I noticed that for many of the schools, they ask you to tell how you can contribute to the diverse community at that college/university. I’m curious: how are we supposed to respond to those kinds of questions?
My approach so far has been to tell them, in an unobtrusive manner, the kinds of activities I’m interested in (my diversity), and that I plan to continue those activities in college (contribute to diversity).
Is there a better way to respond to those questions? And what are they really looking for?
<p>That's what I was going to do. I mean, I could use racial diversity, but that'd be the worst answer I could give, I think. I was also going to try to work in something about my background, how it's different from a lot of people's because x,y,z.</p>
<p>I know that Amherst ask the following question as one of the questions for their secondary essay:</p>
<p>For me, diversity is not a political slogan or a theoretical goal; it is an absolute necessity. It is impossible for students from any particular background to engage fully the racial and ethnic dimensions of American culture in a setting that does not approximate the racial composition of the society as a whole.
From an essay published February 26, 2003, in the Chicago Sun-Times by Frederick E. Hoxie, Amherst Class of 1969, Amherst trustee, Swalund Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</p>
<p>The school is looking to learn a little bit more about you and for you to answer in a ways that shows them another side of you not in your application and personal statement. If you have gone to school in a diverse enviroment( racial, economic, soically, geographic, with special needs students)</p>
<p>Tell how the experience has shaped you and possibly taught you to look at life using multiple lenses.</p>