One of the UW-Madison essay topics is why are you applying to madison and what extracurriculars/research opportunities will you take advantage of. I am a Muslim, and joining the muslim student organization would be something that i am interested in. My explanation for wanting to join is that I have almost always been the only muslim in my school, because I live in a predominately white town. joining the organization would let me finally meet some other muslim students. Is this a “valid” statement to put on a college essay? If not I would just completely remove it and replace it with something else.
That should be perfectly fine. But I would say something more than you want to meet other Muslim students - that may sound like you want to kind of stick to your own group – I would also include (if true) how you hope to learn & grow by hearing about the experiences of other Muslim students and how you can incorporate that into your interactions, life etc…
“I have almost always been the only muslim in my school, because I live in a predominately white town.”
Be careful! “White” is an ethnic identity with Middle-Eastern as well as European roots (among others). “Muslim” is a religious faith with roots in the Middle East but which has spread throughout the globe to include Asian, African, and European ethnic identities. Your reasons for joining are understandable; you just don’t want to give the impression that you only associate some ethnic identities with a particular religion as that perspective is going to contradict what the organization at a large uni. such as UW actually looks like.
If you wish to explore your faith more deeply and find a group with which to worship - well, those are great reasons for joining the Muslim student organization and there should be no harm in mentioning that.
Ditto on the differences between ethnic and religious. Many Middle Eastern origin people are white, some will be Christians and others Muslim from the same countries. I do not see where joining a religious group is a compelling reason for choosing most universities as there likely will be the group at many universities you can go to. ie- why should UW admit you instead of someone else when you can do the same thing in many places.
Going to college will be your ticket to finding more people like you, it doesn’t need to be UW at all. Frankly I think some of the essay questions that ask what you will contribute are not good- you are paying money for what a school can do for you, not the other way around. I guess one good thing is that it makes students think outside of just the classes they will take. In your case you may want to include some electives that include your ethnic/religious background- UW probably offers some you would find interesting (you can do the research for specifics).
I do understand where you are coming from- Indians can be the lonely only in many places, regardless of which religion their family practices. And they are diverse, many differences based on which part they come from. Being a minority can be frustrating- I’ve heard people tell of how when they move to a town in the south people ask which church they belong to. Huh- not everyone is a Christian, folks (there are, gasp, atheists and others around). So much social life revolves around churches, even in Wisconsin. You will find it refreshing to find others you can be on the same page with.