How to Answer the Diversity College Application Questions
At the most recent NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling), I did a presentation with my colleagues Ruby Bhattacharya (Director of Admissions at Barnard College), Carmen Lopez (Executive Director of College Horizons), and Carly Valenzuela (Associate Director of College Counseling at Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy).
I noticed that after the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, colleges were increasingly asking supplemental application questions related to the topics of diversity, community, and identity. I’ve also noticed that many of my students, regardless of their racial identities, struggled with how to answer these questions. Here are some tips on how to tackle these questions that I learned from my colleagues:
Why are colleges asking these questions?
Colleges are no longer able to use information about applicants’ racial identities in their decision-making processes. However, they still are curious about students’ backgrounds, communities, and cultures. Colleges are trying to build intentional, residential communities where students can learn from each other in the dorms in addition to the classrooms.
Colleges are also curious about how students handle differences. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ll know that many colleges have been hotbeds of political debate and protest. Colleges want students who are open-minded and willing to listen to and hear new perspectives. These questions colleges’ way of learning how you would respond if faced with difference.
What are some examples of these questions?
Lehigh University: Our 10-year strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, outlines three goals that articulate a vision for how we innovate, make an impact and do that work together—because together, we do better work. Reflect on how your personal background—be it academic, cultural, extracurricular, family, gender, racial, religious, or another aspect—will contribute to Lehigh's aim to make it new, make a difference, (and/or) make it together.*
Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community supports access and inclusion by affirming the dignity and value of every person, respecting differences, promoting mutual understanding and open expression, and strives to eliminate bias and discrimination. Have you had an experience when you or someone you know were not being included? Did you reach out to anyone for assistance, direction, or resources? Were you able to affect change and/or influence others? Did this experience change your perspective and if so, how?
I’m feeling stuck. Help me get started!
Try google imaging an identity wheel. Here’s an example below. Think about all of your different identities in relation to the categories in the wheel. Consider the questions in the caption - are there certain identities that you feel the most strongly, or think about the most? Do your feelings around different identities vary in different situations? For example, I rarely think about being American when I’m in the United States. But when I leave North America, this is a part of my identity that I feel extra self-conscious about.
If the question is about feeling marginalized or helping another individual or group of people that were marginalized, you can think out of the traditional identities listed above. For example, have you been an older student in a club or on a sports team? What did you do to welcome 9th graders or younger students? Have you learned about the perspectives of others through media such as assigned books, podcasts, or news articles? How did that change how you saw yourself in relation to others?
Talk to some trusted adults in your life. Sometimes they can provide additional perspective. You could ask a teacher you know well, or a parent.
Ultimately, the goal of these questions is to encourage you to do a little more reflection about your identities and your experiences interacting with those around you. And I’m sure that you’ve done that before. Good luck and happy writing!