical to writing a coherent statement.

Using the topics listed above , you can also ask yourself more specific questions related to your ideas about diversity. Beck (2018) provides a useful list of questions you may want to consider as writing prompts.

Consider your audience

As with most writing, you are creating your diversity statement for someone to read. Keep this audience in mind as you craft your document.

Your statement will be read by a committee of faculty members, but the exact composition will vary depending on the type of institution you're applying to. Consider what faculty will want to or expect to see in your statement ( see topics above ).

Select your examples

Diversity statements are typically only about a page long. You may have a range of experiences you would like to discuss or cover. Be thoughtful about which examples you choose.

Each example you choose should highlight a competency, perspective, or experience you have that demonstrates your commitment to DEI.

The Writing Center , Center for Career Development, Gender and Sexuality Resource Center and your faculty mentor(s) are good resources to discuss your examples.

Revise and refine

As with all writing, your first draft of your diversity statement won't be your last or your best.

Have trusted advisers, mentors, and/or friends read over your statement to help make sure you're articulating your points as clearly as possible.

Should I tailor my diversity statement?

Once you have a general draft you feel comfortable with, you should make sure to research a specific institution or department's programs, efforts and policies related to DEI. When possible, align your statement with what is already happening to demonstrate that you've done your research. This will also allow you to provide more specific evidence about why you are the best candidate for their open position.

Example diversity statement

This statement was used by a candidate during a faculty job search as a fifth-year Ph.D. student. He received a faculty offer at a small liberal arts college in a psychology department.

My commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion stems from my own experiences as an undergraduate at Princeton University. As a lower-income queer student from a single-parent household, I felt out of place at Princeton to begin with. Coming from a public high school in Kentucky, I was terrified of falling behind academically.

Because of this fear, I was reluctant to try new fields, and I actively avoided asking for help from staff and faculty. During my first two years of college, I rarely felt that my professors were creating environments where my experiences were understood or valued. At my lowest, I considered transferring.

Eventually, though, I found my footing on campus through my work as a Residential College Adviser. In this role, I had the opportunity to advise a diverse group of first-year undergraduates. I was able to see the struggles that all of my advisees faced on campus, some of which overlapped with my own.

I became acutely aware of the need for universities to acknowledge the unique adversity facing each of its students. In addition, as an advisor I learned how critical it is to make it clear to students that you value the unique perspectives they each bring. These lessons are foundational to how I mentor and teach, and I will continue to emphasize equitable and inclusive treatment of students as a faculty member. 

As a PhD student, I have taken on several roles related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. I was elected by my peers to serve as the liaison between graduate students and faculty in my department. This role involved collecting anecdotes and experiences from PhD students about a range of issues including microaggressions, advisor conflict, and financial strain.

In one extreme case, several PhD students in my department did not receive a paycheck one month. In response, I drafted a letter based on students' accounts of this financial hardship and sent it to the dean of my academic college. Eventually, the issue was resolved. I enjoyed using my position to support students. I think it is especially important that those with institutional influence or privilege use that status to enact change and advocate for those without the same level of access to power. 

I also served on my department's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee. On the EDI committee, I contributed to discussions about how to promote equity and diversity in our department. I suggested that the department host a training from a member of the university's LGBTQIA center focusing on supporting queer students.

This training was well-attended and well-received by members of my department. In all of my past roles, my goal has always been to improve the experiences of people of all backgrounds. I am very interested in pursuing similar opportunities when possible at X university or college.

My goal as an instructor and mentor is to increase accessibility and promote inclusivity. In my teaching, I strive to highlight the importance of students' unique experiences and of diversity more broadly. In my Psychology of Language course, for example, I often talked openly with students about homogeneity in psycholinguistic research both in terms of who conducts studies and which samples are recruited.

I also dedicated an entire class session to talking about DEI. I assigned a recent paper about how the field could become more equitable. My students seemed to appreciate my approach. In my course evaluations, students rated whether I created an “inclusive classroom” at a 4.78 out of 5, higher than both my department and college's averages.

In my work as a writing tutor in the university's Writing Studio, I often encounter issues of equity and inclusion.  In one case, for example, a student wrote a moving essay that focused on their gender identity and disability. This student was hesitant to divulge such personal information in an academic application. To belay their fears, I talked with the student about the fact that their unique experiences informed who they were and what they were hoping to do.

The student was passionate about promoting queer and marginalized voices, and they eventually chose to include information about their own identity. I am eager to continue working with students from diverse backgrounds at X college/university. I am passionate about ensuring that people from all backgrounds are able to thrive, especially in their academic endeavors.

Related links

• Advancing Equity in Faculty Hiring with Diversity Statements
• Breaking Down Diversity Statements
• Developing and Writing a Diversity Statement
• Writing an Effective Diversity Statement
• Write Your Diversity Statement in Four Steps

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3 Diversity Essay Examples For Business School

Introduction.

Historically, MBA programs did not always exemplify the diversity that they strive for today, as programs were often composed of overrepresented populations.  For example, Harvard Business School did not admit women into its MBA program until as recently as 1961. Thankfully, business schools have made significant steps in the last few decades to incorporate women, international students, and students of other backgrounds into their programs. 

Business schools now understand and value the diverse backgrounds of MBA students, who bring a wealth of skills, knowledge, and experiences. Diverse student pools in MBA programs prepare future business leaders for success as they expand their global and cultural understanding by working with students from a wide range of backgrounds. 

Most business schools are eager to diversify their MBA programs and admit MBA students of “differing races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, socioeconomic statuses and geographical origins.” Business schools also strive to recruit students from an array of industries and a variety of undergraduate institutions.

Business professionals in MBA programs collaborate with students from numerous backgrounds, simulating students' real-world business experiences after graduation. Kelly R. Wilson, executive director of masters admissions at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, said that “Each person’s unique experience and background – their lifestyle – brings them to a place where they have a way that they think about things.” When classrooms are composed of diverse students, the classroom experience becomes more valuable as students can learn and challenge their perspectives, facilitating better critical thinking skills.

To foster an ideal and diverse learning environment, many business schools will offer students the chance to write a diversity essay as part of their MBA application. We will explain the purpose of a diversity essay, tips for writing one, and include some diversity essay examples. 

What is a Diversity Essay?

A diversity essay is often an optional essay that business schools may offer as part of their application process. Students can choose to write these essays if they self-identify as a minority based on their race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or belonging to any other marginalized group. These essays can also focus on a student’s values and unique experiences. 

These essays differ from typical business school essays; they tend to illustrate an applicant’s personal identity rather than focusing solely on their personal or professional achievements or why they want to go to a particular school. Applicants who choose to write a diversity essay will often tell an anecdotal story about their upbringing, community, or family and how their experiences shaped them.

The essays may also explain how the applicant's diverse background will meaningfully contribute to the specific business school of their choice. 

Purpose of the Diversity Essay 

The diversity essay offers a space to include your minority identity on a business school application if it’s something you want the admissions committee to know. Not only will the admissions committee get to learn more about you, but you can also use this opportunity to give context into your background and potentially explain how you have overcome past adversities. 

Business schools value the diversity of their students, and illuminating your background can show the admissions committee how you would add a unique voice and perspective to the MBA program. Many schools celebrate inclusivity and actively share class profile demographics on their websites. Among the top ten business schools , recent data shows that almost all schools had racial or ethnic minority students who make up at least 25% of the student body. 

Under-Represented Minorities At The Top 10 Business Schools

If crafting a diversity essay is something you want to do, your essay can also highlight how your minority identity strengthens your MBA candidacy.

‍ Shaun Carver , assistant dean of graduate programs with the Rady School of Management at UCSD, said that “It's important to put their [an applicant’s] diversity in context of what makes them unique and makes them a better candidate and not just mention it as... checking a box.” Remember that the purpose of the diversity essay is to showcase your background with context to the admissions committee, so they can learn more about you and how you will contribute to the program. 

If you are comfortable writing and talking about your gender identity or your self-identification as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, you may benefit from this in the admissions process. Jay Bryant, director of graduate recruitment and admissions with the Rady School of Management at the University of California—San Diego, said that “If you're applying to a school where that [LGBT status] would be an issue, you don't want to go there anyways.” Choosing to write a diversity essay about any part of your identity can help you later in the interview process as you explore the school’s culture and you get a better idea if you fit into it. 

Top Tips for Crafting a Diversity Essay 

Like any application essay, you want your diversity essay to be well-written, have a logical flow, and be free of any spelling or grammar errors. However, you can take some specific actions to make sure your diversity essay is the best that it can be. Here are some of our top tips to write a compelling diversity essay. 

Understand and Define Your Views on Diversity and Inclusion 

To help you get started on your essay, you should consider what diversity and inclusion mean to you. You can start jotting down ideas and themes that come to mind and ask yourself some questions to get the ball rolling. Some things you may want to ask yourself include: 

• What are the types of diversity that I exhibit in my identity? Keep in mind that it’s possible to write about more than one facet of your identity. For example, perhaps you are a racial or ethnic minority that identifies as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. 
• As a student, how do you think you can contribute to the diversity of the school you wish to attend? 
• What elements of your background influence your perspectives, experiences, and how you problem-solve in real-world settings? 
• What are your values regarding diversity, and how do you integrate these values in a professional setting? 

You will likely not have the luxury of a high word limit, so if you don’t hit all of these points in your essay, that’s okay. Asking yourself these questions is a way to get yourself thinking about what diversity means to you and to give yourself ideas for your writing. 

Tell Your Story 

Now that you’ve considered your beliefs surrounding diversity and inclusion, you can look toward identifying concrete examples in your personal experiences. You can write about how your background influenced and shaped you, any obstacles you’ve faced and how you overcame them, or initiatives or actions you’ve taken to promote diversity in your community.

Think carefully about any anecdotes that stick out in your mind as especially formative to your personal or professional development. Remember to be yourself and to write honestly about your story. The admissions committee will get to know your story, and you may even discuss it later in your interview. 

Explain Why Your Background Will Positively Contribute to the School’s Culture 

Although you are writing about yourself and your own experiences and initiatives, you will want to round back and explain how your minority identity improves your MBA candidacy. Write about how your unique background will enrich the program through your one-of-a-kind perspective and voice. Remember that the purpose of your entire application is to show the admissions committee why you are an excellent fit for your desired program.

Maybe you’re passionate about a school’s club or course that directly relates to the anecdotes you wrote about in your diversity essay. If you can relate your story to your desire to attend a particular program, it undoubtedly makes your essay stronger. 

Consider How Your Background Impacted Your Skills and Perspectives 

The diversity essay is a great place to illuminate your individuality. Think about your life in the context of how your experiences may differ from the “norm.” Did you grow up in a foreign country? If so, how did cultural and regional differences impact your perspectives on the world? Did you not grow up in the traditional nuclear family archetype? Do you possess unique skills thanks to your upbringing?

Keep in mind that these skills don’t necessarily have to be professional in nature. Perhaps you excel in a sport or game that’s relatively unknown to other people in the U.S., or you are a great dancer to choreography specific to your culture. Your hobbies, skills, and experiences put into the context of the general American population can be very different and interesting to the admissions committee. After all, your interests and skills are central to your personality and self-expression.

Think About the Future 

At the conclusion of your essay, you may want to write about your hopes for your future. Here you can write about what you want your life to look like after you graduate and the accomplishments you hope to achieve. You can intertwine these future aspirations with your diversity statement to give the admissions committee a comprehensive look at how you will continue to uphold your values and ambitions after graduation or how you want to continue to be involved with your school as an alumnus. 

Three Diversity Essay Examples for Business School

We have compiled three diversity essay examples to help you craft your own stellar essay. Keep in mind that these are examples and that the prompt for a diversity essay may differ depending on the business school. These diversity essay examples exemplify the criteria of the top tips above and can provide you with the framework you need to get started on your own essay.

Values are what guide you in your life and work. What values are important to you, and how have they influenced you? (450 words)

Sample introduction:.

“Thank you for calling [Call Center]; this is [Name] – may I have your name and email, please?” To my estimation, I’ve said this opening line 4,860 times. Unfathomable to my peers and family, I turned down a lucrative job in Silicon Valley to start my career in a call center. My decision was based upon my ambition of bettering the global community, driven by my guiding values of empathy and accountability. 

Sample Body Paragraphs:

I was born in [Country] to [Nationality] parents and moved to [City] at the age of five. My adolescence and teenage years were far from ordinary as our family moved every four years, and my sister was born in [year]. Despite my initial chagrin of being employed at the age of 12 as a traveling unpaid babysitter, these small yet significant responsibilities gave me my first glimpse into understanding what it meant to care for others. Empathy had led me to contextualize my life in a world of others, with the conclusion that humans should strive to help those around them.

I graduated with a concentration in corporate social responsibility (CSR). I felt the for-profit sector held the most untapped influence to fundamentally address global societal shortcomings. However, I couldn’t reconcile corporations’ competing pressure to maximize profits and engage in effective CSR initiatives until I discovered the entrepreneurial initiatives underway at [Call Center].

This rating agency was innovating the way investments are evaluated by assessing them based on sustainability metrics – environmental, social, and governance (ESG). In combining sustainability data and traditional financial metrics, investors can capture their non-pecuniary preferences in their investment behavior, which realigns corporate incentives to consider the stewardship of its actions. 

Sample Conclusion:

As I look to the future, I want to pivot from investment ratings and focus on broader sustainability evaluations for products and services. Much like how [Call Center] is innovating the way investments are assessed, I want to help shape how sustainability considerations can be integrated into the consumer decision-making process. I envision the parent company’s sustainability rating displayed directly on product packaging to allow consumers to incorporate their sustainable preferences into their purchasing decisions. I want to create a world in which a brand’s sustainability stewardship is as important as price and brand recognition. 

Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community? (400 words)

Hip hop choreography has been a significant part of my college and work career and is something that I am looking to continue at Wharton. I fell for choreography in college because it was not just one style but a mix of contemporary, jazz, freestyle hip hop, and many other sub-genres. To be successful in choreography, I had to be comfortable learning and combining different styles.

Sample Body Paragraph:

As a choreographer, I initially sought to never be the type of leader that was domineering and controlling. I wanted my team to be empowered to make independent decisions and never feel restricted. However, I learned that this was not the best approach for everyone. Some did love my leadership style and enjoyed the independence. Others disliked this and felt that I did not provide enough direction.

I was taken aback. I had thought I was empowering my team but instead had sowed confusion. I thought I knew best, but had not actually taken the time to understand their perspectives to truly support my team. From this, I gained a valuable learning experience. I learned the value of challenging my preconceptions and the importance of listening to others’ perspectives.

With a passion to engage and understand others, I will be a student at Wharton who will connect my classmates together, facilitating networking and group collaboration such as knowledge sharing events and interview practice. Additionally, I will share my values of challenging preconceptions to help my classmates approach problems from new points of views. Simply put, I will be a student who will bring my classmates together and solve problems together in new ways. ‍

I was hired on the spot during my final round of interviews at [Company] because, in addition to my communication skills, I knew how to code. Two years into my career, it turns out the interviewers were right: My high-level technical skills allow me to translate complicated processes into digestible language for our clients. By effectively articulating my growing passion for social media, I have made it my mission to spread the word about the power and pitfalls of technology. At Wharton, I will do the same: I will be committed to encouraging my classmates to consider how they can use social media to benefit their businesses and positively influence the world. 

As I reflect on my past academic experiences, I am thankful for learning from my classmates’ diverse perspectives. At Wharton, I will add value to classroom discussions by contributing my technical perspective in its simplest and most relevant form. As a team player, I will effectively persuade my peers to seriously consider the power of social media.

While I firmly believe that social media and social influence go hand in hand, much of their complex relationship has yet to be studied. Popular culture often focuses on the negative impact of technology, I prefer to appreciate how it improves people’s lives. Social media is giving a platform to historically silenced groups of people: The pioneers of the #MeToo movement, who have expertly utilized social media to get out their message, inspired me to speak up about my own experience. At Wharton, I will fearlessly advocate for both myself and others to maintain an inclusive community where everyone feels comfortable and respected. 

Finally, I look forward to strengthening the Wharton community even after I graduate. As part of the [Name] community, I serve as an alumni fund agent to encourage giving to the alumni fund, which finances 10% of the college’s operating budget. I look forward to proudly continuing these efforts as a Wharton alumna, because I know a close-knit alumni network is what separates a good school from a great school.

1. Do I have to write a diversity essay if I identify as part of a minority group? 

The diversity essay is optional, so no you do not have to write one if you choose. However, writing this essay can help the admissions committee learn more about you and your values and illustrate your background. Business schools value diversity, so you may give yourself a better chance of acceptance by writing a stellar diversity essay.

2. How long should my diversity essay be? 

The answer to this will depend on the school, but many business schools will provide you with a word limit for your essay. You should expect to write around 300-500 words. 

3. How do I know I’m on the right track with my essay? 

There’s no fundamental right or wrong way to write a diversity essay as long as you are answering the given prompt. Sometimes it can be difficult to ascertain that your essay accurately represents you or if it's well-written. If you feel apprehensive about your diversity essay, there are services available that will help you with your writing to make sure that it’s reviewed, polished, and ready for submission. 

4. What elements of my diversity can I write about in my essay? 

In your diversity essay, you can write about many facets of your identity, including your race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or other minority group. Note that you can also write about your experiences with intersectionality of two groups or more if that applies to you. 

5. Will the content of my diversity essay be discussed in my interview? 

If the business school admissions committee does not conduct blind interviews with anything on hand but your resume, anything on your application can be fair game for your interviewer to ask you. It may or may not come up, but you may want to be prepared with an example other than the one discussed in your essay to talk about with your interviewer. 

6. How do I know that my essay is ready for submission? 

Like all business school application essays, you want to make sure your essay is easy to follow, flows well, and is free of spelling or grammatical errors. If you feel that your essay accurately represents you and your experiences, answers the business school’s prompt, and is a clean edited copy, it may be ready for submission with the rest of your application! 

Conclusion 

Business schools today value the diversity of their MBA students and their unique skills and perspectives. Students have the opportunity to learn and grow together while gaining new perspectives from students from different backgrounds. Writing a diversity essay as part of your application can be a great way to illustrate your distinct upbringing, identity, or culture to the admissions committee.

You know that the purpose of the diversity essay is to share your experiences with the admissions committee and provide context to how these experiences shaped you. Doing so can strengthen your MBA candidacy, especially if the rest of your application is polished. 

When you’re writing your diversity essay, remember to ask yourself questions about your views on diversity and inclusion, and use your beliefs and values to guide your writing. If you possess any unique skills or hobbies, the diversity essay may be a great place to write about them too.

Remember to tell your story authentically and explain how your acceptance will enrich the program. Your essay should reflect your past or your present, but be sure to think ahead to what you want your future to look like as well. Use the diversity essay examples above to guide your own writing, but remember that what experiences you choose to write about are ultimately up to you. You are the expert in your own life, and the admissions committee will undoubtedly be pleased to hear your story. 

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How to Write a College Diversity Essay – Examples & Tips

What is a diversity essay for college?

If you are preparing for your college application, you have probably heard that you sometimes need to submit a “diversity essay,” and you might be wondering how this is different from the usual admission essay. A diversity essay is a college admissions essay that focuses on the applicant’s background, identity, culture, beliefs, or relationship with a specific community, on what makes an applicant unique, and on how they might bring a fresh perspective or new insights to a school’s student body. Colleges let applicants write such essays to ensure diversity in their campus communities, to improve everyone’s learning experience, or to determine who might be eligible for scholarships that are offered to students from generally underrepresented backgrounds. 

Some colleges list the essay as one of their main requirements to apply, while others give you the option to add it to your application if you wish to do so. At other schools, it is simply your “personal statement”—but the prompts you are given can make it an essay on the topic of diversity in your life and how that has shaped who you are.

To write a diversity essay, you need to think about what makes you uniquely you: What significant experiences have you made, because of your background, that might separate you from other applicants? Sometimes that is obvious, but sometimes it is easy to assume our experiences are normal just because we are part of a community that shares the same circumstances, beliefs, or experiences. But if you look at your life from the perspective of someone who is not part of that community, such as an admissions officer, they can suddenly be not-so-common and help you stand out from the crowd.

Diversity Essay Examples and Topics

Diversity essays come in all shapes and formats, but what they need to do is highlight an important aspect of your identity, background, culture, viewpoints, beliefs, goals, etc. You could, for example, write about one of the following topics:

• Your home country/hometown
• Your cultural/immigration background
• Your race/ethnicity
• Your unique family circumstances
• Your religion/belief system
• Your socioeconomic background
• Your disability
• Your sex/gender
• Your sexual orientation
• Your gender identity
• Your values/opinions
• Your experiences
• Your extracurricular activities related to diversity

In the following, we ask some general questions to make you start reflecting on what diversity might mean for you and your life, and we present you with excerpts from several successful diversity-related application essays that will give you an idea about the range of topics you can write about.

How does diversity make you who you are as a person or student?

We usually want to fit in, especially when we are young, and you might not even realize that you and your life experiences could add to the diversity of a student campus. You might think that you are just like everyone around you. Or you might think that your background is nothing to brag about and are not really comfortable showcasing it. But looking at you and your life from the point of view of someone who is not part of your community, your background, culture, or family situation might actually be unique and interesting. 

What makes admission committees see the unique and interesting in your life is an authentic story, maybe even a bit vulnerable, about your lived experiences and the lessons you learned from them that other people who lived other lifes did not have the chance to learn. Don’t try to explain how you are different from others or how you have been more privileged or less fortunate than others—let your story do that. Keep the focus on yourself, your actions, thoughts, and feelings, and allow the reader a glimpse into your culture, upbringing, or community that gives them some intriguing insights. 

Have a look at the excerpt below from a diversity essay that got an applicant into Cornell University . This is just the introduction, but there is probably no admissions officer who would not want to keep reading after such a fascinating entry. 

He’s in my arms, the newest addition to the family. I’m too overwhelmed. “That’s why I wanted you to go to Bishop Loughlin,” she says, preparing baby bottles. “But ma, I chose Tech because I wanted to be challenged.” “Well, you’re going to have to deal with it,” she replies, adding, “Your aunt watched you when she was in high school.” “But ma, there are three of them. It’s hard!” Returning home from a summer program that cemented intellectual and social independence to find a new baby was not exactly thrilling. Add him to the toddler and seven-year-old sister I have and there’s no wonder why I sing songs from Blue’s Clues and The Backyardigans instead of sane seventeen-year-old activities. It’s never been simple; as a female and the oldest, I’m to significantly rear the children and clean up the shabby apartment before an ounce of pseudo freedom reaches my hands. If I can manage to get my toddler brother onto the city bus and take him home from daycare without snot on my shoulder, and if I can manage to take off his coat and sneakers without demonic screaming for no apparent reason, then it’s a good day. Only, waking up at three in the morning to work, the only free time I have, is not my cup of Starbucks.  Excerpt from “All Worth It”, Anonymous, published in 50 Successful IVY LEAGUE Application Essays Fourth Edition, Gen & Kelly Tanabe, SuperCollege, 2017 .

How has your identity or background affected your life?

On top of sharing a relevant personal story, you also need to make sure that your essay illustrates how your lived experience has influenced your perspective, your life choices, or your goals. If you can explain how your background or experience led you to apply to the school you want to submit the essay to, and why you would be a great fit for that school, even better. 

You don’t need to fit all of that into one short essay, though. Just make sure to end your essay with some conclusions about the things your life has taught you that will give the admissions committee a better idea of who you now are—like the author of the following (winning) admissions essay submitted to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) .

[…] I always thought that I had it the worst out of all my family members because I was never allowed to get anything lower than what my brother or a cousin had gotten in a class. My parents figured if they could do it, so could I, and if not on my own then with a little of their help. It was not until recently that I realized the truth in this. In my short life I have seen my father go from speaking no English to excelling in it. I have heard countless stories about migrant farmers such as Cesar Chavez and my grandfather who had nearly nothing, yet persisted and succeeded. […] When I had trouble speaking Spanish and felt like abandoning my native tongue, I remembered my mother and how when she came to the United States she was forced to wash her mouth out with soap and endure beatings with a ruler by the nuns at her school for speaking it. When I couldn’t figure out tangents, sines, and cosines I thought about my father and how it took him nearly a year to learn long division because he was forced to teach it to himself after dropping out and starting to work in the 4th grade. […] All these people, just from my family, have been strong role models for me. I feel that being labeled “underprivileged” does not mean that I am limited in what I can do. There is no reason for me to fail or give up, and like my parents and grandparents have done, I’ve been able to pull through a great deal. My environment has made me determined, hard working, and high aiming. I would not like it any other way. From “Lessons From the Immigration Spectrum”, Anonymous, MIT, published in 50 Successful IVY LEAGUE Application Essays Fourth Edition, Gen & Kelly Tanabe, SuperCollege, 2017 .

How will your diversity contribute to the college campus and community?

The admissions committee would like to know how your identity or background will enrich the university’s existing student body. If you haven’t done so, researching the university’s organizations and groups and what specific courses the university offers might be a good idea. If you are applying to a large public school, you could mention that you are looking forward to broadening not just your horizon but also your community. Or maybe your college of choice has a specialized program or student organization that you feel you will fit right into and that you could contribute to with your unique background.

Tailoring your answer to the university you are applying to shows that you are serious and have done your research, and a university is obviously looking for such students. If you can’t find a way to make your essay “match” the university, then don’t despair—showing the admissions committee that you are someone who already made some important experiences, has reflected on them, and is eager to learn more and contribute to their community is often all that is needed. But you also don’t need to search for the most sophisticated outro or conclusion, as the following excerpt shows, from an admission essay written by an applicant named Angelica, who was accepted into the University of Chicago . Sometimes a simple conviction is convincing enough. 

[…] The knowledge that I have gained from these three schools is something I will take with me far beyond college. My roommate, across-the-hall mates, and classmates have influenced my life as much as I hope to have impacted theirs. It is evident to me that they have helped me develop into the very much visible person I am today. I have learned to step outside of my comfort zone, and I have learned that diversity is so much more than the tint of our skin. My small mustard-colored school taught me that opportunity and success only requires desire. I would be an asset to your college because as I continue on my journey to success, I will take advantage of every opportunity that is available to me and make sure to contribute as much as I can, too. Now I am visible. Now I am visible. Now I am visible, and I want to be seen. From “No Longer Invisible” by Angelica, University of Chicago, published in 50 Successful IVY LEAGUE Application Essays Fourth Edition, Gen & Kelly Tanabe, SuperCollege, 2017 .

Tell stories about your lived experience

You might wonder how exactly to go about writing stories about your “lived experience.” The first step, after getting drawing inspiration from other people’s stories, is to sit down and reflect on your own life and what might be interesting about it, from the point of view of someone outside of your direct environment or community.

Two straightforward approaches for a diversity-related essay are to either focus on your community or on your identity . The first one is more related to what you were born into (and what it taught you), and the second one focuses on how you see yourself, as an individual but also as part of society.

Take some time to sit down and reflect on which of these two approaches you relate to more and which one you think you have more to say about. And then we’d recommend you do what always helps when we sit in front of a blank page that needs to be filled: Make a list or draw a chart or create a map of keywords that can become the cornerstones of your story.

For example, if you choose the “community” approach, then start with a list of all the communities that you are a part of. These communities can be defined by different factors:

• A shared place: people live or work together
• Shared actions: People create something together or solve problems together
• Shared interests: People come together based on interests, hobbies, or goals
• Shared circumstances: people are brought together by chance or by events

Once you have that list, pick one of your communities and start asking yourself more specific questions. For example: 

• What did you do as a member of that community? 
• What kinds of problems did you solve , for your community or together?
• Did you feel like you had an impact ? What was it?
• What did you learn or realize ? 
• How are you going to apply what you learned outside of that community?

If, instead, you choose the “identity” approach, then think about different ways in which you think about yourself and make a list of those. For example:

My identity is as a… 

• boy scout leader
• hobby writer
• babysitter for my younger siblings
• speaker of different languages
• collector of insightful proverbs
• Japanese-American
• other roles in your family, community, or social sub-group

Feel free to list as many identities as you can. Then, think about what different sides of you these identities reveal and which ones you have not yet shown or addressed in your other application documents and essays. Think about whether one of these is more important to you than others if there is one that you’d rather like to hide (and why) and if there is any struggle, for example with reconciling all of these sides of yourself or with one of them not being accepted by your culture or environment.

Overall, the most important characteristic admissions committees are looking for in your diversity essay is authenticity . They want to know who you are, behind your SATs and grades, and how you got where you are now, and they want to see what makes you memorable (remember, they have to read thousands of essays to decide who to enroll). 

The admissions committee members likely also have a “sixth sense” about whose essay is authentic and whose is not. But if you go through a creative process like the one outlined here, you will automatically reflect on your background and experiences in a way that will bring out your authenticity and honesty and prevent you from just making up a “cool story.”

Diversity Essay Sample Prompts From Colleges

If you are still not sure how to write a diversity essay, let’s have a look at some of the actual diversity essay prompts that colleges include in their applications. 

Diversity Essay Sample #1: University of California

The University of California asks applicants to choose between eight prompts (they call them “ personal insight questions “) and submit four short essays of up to 350 words each that tell the admission committee what you would want them to know about you . These prompts ask about your creative side (#2), your greatest talent (#3), and other aspects of your personality, but two of them (#5 and #7) are what could be called “diversity essay prompts” that ask you to talk about the most significant challenge you have faced and what you have done to make your community a better place .

The University of California website also offers advice on how to use these prompts and how to write a compelling essay, so make sure you use all the guidance they give you if that is the school you are trying to get into!

UC Essay prompt #5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?

UC Essay prompt #7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?  

Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team, or place—like your high school, hometown, or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community? Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? 

Diversity Essay Sample #2: Duke University

Duke University asks for a one-page essay in response to either one of the Common Application prompts or one of the Coalition Application prompts, as well as a short essay that answers a question specific to Duke. 

In addition, you can (but do not have to) submit up to two short answers to four prompts that specifically ask about your unique experiences, your beliefs and values, and your background and identity. The maximum word count for each of these short essays on diversity topics is 250 words.

Essay prompt #1. We seek a diverse student body that embodies the wide range of human experience. In that context, we are interested in what you’d like to share about your lived experiences and how they’ve influenced how you think of yourself. Essay prompt #2. We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about? Essay prompt #3. What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good? Essay prompt #4. Duke’s commitment to diversity and inclusion includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. If you’d like to share with us more about your identity in this context, feel free to do so here.

Duke University is looking for students with a variety of different experiences, backgrounds, interests, and opinions to make its campus community diverse and a place where ambition and curiosity, talent and persistence can grow, and the admissions committee will “consider what you have accomplished within the context of your opportunities and challenges so far”—make sure you tell them!

Diversity Essay Sample #3: University of Washington

The University of Washington asks students for a long essay (650 words) on a general experience that shaped your character, a short essay (300 words) that describes the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of your future university and allows you to submit additional information on potential hardships or limitations you have experienced in attaining your education so far. The University of Washington freshman writing website also offers some tips on how to (and how not to) write and format your essays.

Essay prompt [required] Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

Short response prompt [required] Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. “Community” might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW.

Additional information about yourself or your circumstances [optional] You are not required to write anything in this section, but you may include additional information if something has particular significance to you. For example, you may use this space if:

– You have experienced personal hardships in attaining your education

– Your activities have been limited because of work or family obligations

– You have experienced limitations/opportunities unique to the schools you attended

The University of Washington’s mission is to enroll undergraduates with outstanding intellectual abilities who bring different perspectives, backgrounds, and talents to the campus to create a “stimulating educational environment”. The diversity essay is your chance to let them know how you will contribute to that.

Diversity Essay Sample #4: University of Michigan

At the University of Michigan, a diversity college essay that describes one of the communities (defined by geography, religion, ethnicity, income, or other factors) you belong to is one of two required essays that need to be submitted by all applicants, on top of the Common Application essay. 

Diversity essay prompt. Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.

The University of Michigan prides itself in “looking at each student as a whole package” and recruiting the most dynamic students, with different backgrounds, interests, and passions, into their college, not just the ones with the highest test scores. They also give consideration to applicants from currently underrepresented groups to create diversity on campus and enrich the learning environment for all students—if that sounds like you, then here is your opportunity to tell your story!

Frequently Asked Questions about Diversity Essays

What topics should i avoid in my college diversity essay.

Since the point of a diversity essay is to show the admissions committee who you are (behind your grades and resume and general educational background), there are not many topics you need to avoid. In fact, you can address the issues, from your own perspective, that you are usually told not to mention in order not to offend anyone or create controversy. 

The only exception is any kind of criminal activity, especially child abuse and neglect. The University of Washington, for example, has a statement on its essay prompt website that “ any written materials that give admissions staff reasonable cause to believe abuse or neglect of someone under the age of 18 may have occurred must be reported to Child Protective Services or the police. ”

What is most important to focus on in my diversity essay?

In brief, to stand out while not giving the admissions committee any reason to believe that you are exaggerating or even making things up. Your story needs to be authentic, and admissions officers—who read thousands of applications—will probably see right through you if you are trying to make yourself sound cooler, more mature, or more interesting than you are. 

In addition, make sure you let someone, preferably a professional editor, read over your essays and make sure they are well-written and error-free. Even though you are telling your personal story, it needs to be presented in standard, formal, correct English.

How long should a diversity essay be?

Every school has different requirements for their version of a diversity essay, and you will find all the necessary details on their admissions or essay prompts website. Make sure you check the word limit and other guidelines before you start typing away!

Prepare your college diversity essay for admission

Now that you know what a diversity essay is and how you find the specific requirements for the essays you need to submit to your school of choice, make sure you plan in advance and give yourself enough time to put all your effort into it! Our article How to Write the Common App Essay can give you an idea about timelines and creative preparation methods. And as always, we can help you with our professional editing services , including Application Essay Editing Services and Admission Editing Services , to ensure that your entire application is error-free and showcases your potential to the admissions committee of your school of choice.

For more academic resources on writing the statement of purpose for grad school or on the college admission process in general, head over to our Admissions Resources website where we have many more articles and videos to help you improve your essay writing skills.

Diversity statements: what to avoid and what to include

Diversity statements are increasingly important for faculty, both when teaching online and applying for jobs. Pardis Mahdavi and Scott Brooks outline what to avoid and what to include when drafting a diversity statement

Pardis Mahdavi

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Search committees at colleges and universities increasingly require candidates applying for faculty or leadership positions to submit diversity statements. And in the post-Covid online world, where interviews are truncated at best, we are increasingly reliant on applicants’ written materials.

Universities across the US are now considering making diversity statements required for all faculty. Many institutions ask faculty to post diversity statements online for students to read before or during their course to demonstrate the institution’s and the individual’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Some universities even offer incentives such as merit raises for those willing to do so.

A well-constructed diversity statement is especially important for online instructors who need to provide a carefully considered response to the additional layer of challenges that many students face when studying remotely.

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Here, we lay out some “red flags” to avoid and key frameworks to embed when writing a diversity statement.

What to avoid – red flags

Common mistakes or pitfalls when writing a diversity statement fall into three major categories:

• Diversity by proxy
• Personal stories of redemption
• The exceptionalist argument.

1. Diversity by proxy

Diversity by proxy is when candidates borrow from the success of others, an organisation or programme. Candidates speak specifically about their department’s student demographics or a programme for students of colour that they direct, are part of or appreciate.

Example 1: “_____ (university’s name) is one of the most diverse campuses in the country. We are ____% white, ____% Latin, ____% Asian/Pacific Islander, ____% African American.”

Example 2: Candidates might mention success and claim some responsibility, implicitly or explicitly. “I’m a faculty mentor for the McNair Scholars programme and we have had wonderful, bright students who just need intense mentorship.”

Example 3: The message of “I support success for people of colour” can be followed by surprise and self-congratulation. “We have students who do very well, one or two have even gone on to graduate school at very good schools! One of my students, from Chicago, a first-generation student from a single-parent household, is a first-year PhD student at Berkeley.”

We called this “diversity by proxy” because the candidate’s example relies on numbers that tell us about where they are and not who they are or what they have done. Secondly, they are borrowing identity, status and achievement by linking themselves to the success stories of students of colour or faculty. In this way, they give undue credit to themselves as a saviour.

2. Personal stories of redemption

Candidates write of personal experiences that have occurred outside of the academy and are meant to reflect their appreciation for diversity and inclusion and their dissatisfaction with racism.

Example 1: They may write about an event that solidified their understanding of privilege: “I grew up in a small town where there was only one Indian family and one of the girls from that family became a close friend. And then, in the sixth grade, everything changed. She and I both auditioned for the school play, Annie , and it was clear that another girl got the lead because she was white and looked the part. But my friend was clearly better than everyone else. I felt bad for her but there was nothing I could do. And that is why I really feel so strongly about racism and exclusion and do what I can to help students of colour.”

Example 2: They may also talk about how they work with and learn so much from their colleagues of colour and students of colour. The focus is on their feeling and how they assuage their feelings of social injustice by their engagement, but does this lead to fighting structural issues found in the academy?

The playing field is never level, and so what do they do for those who they do not deem “clearly better”? 

3. The exceptionalist argument

Candidates write that they are in favour of diversity and inclusion but have not been in a position to fight against exclusionary practices.

Example 1: “Diversity is important but I can’t do it because my discipline is based on dead white men.”

Example 2: Or “I believe in diversity, but I have not been in a leadership position where I might make decisions. I would be supportive if there were some people of colour.”

The exceptionalist argument suggests that impact can only be made from certain positions, thereby exonerating most people who do not go against the grain. This obscures the roles that all faculty play in maintaining the status quo and contributing in small and large ways to discriminatory practices and negative outcomes for faculty, staff and students of colour.

Bias can lead to mis-assessing students, even creating unequal learning conditions. A student may be characterised as “low achieving” when they may need greater encouragement or when they come from a high school with fewer resources. In committee work, colleagues may use different adjectives to describe the quality of work of women colleagues and colleagues of colour.  

Are you interested in diversity issues? Check out our EDI channel, which is dedicated to advice and insight about equity, diversity and inclusion from academics around the world

What to include – key frameworks

Some white colleagues ask: “Can white candidates write something that would be acceptable?” This is a valid question. We say: “Of course they can. And some people of colour will write poor statements.” A good statement could come in countless forms. While some may feel that they cannot write from a position of experience, this is absolutely not the case. Their experiences are different.

We identify four elements found in strong diversity statements:

• Diversity as a strategy
• Evidence of addressing structural challenges
• Recognition and underscoring of the invisible labour done by faculty and staff of colour
• Demonstrated enlightened mentoring. 

1. Diversity as a strategy

Creating a plan, rather than simply doing an action, moves people beyond reacting and shows an understanding of intersectionality and the matrices of oppression.

For online teachers, it is especially important to consider the contours of their students’ lives. The strongest statements are ones where they see that there are interlocking issues – food insecurity is connected to student learning, impression management with professors, matriculation and well-being. For example, an online teaching candidate may have buttressed student support with financial and social support and mentoring and even made changes to policies that excluded certain people or groups based on criteria that are unnecessary. The strongest statements are those where candidates articulate how diversity is used centrally in re-thinking budget, curriculum and access.

2. Evidence of addressing structural challenges

Strong diversity statements include examples of candidates advocating for structural changes. They show that they recognise and make systemic changes to address this. Candidates can write about “white space” and how they have educated others and implemented new practices that go against the status quo. They may have found systemic holes and problems that have disparate effects on women of colour. They may have counteracted systemic and institutionalised practices. For instance, strong candidates mention noticing varying language, such as different adjectives, in the evaluations of faculty, staff and students of colour. 

3. Recognition or underscoring of invisible labour 

Supporting faculty and staff of colour must be multifaceted. It is widely known and acknowledged that faculty of colour have different experiences – they are counted on to take on certain services because they are a person of colour; students of colour look to them more than to white colleagues; and they face student racism. 

4. Demonstrated enlightened mentoring

Mentors who are “woke” to and address structural challenges, who use diversity as a strategy, and who recognise or underscore the invisible labour and challenges of faculty, staff and students of colour will mentor in ways that have longer term impacts and that mitigate exclusion and discriminatory practices.  Mentoring is especially difficult in the online world, but candidates who write about ways they have overcome this demonstrate strong commitments to the work of the framework we call JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion).

The JEDI framework is about more than one or two actions, and goes beyond a checklist. Thus, posting a diversity statement online is, in and of itself, not “enough”. However, this is an important part of systemic change when faculty post diversity statements, and these become an integral part of performance reviews and promotion. We are elevating the importance of JEDI work, and taking a step in the right direction of the structural changes needed for social transformation.

Pardis Mahdavi is dean of social sciences at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and directs the School of Social Transformation, and Scott Brooks is an associate professor with the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, both at Arizona State University .

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4 Tips for Applying to Occupational Therapy Graduate Programs

The application opens in July… Apply by October… Results come out in January… 

First off, I want to validate how stressful it may seem as the occupational therapy application cycle approaches. A lot of nerves may arise regarding what to do, how to start, and what to look out for. Graduate school is tough, but the fact that you’re taking the initiative to seek tips on how to prepare during the application process is a huge step in the right direction!

As a first-generation college student who has applied and been accepted into some of the top programs in occupational therapy, I’ve reflected on things I learned along the way and things I wished I had known before. I also gathered input from some of my colleagues about their experiences, and I would love to share them with you.

Tip #1: Start your OTCAS or other application portals as soon as possible.

OTCAS is the Centralized Application Service for Occupational Therapy programs. Most OT programs use this centralized portal, which allows you to directly send your personal information, academic transcripts, and clinical experiences to accredited programs. OTCAS takes some time to get accustomed to and navigate through, so the earlier you create an account, the better!

Starting your personal statements early allows you to see what requirements your chosen programs need from you and what paperwork or letters of recommendation you need to ask for. You should definitely try to begin your application as early as you can.

For letters of recommendation, I chose one from a previous faculty member (to address my academic skills), an employer/mentor (who can speak to my leadership/work ethic), and an occupational therapist/clinician I shadowed (who can advocate for my clinical abilities).

Tip #2: Aim to submit your applications at least 3-4 weeks before their due date

I understand that procrastination is real, and sometimes life experiences create barriers to submitting your applications early. However, the digital application processing time and technological difficulties can also arise unexpectedly. To be on the safe side, I recommend planning to submit your applications before the due date to avoid unexpected challenges. However most programs should offer grace if the application processing time takes longer than expected. If that happens, reach out to the admissions coordinators of the OT program to explain your situation, that you submitted your application on time, and are just waiting for your information to be processed.

Tip #3: Clarify what you're looking for in OT programs

There are many OT programs out there, but which ones should you apply to? The classic answer is “it depends. ” Everyone looks for different qualities in programs – the prestige, geographic location, resources, faculty, tuition, scholarships, cohort size, vision for OT, teaching philosophy, practice or research opportunities, etc. Each program can be a different fit for different people, but I have some points that may help orient you to what program would be the best fit for you!

You may want to choose a program that fits your learning style and interests. Not every “prestigious” school is the right fit. Consider your priorities and interests, such as where you could envision yourself living for the next few years, or if you learn in a more hands-on style. Informational sessions, attending on-campus events, or talking to previous/current students are great ways to get a feel for the program and learn more. Search online if your programs offer informational sessions, reach out to the admissions coordinators, and connect with current OT students on social media or LinkedIn regarding their experiences. People are likely more than happy to offer advice or support, and every bit of information you can get may lead you toward the programs that would be the best fit for you.

I also recommend looking into your program’s faculty and their previous/current research and/or OT practice experiences. Program faculty can be great connections, resources, and mentors to support you through your professional development. In graduate school, connecting with faculty is often easier than in undergrad. Faculty pay more attention to your professional journey in shaping the future leaders of OT.

Regarding the location of the school, think about where YOU want to live for the coming years. Graduate school is more than just learning in the classroom. It’s about learning through the population you might serve near your program and the people you might meet. Some programs have great connections to practice areas where you might want to work in the future. Enjoying where you will be living for the next 1-3 years of your graduate journey will make school a lot better!

Lastly, look into the programs’ curriculum and teaching philosophy. Some programs focus more on the Medical Model of practice, while others focus on the Social Model. Depending on your values as a future clinician, that may be something to consider. Looking at the courses offered can provide you with valuable information about the programs’ teaching philosophy and better set you up to meet your professional goals.

As you’re organizing, create an Excel spreadsheet of the programs you are interested in, including tuition, observation requirements, location, and any supplemental essay requirements and deadlines. This will help you prioritize your programs of interest.

Tip #4: Develop a strong personal statement

Of course, the old adage: “ Don’t wait until the last minute to write your essay! ” Personally, it was hard for me to start my essay early because of writer’s block and not knowing where to start. However, I have some insight from my personal experiences with writing strong essays.

Your essay should be a snapshot of who you are as an individual, potential student, and future professional. This is your opportunity to highlight your personality and what diverse ideologies or strengths you can contribute to the academic environment, shaping the future profession of occupational therapy. In my opinion, personal statements should not be a simple cut-and-paste from your resume, listing your accomplishments and experiences. Instead, break it into three parts: (1) talk about one specific experience, (2) describe what you learned from that experience and how you navigated it, and (3) how that shaped who you are and your vision for OT. That way, admissions officers who read your application can get a snapshot of your essential skills/characteristics through your personality, thought process, and reflection skills. Some skills that I think are great for OTs to have are: problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, prioritization, interpersonal communication, empathy, compassion, adaptability, patience, and resilience.

There’s no magic number, but before submitting your essay, have around 2-4 people read it. Ideally, choose people with diverse experiences: someone in academia, someone you trust, and maybe a current clinician. I find that having too many people read my essays makes my edits more confusing and complicated, and I might lose my sense of voice and personality. Peer review is definitely important, but be mindful not to overdo it!

Overall, I understand that this time in your life might seem overwhelming. I want to reassure you that you can do it, and I hope you find these tips helpful! You’re more on your way than you might think, and I wish you the best of luck!

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Bloomberg’s $1 Billion Gift for Free Medical School Applies but Not to All

A donation from Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide free tuition for Johns Hopkins medical students, if their families make less than $300,000 a year.

By Anemona Hartocollis

How rich is too rich to receive free tuition at medical school?

That is the question raised by the $1 billion gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies to Johns Hopkins University to cover tuition for most of its medical students, announced on Monday.

The gift put the charity set up by Michael Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York City, in the same league as the $1 billion donation from Ruth Gottesman , a longtime professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx and the widow of a Wall Street tycoon. Her gift to Einstein in February promised that no medical student there would ever again have to pay tuition. And New York University’s medical school began covering its students’ tuition in 2018, helped by a $100 million contribution from Kenneth G. Langone , a co-founder of Home Depot, and his wife, Elaine.

But there is one key difference among the programs: Mr. Bloomberg’s generosity is means-tested, given only to students whose family income is under $300,000 a year. The programs at Einstein and N.Y.U. cover all medical students, regardless of income, need or merit.

Before the Bloomberg gift, tuition at Johns Hopkins came to roughly $65,000 a year for four years, a hefty sum even for a family earning $300,000 a year. The university estimates the overall cost of attending, including living expenses and fees, at more than $102,000 in the first year.

What makes $300,000 the right cutoff? And should medical school students be compelled to rely on their parents, however wealthy, for tuition?

Aides to Mr. Bloomberg say that the cutoff was carefully calibrated to weigh the total size of the gift — $1 billion — and its maximum impact.

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