URM / Diversity Statement

Sheri123

Just curious if being significantly older than most students applying to law school (lets say hypothetically speaking 20+ years) would qualify you as being URM? Not that I would actually know anyone who was of course

Pacifico

No. It's racial/ethnic minorities only. You are what is called "non-traditional". There's no real bump to speak of on it's own, though the idea is that you should have garnered several strong softs in those years to compensate for issues in other areas. It does qualify you to write a diversity statement though if you can show how your age (or other facets about yourself, e.g- being a parent) can bring a diverse perspective to the law school.

Sheri123

Do diversity statements help with entrance into top law schools, lets say top 30ish?

Pacifico

They are feathers on the scale... you really need at least one number if not both to help you out once you're getting up that high. And generally speaking, things that will help your application will help you anywhere. It's not like the T14 prize a good DS over a good PS or something like that. You just want to submit the strongest overall app that you can. So you have your two lead weights (LSAT/uGPA) of varying size and then you have your bag of feathers. No amount of feathers will compensate for thimble sized weights, but if you're a splitter/reverse splitter or between 25ths and 75ths then that bag of feathers is what can put you over the top. Therefore if you can add more feathers to the bag then you almost always want to do that, which means if you have a way in which you bring a diverse perspective to the community then you should write a DS. If you're just bullshitting diversity then don't do it. Furthermore, this is why it is important to do the optional essays at a lot of schools that want them since it just gives you a chance to add more feathers to the bag. This is essentially true up to the point of being obnoxious. Once you feel you're supplying too much and/or boring an adcom/reader to death then it's time to back off. Obviously you want quality over quantity, but if you can do both, then it's generally a good idea to do so.

Sheri123

Thanks Pacifico, it certainly is different being a student with 20+ years of work experience and raising a child while holding down a full time job & going to school than it was being young right out of high school with no other responsibilities and going to college. I appreciate the feedback.

blah170blah

I disagree with @Pacifico and would highly recommend applicants to write diversity statements, especially for a nontraditional applicant like yourself. A successful diversity statement is all about framing. It is not limited to racial/ethnic minorities only -- age, parental status, single-parent home status, socioeconomic status are all attributes that make you a diverse candidate.

nicole.hopkins

@Pacifico said:
It does qualify you to write a diversity statement though if you can show how your age (or other facets about yourself, e.g- being a parent) can bring a diverse perspective to the law school.

@blah170blah ... I believe @Pacifico addressed your point ... please see the above quote ... His overall point is that she's not a URM, which she is not.

pritisharma

One could be diverse and not URM. I think URM is very specific. One cannot be a URM due to their age (lack or excess of ) :-) I think @Pacifico is right.