Diversity Essay Help!!!

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>I am struggling to write an essay for this prompt: </p>

<p>A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your background, please describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.</p>

<p>I am writing about being brought up by a muslim father and a catholic mother. I have been working on the essay on and off for 3 weeks and i only have this to show for it:</p>

<p>At six-o’clock in the morning, when I am barely awake and still cursing my alarm clock, my father occupies an island of calm in the predawn darkness. I have always wanted to take his picture there in the dimness of the morning, when he stands in the middle of the living room , slowly bowing and kneeling as though in the presence of royalty, his lips moving in silent lamentation. To the ignorant observer it would seem as though my father was engaged in some form of far eastern meditation. In reality he is performing the Fajr, the Muslim morning prayer.</p>

<p>I am unsure as to where I should take the essay from here</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Are you choosing to write about “an EXPERIENCE that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community” or “an ENCOUNTER that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you”? </p>

<p>Whichever you choose, it’s not the experience or the encounter that is so important, but the part after it - HOW the experience illustrates what you would bring to the diversity of the college community or HOW the encounter demonstrated the importance of diversity to you. </p>

<p>Don’t get hung up on the experience or encounter. Focus on the parts that they are really looking for - the personal parts that show them who you are. From the little that you put into your post, you sound like you have an interesting story, but is it an experience or an encounter? Once you clarify this question, then you will know which of the second parts to address.</p>

<p>And, don’t forget, this year the Common App has a 500 word limit on the long essay, so don’t use up all your words on the experience or encounter; save your words for the personal part. the part you posted is already 101 words - 20% of your essay allotment… Good luck.</p>