Statement Example A. 1L Summer Associate Diversity Fellowship The following example resulted in the author receiving an interview for the fellowship and an automatic call-back for the 2L summer associate position. Permission was granted prior to publication. Bam! I slammed my knuckles against the table to signal that I passed my turn 21 rows · · Ranking School Name Law School Diversity Statement Prompt 1 Yale N/A · Examples include: Living in a state that is historically less represented Living with a chronic illness or disability Service in law enforcement or military Growing up in certain faith communities Extensive work experience (over five years) Growing up in a household with an abusive parent, or a
A Comprehensive Guide to the Law School Diversity Statement
Admissions and test prep resources to help you get into your dream schools. The diversity statement for law school is an opportunity for you to explain how your unique perspectives will contribute to the learning environment. The law school diversity statement is optional, and you may be unsure whether you should even write one. This uncertainty induces a lot of anxiety. For others, there is a fear that their essay may come across as cliché or trite as admissions officers read scores of essays about first- and second-generation immigrants, or various stories of adversity, such as those of poverty, sexual orientation, racial background, or mental health.
This article will directly answer questions about the diversity statement for law school, while providing specific tips for how to write it well. Thank you!
Your guide is on its way. In the meantime, please let us know how we can help you crack the law school admissions code, law school diversity statement examples. You can also learn more about our 1-on-1 law school admissions support here, law school diversity statement examples. Let us first spend some time defining diversity as it is understood to law school admissions officers.
based on your culture, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, ideology, age, socioeconomic status, academic background, employment experience, etc. The definition encompasses a range of unique experiences that could color your ability to engage in the classroom and provide your peers with perspectives and viewpoints that are crucial to receiving a holistic legal education.
They are looking for experiences and backgrounds that will help to enrich the broader law school community. These include stories of adversity, law school diversity statement examples, whether those adversities are economic, health difficulties, or disabilities.
Before jumping into drafting, take some time to explore the possibility of submitting the essay. Everyone should engage in this exercise of self-reflection. Do not shy away from the steps if you feel you are not unique enough law school diversity statement examples the purpose of the essay. Follow the guiding steps below as you work through the brainstorming process. Take some time to jot down a few transformative moments in your life.
Broadly, the reviewers are looking for diversity of thought, geography, faith, experiences, backgrounds, ethnicity, gender, and interests. Examples include:. Living with a chronic illness or disability. Growing up in a household with an abusive parent, or a caregiver with addiction issues.
Attending public school, if a majority of your peers attended private schools. Ethnic, racial or national identity. Sexual orientation or gender identity. How am I different from the broader American culture, and legal culture in particular?
After reflecting, you may still feel law school diversity statement examples and unsure, law school diversity statement examples. There law school diversity statement examples no red-line answer for whether your particular background warrants another essay. However, there are two ground rules if one is still feeling stuck. First, ask a trusted friend or colleague about your dilemma. Oftentimes, talking through an issue out loud helps one to better articulate a solution.
Second, if you are feeling ambivalent, err on the side of not writing the diversity statement. It is better to skip the essay altogether than to write material that lacks depth.
Remember, your application should be complete without the essay, and deciding to forego writing an essay will not hurt your chances, law school diversity statement examples. Before we begin the writing process, be sure to spend some time brainstorming moments wherein your experiences impacted your life. Outline specific stories and moments in your life that made you feel alienation, or a lack of belonging.
These should be law school diversity statement examples the form of anecdotes and short stories or memories. The day you decided to leave a career you have been pursuing for five years law school diversity statement examples government for a chance to attend law school.
Feeling overwhelmed and unsure about the path you are pursuing. Feeling emboldened to make a dramatic shift to mitigate feelings of stagnation.
Reveling in the excitement of merging your skills and experiences in different sectors. The first day you attended a private school after attending public schools your whole life. Feelings of isolation and fear in a new and perhaps alienating space. Beginning to gain a sense of understanding behind the socioeconomic imbalances of educational opportunities between public and private institutions. Feeling excited by the prospects of new growth opportunities, and merging law school diversity statement examples with your communities and passions.
Unlike your personal statementlaw school diversity statement examples, your diversity statement should be concise.
The essay should generally be no more than words, law school diversity statement examples. Each and every word, sentence, and story counts. The most successful diversity statements are those that laser focus on one theme or story. That can be a particular experience or an identity. Be as specific and explicit as possible about what you would like to highlight.
My journey to America began well before my birth. My father migrated to the United States in the midst of political turmoil and unrest from Iran in Shortly thereafter, my mother joined him with three children in a one-bedroom apartment. My parents may have left Iran, but they ensured that their cultural practices and traditions informed our daily family gatherings.
Law school diversity statement examples opening paragraph will unveil the root of the story, whereas the rest of the essay will add depth and layer the story in compelling ways.
Think creatively about ways in which various moments or experiences informed one another and find thematic connections between your experiences. There are several ways to structure the remaining paragraphs of the essay. Some suggestions include:. Tracking an emotional journey. Perhaps you were embarrassed by your background as a child, but have grown to be more appreciative of your unique background.
Help guide the reader through this journey. In my youth, I was preoccupied with my difference of culture, language, and food. I refused to bring my home-made lunch to school, and shied away from any mention of my Korean family or their migration story.
I felt ashamed and ostracized, and I sought to erase my unique cultural background in school. I have come to understand that while I sought assimilation in my childhood, I was now seeing authenticity and integration without compromise.
Developing context. It may be the case that you share a story that is difficult to process or understand for an outsider who does not share your particular background.
If so, add context to the story by briefly explaining the larger context within which you live, law school diversity statement examples. Do not spend more than two sentences explaining context, as every sentence should center your narrative and journey. I walked home with a limp after my competition, though I knew that I would need a doctor within seconds of my injury.
Rather than pass me Advil to numb some of the pain, my mother continued to pass the hanyak, or traditional Korean medicine, before taking me to a Korean herbal clinic. At the clinic, the healer would diagnose me by feeling my radial pulse and visualizing the tension and maladies plaguing my body.
In the example above, a reader may not have understood what a Korean herbal clinic entails, and providing context may add depth to the essay. If you are using a term that is not readily known, such as hanyak above, define it immediately. Again, brevity is key. Finally, be sure to end the essay succinctly.
The ending of the essay should round out the essay and take the reader back to the opening scene. Weave the initial storyline back in and track the trajectory. In many ways, my life abroad instilled in me a desire to further the demands of human rights activists and victims.
I plan on carrying with me the stories of the many women I met in India in my career and in my personal commitments.
It is on the shoulders of fierce and courageous giants that I stand, and hope to make my mark. Growing up, I always thought of my family and upbringing as average for our area: we were white, middle class, attended church on Sundays. My parents were raised in my hometown of Bismarck, as my grandparents were before them.
As long as I can remember, though, I felt different from my family and friends. The awareness that the world was a large, exciting place loomed large in my imagination. I longed to live in a big city, to access international art and culture, and to find myself among people who had different points of views through which I could learn more about the world.
In high school, my parents were apprehensive of my plan to apply to colleges on the East Coast, but their resistance did law school diversity statement examples deter me. But in my desire to fit into my new environment, the reactions and stereotypes bothered me. Was I really so different from my peers who had been law school diversity statement examples in New Jersey, Law school diversity statement examples, and California?
If you live anywhere long enough, it inevitably shapes you. It focuses on what makes the applicant unique. At the law school diversity statement examples time, he implicitly acknowledges that, in other ways, his demographic profile is not particularly unusual. Instead, he simply focuses on why he brings a different perspective.
It tracks a journey. Ryan describes how, as a child, he perceived his upbringing to be average, a perception that shifts as his worldview expands. It comes full circle.
Should I Write A Diversity Statement Because I'm Black? - Fall 2020 JD Applicant
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21 rows · · Ranking School Name Law School Diversity Statement Prompt 1 Yale N/A · Some examples might include: Growing up in a particular religious tradition Living with a chronic illness or disability Serving in the military Being an older student or a single parent returning to school Issues related to sexual orientation Growing up in poverty, addiction, or abusive Statement Example A. 1L Summer Associate Diversity Fellowship The following example resulted in the author receiving an interview for the fellowship and an automatic call-back for the 2L summer associate position. Permission was granted prior to publication. Bam! I slammed my knuckles against the table to signal that I passed my turn
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