I’ve had several questions recently on how to approach secondary essays, so I’ll address some common prompts over the next month or so in this blog.
In considering your strategy and content for the diversity prompt, 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 to 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. When I applied to medical school, I crafted one of my secondary essays on my experience hearing Spike Lee speak on my college campus.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.
