<p>I'm a white, male, and (lower) middle class.</p>
<p>Does being atheist qualify me as "adding to campus diversity"?</p>
<p>That'd be nice wouldn't it (one atheist to another)? If you wrote about it eloquently in your essay, maybe you would have shown your diversity in thought. I doubt it's a hook though.</p>
<p>No. It doesn't.</p>
<p>Only at Bob Jones University,Notre Dame and a few others,such as Oral Roberts U.and Liberty University. When you apply just check the "Heathen" box. Of course you realize that I am only kidding about the heathen box. And I love Notre Dame!</p>
<p>No. In fact, being a religious Christian would add more to many campuses diversity than would being an atheist.</p>
<p>And I would never write an essay about religion or politics. You just don't know the views of who is reading your essay, and not everyone is so objective.</p>
<p>Good point to redknight.</p>
<p>I think even the most liberal of people could see atheism as somewhat, well, too liberal...</p>
<p>It really would depend on the type of colleges your applying to. Catholic or otherwise Christian colleges, that's obviously not a good idea.</p>
<p>If you do choose to write about it, don't get into ideology or opinions. Write more about how you have endured as an atheist, perhaps converting and defying the wishes of your parents? Facing criticism/discrimination?</p>
<p>I consider myself an atheist, so I certainly wouldn't mind you writing about such a topic. I wrote mine about being gay. I, however, applied to some very liberal colleges, where I doubt it'd cause even the slightest distress.</p>
<p>But to otherwise less liberal colleges, would being gay be an advisable topic about which to write an essay?</p>
<p>So, if I was intending on attending a non-religious, highly selective technological school (MIT and Caltech are my top two), do you think it would even be contributing to diversity or are there enough atheists there? lol</p>
<p>Nice idea, writing about my "struggles"...</p>
<p>
[quote]
So, if I was intending on attending a non-religious, highly selective technological school (MIT and Caltech are my top two), do you think it would even be contributing to diversity?
[/quote]
The answer is an emphatic NO.</p>
<p>Presumably you have something else to offer MIT and Caltech. Choose a better essay topic.</p>
<p>A good percentage of the students at both MIT and Caltech are probably athiests. Not a majority, but it still wouldn't help from a diversity stand point.</p>
<p>not just mit and caltech. just the intelligentsia in general.</p>
<p>you should see the contestants in the National vocabulary championship. i bet half of them are atheist.</p>
<p>Maributt, are you going to the NVC? That's deliciously coincidental - I am as well. I identify as a semi-agnostic reform Jew, though, whatever that means.</p>
<p>To the OP: this is one of those topics that (like almost everything else) has a great deal more to do with how you write it than what you write about. There's nothing there that's intrinsically a hook, but if you can craft, for instance, an interesting and eloquent essay on how questioning your values led you to place a value on asking questions in academia, or led you to study comparative religion, or something like that, it could be a good topic. It all depends on where you go with it.</p>
<p>If you are wondering whether your atheism would be the thing that defines you enough for a spot in a selective program (to round it out), I would say no. In the east, you might be one of many ... in the south, you might be unwelcome ... in the west, they are too laid back to care one way or the other about that sort of thing ... and here in the midwest, we'd think you were just trying to get attention & see right through you. Just kidding. I'm not serious about the stereotypes. But in all seriousness, I don't see that being anything that will define you --- unless you can use it to show some instance in which it did set you apart, in a way that is both nonoffensive to the religious person who might hold your future in his/her hands & flattering in its portrayal of you as a person. I suppose some might be able to pull that off, so if you are one of them ... it might be worth throwing out there.</p>
<p>unfortunately not. I wish it did...</p>
<p>Aren't A LOT of people atheists nowadays?</p>
<p>not really.
at least they don't like to admit to it.</p>
<p>Ha, I wish. Thing is (and I'm not trying to offend anyone), there is a high number of atheists (or agnostics, even deists) at schools of higher education, particularly the elite universities.</p>
<p>kev07wan:</p>
<p>"I think even the most liberal of people could see atheism as somewhat, well, too liberal..."</p>
<p>No. There's a high correlation between liberalism and atheism. The ideologies often go hand-in-hand.</p>
<p>b@r!um:</p>
<p>"Aren't A LOT of people atheists nowadays?"</p>
<p>Yes. Secularization ftw.</p>
<p>There really aren't that MANY atheists. According to the latest US census (according to wikipedia, so take with a grain of salt, I guess), only 14% of Americans identify themselves as having no religion. On the other hand, the 2002 survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project says that 59% of Americans reported that religion was "very important" in their lives.</p>
<p>There's more data here if anyone's interested, and most of it is referenced.
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States</a></p>
<p>Obviously, though, those numbers are going to be skewed at most liberal-leaning colleges and universities (something I'm rather glad for myself, but YMMV).</p>
<p>Uhhhh... No. It's hard for many intellectuals to separate their religious views with their scholarly pursuits... so many times they are in conflict. But there are always some people who manage to do it. As to how, I have no idea.</p>