What do admission committees look for in a diversity essay?

Question

I'm sitting here with my friend, who is in the process of applying to graduate school. She's come across a prompt that looks like this:

If you are a member of a community that has historically been underrepresented in higher education and would like to tell us how this particular perspective adds to the value you will contribute to the diverse learning community we strive to create, please do so here.

My friend is a female, Latin American, previously financially-burdened immigrant, so there is certainly some diversity to speak of, but she's having trouble coming up with how this can answer the prompt. To her, she's never really considered it a struggle, but more of a challenge. She's never let it get her down, so she sees no reason to complain about it in an essay. She believes you should be judged based on your past and present performance, not your national origin, ethnicity, financial status, etc.

How do you even respond to a prompt like that? Also, why do universities ask you to speak about your diversity in the first place? What are they looking for?

Answer 1

It seems to me that it would be prudent to start from the assumption that the words in the question have been chosen carefully, after some deliberation; and so she should answer the question put, as it is asked.

The quote you've given does not ask for complaints. It doesn't speak of judging her by national origin, ethnicity or financial status. It doesn't ask her to talk of struggle. So those things would only go in the answer if they give a particular perspective that adds to the value she would contribute to the diverse learning community they strive to create.

They want to know how her status as a member of a historically-under-represented community adds to the value she would contribute. In your answer, you've already given three aspects of that. I'll paraphrase slightly - I hope I haven't distorted your friend's intended meaning - and for each I'll frame it within the question as asked on the application form:

1. she's seen her being from a historically under-represented community as a challenge rather than a struggle; as a member of the department her very presence could provide a positive role model for others both internal and external to the deparment
2. she's maintained optimism and not let the status quo get her down; as a member of the department, she would bring a realistic optimism and determination.
3. she's sought to work towards a system that rewards merit for its own sake regardless of national origin, ethnicity, financial status, and so on; as a member of the department, she would contribute to the department's culture of meritocracy: academia of all places should strive to overcome conscious and unconscious biases, and work strive towards meritocracy.

That would seem to me to cover the question on the form as it has been asked.

Answer 2

Yes, indeed, there are many ways that this discussion could get off-track...

The specific, relevant point is that many universities have certain pots of money ear-marked for whatever-it-is that "diversity" refers to, and "traditionally under-represented groups"' members are the only eligible competitors for any part of that money.

(The discussion of the sense of this is of course the elephant-in-the-room, but is irrelevant to the already-earmarked funds.)

That is, at this point, being a woman in a STEM field (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math), or of ethnic origin other than northwestern European..., or... opens certain money-pots to both the department and to the individual.

It is true that one might easily find reason to not go down that path, ... but I note that many people will presume that one has done so if one had the chance, and all that that might entail.

Honestly, if I were in that situation, and did not have severe need, I'd skip it, just to be able I'd skipped it. But maybe nobody'd listen...

I can clarify further, if this is to-the-point for the questioner. I've been involved with such stuff for a long time...

Edit: to clarify, for example, my department did not create the literal "diversity statement" component of the application, it was created somewhere in the central administration. That is, although we have tried to avoid traditional biases (e.g., ideas how "how a mathematician looks", and such, often included male-gender-correlated attributes that, arguably, have nothing to do with mathematics), we did not formalize any part of such discussion. We've tried to be unbiased for far longer than this recent appearance of overt statements about "diversity", not for any immediate tangible reward from higher-ups, but for more idealistic reasons. Having central administration throw a little money at the situation doesn't really change much.

Answer 3

The reason for the question may well depend on the School and its own reasons. One popular case of this is the University of Michigan. While the school may feel diversity is important, and through affirmative action it can achieve it, the government or voters may not agree. In this case, Michigan created an essay section for contribution to diversity, in which they can more actively decide admissions based on diversity when affirmative action is not available.

Answering the question honestly is the best policy. Of course you would not want to lie, as an interview would probably create automatic rejection. If you do not want to come off as 'complaining', dont complain, it doesnt ask that. Answer how your background can contribute, and the simplest of answers is what your question mentions:

As being a female immigrant from latin america, I have been considered a minority. However, I do not look at this like a struggle, I look at it as a challenge, and I think my mindset will help contribute to both diversity and academics at the University.

Answer 4

There is an interesting brochure on Benefits and Challenges of Diversity in Academic Settings on the website of The Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) that mentioned things like this:

• A controlled experimental study of performance during a brainstorming session compared ideas generated by ethnically diverse groups composed of Asians, blacks, whites, and Latinos to those generated by ethnically homogenous groups composed of whites only. Evaluators who were unaware of the source of the ideas found no significant difference in the number of ideas generated by the two types of groups. However, when applying measures of feasibility and effectiveness, they rated the ideas generated by diverse groups as being of higher quality.

• The level of critical analysis of decisions and alternatives was higher in groups exposed to minority viewpoints than in groups that were not. Minority viewpoints stimulated discussion of multiple perspectives and previously unconsidered alternatives, whether or not the minority opinion was correct or ultimately prevailed.

• A study of corporate innovation found that the most innovative companies deliberately established diverse work teams.

• Data from the 1995 Faculty Survey conducted by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) demonstrated that scholars from minority groups have expanded and enriched scholarship and teaching in many academic disciplines by offering new perspectives and by raising new questions, challenges, and concerns.

• Several investigators found that women and faculty of color more frequently employed active learning in the classroom, encouraged student input, and included perspectives of women and minorities in their coursework.

I don't know whether this brochure would be helpful for those who are working on their statement of diversity but it is a pretty interesting reading. And in this post on Writing the Personal Statement on the website of Berkeley Graduate Division there is a list of things they'd like to see in a statement of diversity. Here are some of them:

• Demonstrated significant academic achievement by overcoming barriers such as economic, social, or educational disadvantage;

• Potential to contribute to higher education through understanding the barriers facing women, domestic minorities, students with disabilities, and other members of groups underrepresented in higher education careers, as evidenced by life experiences and educational background. For example,, attendance at a minority serving institution; ability to articulate the barriers facing women and minorities in science and engineering fields; participation in higher education pipeline programs such as, UC Leads, or McNair Scholars;

• Academic service advancing equitable access to higher education for women and racial minorities in fields where they are underrepresented;

• Leadership experience among students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education;

I hope this will help!

Answer 5

This isn't very different from EnergyNumbers answer, but I want to emphasize that the question isn't asking "what bonus points can we give you for your background" but rather "how does your background make you more suited for the position you are applying for?". (Bearing in mind that graduate students are usually expected to teach and serve as mentors to undergraduates, so that is a relevant qualification.) I've seen a number of well received diversity statements along the lines of "I have always viewed my background as a challenge, and have risen to meet that challenge. Here are some of the strategies I have used to do that ... Here is how I can mentor students in a similar situation and show them how to excel as I have..."