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3 Tips for Your Law School Diversity Statement, Even If You're Not Diverse

By George Khoury, Esq. on February 27, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Many law schools ask applicants to write a diversity statement which is more than just a second personal statement. Some will even have a writing prompt that tells you exactly what the school wants you to write about.

Generally, diversity statements are personal essays that provide applicants an opportunity to tell the decision makers a little bit more about their non-academic, personal background. That means even if a person believes they are the least diverse person on the planet, they should still write a diversity statement as there's more to a diversity statement than "diversity."

Below, you can find three tips on what to focus your diversity statement on, even if you're not diverse in the least bit.

1. Dive Deeper Than Your Personal Statement

If there's something diverse about you, whether it's your ethnicity, nationality, or some other obvious diverse trait or characteristic, giving it brief mention in your personal statement is a good idea. Then, in your diversity statement, you can go into much more depth about how that trait shaped you as an individual.

However, even if you don't consider yourself to be diverse, that same formula holds true. Find some characteristic mentioned in your personal statement, like your open-mindedness, your ability to learn, or your ability to persuade, and write about how you learned (or maybe taught someone else how) to appreciate diversity, or some aspect of it.

2. Diverse Perspectives Don't Require "Diverse" Backgrounds

A person doesn't have to fit into one of the established protected classes to have a diverse perspective. Are you an athlete or musician? Are you one of those rare engineers or scientists turning to law school? Are you a modern day Alex P. Keaton? Explain why you'll think differently from other law students.

Alternatively, whatever personal characteristic defines you, you can find a way to tell a story about how you felt when you were categorized based on that characteristic, and what you did, or didn't do about it. The important thing is to show both introspection and reflection.

3. If You're Not Diverse at All, Explain Your Relationship to Diversity

Being an ally to diversity is important on any school campus. For example, a diversity statement can discuss how a community service project was personally transformative. 

Note: While diverse perspectives are incredibly important, the anti-diversity perspective might as well be the anti-learning perspective when it comes to higher ed. admissions.

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