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Diversity statement for Active Duty Military?

JAGhopefulJAGhopeful Member
in Law School Admissions 31 karma

I’m just starting my LSAT journey so I know I’m jumping the gun a bit by asking this far in advance but is it inappropriate to have a diversity statement as a white male that is active duty military?

Certainly my service is something that differentiates myself from other candidates, but I don’t want to presume that service holds the same weight as the very real hardships other people have had.

I saw LSATcantwin’s post on this a few years ago and didn’t seem to get a concise answer.

Any advice from any active duty or veterans on what they did?

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Comments

  • MissChanandlerMissChanandler Alum Member Sage ⭐
    3256 karma

    Some schools have a diversity prompt that specifically mentions racial diversity, etc. Others are more open. I think that you can definitely write a compelling diversity statement about your service, just pay attention to the specific diversity statement prompts and you should be good!

  • loosekanenloosekanen Alum Member
    138 karma

    I'm in similar shoes and I wrote one. I think it helped my packet but I also think it was important that the DS be part of a collective narrative. The end goal is presenting yourself as an applicant who will contribute to the diversity of the class. If you can do that with your DS then I think it's a good opportunity to communicate that. Caveats apply, if you're a poor writer or you come across as insensitive the DS definitely has potential to hurt your packet.

  • LSAT_WreckerLSAT_Wrecker Member ⭐
    4850 karma

    n=1. As a military retiree, I chose not to do this. I felt the risk of appearing "tone deaf" was too real to pull this off in a positive manner. My resume was 2 pages of military experience and the opening scene of my PS was a military experience. I felt comfortable assuming an intelligent admissions reader could connect the dots to this point without me having to beat them over the head with it.

    YMMV. Good luck!

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