Monday, June 29, 2020

Diversity Essay: How to Get Started

I've had several questions on how to approach the secondary essay diversity prompt. In considering your strategy and content, I'd recommend you ask yourself the following question: 

What ethnic, religious, racial, gender, language, socioeconomic, or sexual orientation aspects of me, my family, or my experience make me distinctive?   

Please note that experience is part of the question I have posed. An applicant I mentored a few years back wrote me concerned that she did not fit into a minority category and thus, could not answer the prompt effectively. I suggested she consider an experience that targeted the prompt's theme, and she wrote a strong essay about her successful efforts to increase diversity during sorority rush. I crafted one of my secondary essays on my experience hearing Spike Lee speak in person. Don't be afraid to think outside the box.