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Thesus · 08-20-2008, 01:07 AM

I think diversity statements are mainly designed to see if they can qualify you for scholarships outside the department, but I have no evidence.

Antichron · 08-20-2008, 02:29 AM

I think this type of stuff totally matters for the NSF, but it otherwise probably doesn't make a difference.

Golden Rule · 08-20-2008, 03:55 AM

I'll put it this way -- the extracurriculars for the NSF need to be "plausible evidence" of intellectual merit and broader impacts in relation to your research topic, but I think "directly related" is too strong. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some way to plausibly connect soup kitchen work to whatever you were proposing. You just have to be clever.

As an example of the what I mean, consider the coverage of Michael Phelps this Olympics. NBC will tell all these stories about him in trying to explain how he became the greatest Olympian ever -- he has freakish dimensions, he overcame ADHD, he was made fun as a child because he had giant ears and that built up his competitive fire or whatever, he ate 10000/calories a day at quality Ann Arbor restaurants while training, etc. There's no empirical evidence that any of this stuff made him great, but NBC sells these stories to you. The skills used in creating this plausible narrative of yourself aren't much different than what sports journalists do, so watch and learn. I also write this to help anyone applying to NSF that wants to rationalize the number of hours they've spent watching the Olympics.

YoungEconomist · 08-20-2008, 05:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Rule

There's no empirical evidence that any of this stuff made him great, but NBC sells these stories to you. The skills used in creating this plausible narrative of yourself aren't much different than what sports journalists do, so watch and learn.

It's not just sports journalists, it's all journalists. In fact, I often think their coverage of things pertaining to economics is even more rediculous.

Sometimes I just get frustrated watching the news, sigh.

asianeconomist · 08-20-2008, 05:18 AM

I was wondering that whether at places like Oxbridge, extra-curricular activities plays a larger role in admission. They've got a whole array of sporting/ athletic competitions (the boat race, for instance) and I guess would place more importance on athletic abilities.

italos · 08-20-2008, 06:42 AM

I will talk for personally.I 've been president of a students association while u/g and former champion of Taekwno-Do and member of the national team (for saying the things as they stand I use to be also the General Director of the national federation).From all these things I think only the former could count if commented correctly in a LOR as my realtions with other students...for the rest.... just some points on my CV

08-20-2008, 02:29 AM	#12 (permalink)
Antichron TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 607	I think this type of stuff totally matters for the NSF, but it otherwise probably doesn't make a difference. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ MIT Economics, class of 2011

08-20-2008, 05:18 AM	#15 (permalink)
asianeconomist Loving the game Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 1,017	I was wondering that whether at places like Oxbridge, extra-curricular activities plays a larger role in admission. They've got a whole array of sporting/ athletic competitions (the boat race, for instance) and I guess would place more importance on athletic abilities. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ The Pens have been lifted and the Pages have dried. - recorded by At Tirmidhee.

08-20-2008, 06:42 AM	#16 (permalink)
italos Within my grasp! Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 463	I will talk for personally.I 've been president of a students association while u/g and former champion of Taekwno-Do and member of the national team (for saying the things as they stand I use to be also the General Director of the national federation).From all these things I think only the former could count if commented correctly in a LOR as my realtions with other students...for the rest.... just some points on my CV _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Regards, Italos _____________ LOR IS EVERYTHING! The Secrets of the Temple:How Admissions are conducted? Facebook TestMagic Econ PhD Forum group

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08-20-2008, 01:07 AM	#11 (permalink)
Thesus Attending Rochester. Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: St. John's, Newfoundland Posts: 299	I think diversity statements are mainly designed to see if they can qualify you for scholarships outside the department, but I have no evidence.

08-20-2008, 03:55 AM	#13 (permalink)
Golden Rule TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 553	I'll put it this way -- the extracurriculars for the NSF need to be "plausible evidence" of intellectual merit and broader impacts in relation to your research topic, but I think "directly related" is too strong. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some way to plausibly connect soup kitchen work to whatever you were proposing. You just have to be clever. As an example of the what I mean, consider the coverage of Michael Phelps this Olympics. NBC will tell all these stories about him in trying to explain how he became the greatest Olympian ever -- he has freakish dimensions, he overcame ADHD, he was made fun as a child because he had giant ears and that built up his competitive fire or whatever, he ate 10000/calories a day at quality Ann Arbor restaurants while training, etc. There's no empirical evidence that any of this stuff made him great, but NBC sells these stories to you. The skills used in creating this plausible narrative of yourself aren't much different than what sports journalists do, so watch and learn. I also write this to help anyone applying to NSF that wants to rationalize the number of hours they've spent watching the Olympics.

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